If you’ve kept up with financial trends at all in the past few years you’ve undoubtedly seen the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies’ domination of headlines. While the technology behind the coins themselves has been around for nearly a decade, only recently have cryptocurrencies begun their foray into the mainstream. Highlighted by Bitcoin’s rise to prices […]
If you’ve kept up with financial trends at all in the past few years you’ve undoubtedly seen the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies’ domination of headlines. While the technology behind the coins themselves has been around for nearly a decade, only recently have cryptocurrencies begun their foray into the mainstream. Highlighted by Bitcoin’s rise to prices even the most optimistic forecasters couldn’t predict, many who would have never otherwise paid attention to daily exchange rates now find themselves immersed in this new age of the internet and finance. However, as prices and popularity of Bitcoin rises, many questions are left unanswered by curious new investors. Questions like ‘how to buy Bitcoin’ and ‘where to buy Bitcoin’ can feel like unsolvable puzzles to someone new to the scene.
Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article
As the general public has finally started to learn more about cryptocurrencies, the industry behind these coins has already emerged. Companies like Bitcoin of America have made questions like ‘where to buy Bitcoin’ answerable, allowing investors to move past their questions about the underlying technology and buy Bitcoins. Although the name may suggest otherwise, Bitcoin of America is involved in much more of the crypto market than just Bitcoin. Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash (BTC), and Litecoin are also available for exchange on the company’s site — allowing investors to diversify their newly minted crypto-portfolios.
Bitcoin of America differentiates itself from other standard exchanges by their extra emphasis placed on customer service. Bitcoin of America offers live customer service to all users in order to help with any questions or issues that might arise in their investment process. Additionally, Bitcoin of America offers the fastest turnaround in the market. Many popular exchange sites impose delays in their exchanges when you buy Bitcoin online. This means that users wishing to make an exchange will have their funds taken out of their account, but may have to wait a week or more until their requested cryptocurrency actually becomes available in their e-wallet. This is a serious liability for investors as the inherent nature of cryptocurrency is its unpredictability. While you may buy Bitcoin at a stated price on other exchanges, if prices take a dip by the time the coins hit your e-wallet you may have lost much of their value. With Bitcoin of America you get your coins the same day you processed the transaction, removing the dread of a limbo period while you wait for coins to become available.
On top of their online exchange, Bitcoin of America offers Bitcoin ATMs throughout the United States. Bitcoin ATMs are essentially ATMs, however, instead of depositing and withdrawing cash funds users can deposit cash and immediately buy Bitcoin which is then transferred to their e-wallets. Currently the company has Bitcoin ATMs across the East Coast in cities like Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Baltimore. Seeing the success in Bitcoin ATMs, Bitcoin of America is also in the process of opening additional machines in Western parts of the country — including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Arizona, and cities in Texas.
In addition to Bitcoin ATMs, which resemble traditional ATMs in size and shape, Bitcoin of America has also began to launch Bitcoin Tablets at select locations throughout the United States. Unlike the larger BTMs, Bitcoin Tablets are exactly that, tablets. Bitcoin of America provides stores with a small tablet (think iPad) which storeowners have near their cash registers. The implementation of Bitcoin Tablets offers storeowners who are interested in providing a means for crypto-exchange in their stores without using a large section of their retail space to house the BTM. These Bitcoin Tablets allow patrons to buy Bitcoin conveniently and securely while they continue about their busy days.
Because Bitcoin of America strives to make the process of buying Bitcoin easy, the company has also set up payment locations at storefronts. In order to take advantage of this, users need only create an order, enter their Bitcoin wallet address, and then they can go to their selected store location to make the payment. All of these trades are time stamped and confirmed in the company’s trading platform so users can always know the time and amount of their trades when they buy Bitcoin. For additionally security, SMS messaging has been enabled to send users all their information on their orders.
The landscape of the cryptocurrency is constantly changing and evolving, but Bitcoin of America is constantly making strategic moves to stay on the cutting edge. As the popularity of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency rises, so does demand; in order to consistently provide customers with an easy means of answering questions like ‘where to buy Bitcoin’ and ‘how to buy Bitcoin’, Bitcoin of America is constantly expanding and offering services competitors don’t. As cryptocurrency becomes more commonplace in everyday life, Bitcoin of America will always be at the forefront of making it fast, easy, and secure to buy Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Press Release: Republia is a decentralized platform that combines all aspects of blockchain technology and creates an ecosystem within which all other projects are interconnected. The platform is set to start its coin distribution on 23rd August. 21st August, 2018, Kiev, Ukraine: Unlike most other blockchain platforms that offer their chain as the mainnet …
Bitcoin Press Release: Republia is a decentralized platform that combines all aspects of blockchain technology and creates an ecosystem within which all other projects are interconnected. The platform is set to start its coin distribution on 23rd August.
21st August, 2018, Kiev, Ukraine: Unlike most other blockchain platforms that offer their chain as the mainnet for others to piggyback and create their own projects, Republia is an ecosystem that aims at creating a whole ecosystem, where each project does not run independently off its mainchain, but becomes a part of the larger Republia.io environment.
Why Another Launch Platform?
Other launchpad systems like Ethereum, Waves, and NEM allow for any group of people to create a project independently, with their own set of rules and tokenomics. This has resulted in multiple issues within the industry, including:
Competitive, Yet Repetitive Projects: Many platforms are in competition with near identical services, confusing investors and blockchain adopters on which one to choose.
Fraudulent Schemes: With hundreds of projects being launched each year, there is no control on the authenticity of projects themselves. Malicious organizations have already fraudulently taken millions of dollars from investors.
Security and Quality: The intense competition to deliver has led to compromises on quality and security of projects, with some serious consequences for investors.
Network Load: With mainchains like the Ethereum network already stressed, new projects are adding more traffic to the main network, slowing down transactions.
High Volatility: Cryptocurrencies are infamous for swinging wildly in value. This hinders adoption by smaller investors as they cannot risk large downside market movements during critical stages of development and launch.
How Republia Helps
Republia enables an equitable and democratic environment for all projects by allowing all projects in the ecosystem community votes. Every new project can appear in Republia Ecosystem only if more than a half of the community vote for it. Additionally:
Project Voting: Each project that wishes to launch on Republia through a sidechain must go through a process of evaluation and voting. This ensure that only high quality projects are launched. This also covers other aspects such as fraud prevention, user and investor rights and security.
One Project: If a project is already approved, similar projects will not be allowed to launch unless they have something distinct to offer. This means no repetetiveness within the ecosphere.
Onchain Updates: A unique feature is the ability to update protocols onchain. This means no more hardforks and scalability is not an issue.
Coin Volatility: Through unique Parking technology and a secondary “USDR” token the platform will counter major fluctuations of its core coin, the RPB.
Countering Abuse of Power
A notable cause of concern for investors and users is the degree of control Republia has over projects that will run on its mainnet. This centralization of power is not possible thanks to the ability of each Republia ID holder to vote on any task in the ecosystem. This includes forks, approval of projects or any other changes, creating a true democracy and a republic.
Republia TGE
The Pre-Sale of RPB coin distribution starts on 23rd August and carries a 25% bonus with a soft cap of USD 500,000 and a hardcap of USD 5,000,000. Minimum of USD 100 investment is a prerequisite to participate. Funds from the private round funding will be used for release of the testnet.
Media Contact Details Contact Name: Konstantyn Denysenko Contact Email:[email protected]
Republia is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. Cryptocurrencies and tokens are extremely volatile. There is no guarantee of a stable value, or of any value at all. Token sales are only suitable for individuals with a high risk tolerance. Only participate in a token event with what you can afford to lose.
BitcoinistBitcoin Price Breaks $7000 Resistance To Hit Surprise Multi-Week HighBitcoinistDespite the US Securities and Exchange Commission denying entry to the market for a slew of Bitcoin ETFs, however, unlike in previous instances, prices failed to r…
Bitcoin Price Breaks $7000 Resistance To Hit Surprise Multi-Week High Bitcoinist Despite the US Securities and Exchange Commission denying entry to the market for a slew of Bitcoin ETFs, however, unlike in previous instances, prices failed to react beyond an insignificant – and temporary – downturn by several hundred dollars.
Numerous projects are exploring the use of blockchain technology in regards to uploading and sharing data. Finding the right balance is rather difficult, and the competition will continue to heat up. Upfiring is one of the options worth looking into, as this dApp is slowly beginning to hit its stride. Upfiring in a Nutshell Making the […]
Numerous projects are exploring the use of blockchain technology in regards to uploading and sharing data. Finding the right balance is rather difficult, and the competition will continue to heat up. Upfiring is one of the options worth looking into, as this dApp is slowly beginning to hit its stride.
Upfiring in a Nutshell
Making the uploading and sharing of data more efficient and decentralized requires the use of innovative technologies. In the case of Upfiring, its objective is to use blockchain technology to let users upload files through a convenient interface. It is expected that this application will be released for Windows, MacOS, and Linux in the coming weeks. Competing with existing Torrent protocols will be difficult, but having more options is always beneficial.
How Does it Work?
There are many aspects to the Upfiring dApp. Users have the option to share their own files and convert them to the native Upfiring file format. These files are encrypted to offer users complete privacy at all times. Accessing the files externally is impossible, as data needs to be downloaded and decrypted using the native Upfiring client. It is also possible for users to “seed” files by not decrypting them.
By seeding a file, users can earn a portion of the 20 UFR token reward every time the file is downloaded and decrypted by others. Through this incentive, users are given an extra reason to help share files across the ecosystem, although it remains to be seen if that will be sufficient to spur additional interest in this dApp. There are other convenient solutions out there with similar goals, after all.
Sharing uploaded files can be done in traditional ways. Users looking to download specific files can do so through the dApp, and may become a seeder for the file if they so choose. It is impossible to decrypt files without paying the 20 UFR fee, though, which may be a limiting factor for the Upfiring ecosystem as a whole.
The UFR Token
As mentioned above, the Upfiring dApp has a native token, referred to as UFR. This token is primarily used to decrypt files uploaded by others, and also serves as an incentive for network participants to help seed and share files. Paying to access files which can be shared for free through other protocols may not necessarily work out all that well, although it remains to be seen how Upfiring will fare in this regard.
The Road Ahead
With the Upfiring application nearing release, it will be interesting to see how consumers respond to this new solution. It certainly has a lot of potential in terms of sharing information in a private and secure way. However, it seems unlikely that Upfiring will displace the Torrent protocol anytime soon. That being said, competition in peer-to-peer file sharing is always beneficial.
In a recent survey conducted by PwC, it has been found out that regulatory uncertainty and trust are the biggest hurdles in the adoption of blockchain technology. China a Rising Leader in Blockchain Adoption The survey “Blockchain is here. What’s your next move?”, which saw the participation of 600 respondents from 15 countries, revealed that…
In a recent survey conducted by PwC, it has been found out that regulatory uncertainty and trust are the biggest hurdles in the adoption of blockchain technology.
China a Rising Leader in Blockchain Adoption
The survey “Blockchain is here. What’s your next move?”, which saw the participation of 600 respondents from 15 countries, revealed that most of the countries were in different stages of exploration and implementation of the technology. 84% of the respondents said that they were actively involved with blockchain technology. 20% were still engaged in researching the technology, 32% were developing it, 10% were in the pilot stage, while 15% had live blockchain projects.
US, China, Australia, Japan, India, UK, Denmark and Hong Kong are being seen as the leaders of the blockchain revolution, with US being at the forefront. However, 30% of the respondents said that they see China as a rising leader in blockchain.
The biggest barriers to blockchain adoption have been revealed as regulatory uncertainty (48%), lack of trust among users (45%), lack of the ability to bring the network together (44%) and the existing inability of separate blockchains to work together (41%). The survey also explained why trust is posing as an issue in blockchain adoption.
“As with any emerging technology, challenges and doubts exist around blockchain’s reliability, speed, security and scalability. And there are concerns regarding a lack of standardisation and the potential lack of interoperability with other blockchains.”
There is also a lack of awareness of what blockchain is and how it has the potential to revolutionize different facets of businesses. The technology, an innovative form of infrastructure and a new way to digitize assets through tokens, including cryptocurrency, is a complex subject for even industry executives.
Countries supportive of blockchain, not of crypto
Various countries globally have taken numerous initiatives to integrate blockchain technology in their systems. However, most governments have not yet been able to fathom the impact that legalization of decentralized currencies such as Bitcoin would have on their economic systems. Thus, several countries are willing to embrace blockchain, but not cryptocurrencies.
China, where blockchain-related projects had garnered financing of over $100 million by January this year, has banned cryptocurrencies. Recently, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, the Chinese tech giants, announced that they are banning all cryptocurrency-related activity from their platforms.
The US SEC recently rejected 9 Bitcoin ETFs citing their lack of compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5), which implies that the ETFs were not immune from being involved in fraudulent and manipulative practices.
Cryptocurrency experts are of the view that blockchain can technically be implemented without cryptocurrencies, but without them, it will another hidden tech like Big Data, and will not be able to reach the masses.
A history of Bitcoin – told through the five different groups who bought it The Conversation UK The recent fluctuations in Bitcoin’s value are just the latest in a series of spectacular peaks and troughs since it was created in 2009. (Though its price has been falling recently, it remains five times higher than last April, before the latest major …
A history of Bitcoin – told through the five different groups who bought it The Conversation UK The recent fluctuations in Bitcoin's value are just the latest in a series of spectacular peaks and troughs since it was created in 2009. (Though its price has been falling recently, it remains five times higher than last April, before the latest major ...
Iran has been developing a national cryptocurrency, a move that could allow them to evade US economic sanctions. Informatics Services Corporations, the country’s leading provider of banking systems, has reportedly been designing and developing the cryptocurrency and has now revealed its features. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Built on Hyperledger Informatics […]
Iran has been developing a national cryptocurrency, a move that could allow them to evade US economic sanctions. Informatics Services Corporations, the country’s leading provider of banking systems, has reportedly been designing and developing the cryptocurrency and has now revealed its features.
Informatics Services Corporations (ISC) has revealed the attributes of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s national cryptocurrency, Ibena reported Monday.
Established in 1993, the ISC is the country’s leading provider of banking systems. It is also affiliated to the Central Bank of Iran. Describing the country’s upcoming national crypto, the ISC wrote:
It is rial-backed and has been designed and developed by Informatics Services Corporations based on Hyperledger Fabric platform technology.
Hyperledger Fabric is an open-source permissioned blockchain framework hosted by the Linux Foundation. Originally developed by IBM and Blythe Masters’ Digital Asset Holdings, the platform specializes in smart contracts for supply chains, although it can be tailored to several different uses, including currency.
Other Features
The ISC further detailed that “after being tested and reviewed,” the infrastructure of Iran’s national crypto “is supposed to be as an ecosystem available for Iranian banks and active companies in cryptocurrencies.”
Additionally, the ISC explained that the blockchain infrastructure will be deployed in phases. The first rollout is described “as a token and interbank payment instrument” while the second phase will be aimed at using the cryptocurrency as “an instrument for retail payments in a society.” The ISC added:
Iranian cryptocurrency has been developed under private blockchain infrastructure and it cannot be mined…The issuer is [the] Central bank of Iran and the volume of issuance depends on the bank’s decision.
In May, Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi, head of the economic committee of Iran’s parliament, said that “more than 2.5 billion dollars has been sent out of the country for buying digital currencies,” Ibena also reported. In July, he told the publication that over 500 BTC belonging to Iranians were seized by the US government.
Iran has stepped up its plan to develop the national cryptocurrency after sanctions were imposed by Washington aimed at restricting the country’s access to US dollars, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported.
What do you think of the above details of Iran’s national cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.
Bitcoin tops $7000; Morgan Creek launches digital asset fundMarketWatchBitcoin prices were moving higher Tuesday, touching a three-week high of $7,044.35 and on track to log five winning sessions over the last six. The No. 1 digital currency is now mor…
Bitcoin tops $7000; Morgan Creek launches digital asset fund MarketWatch Bitcoin prices were moving higher Tuesday, touching a three-week high of $7,044.35 and on track to log five winning sessions over the last six. The No. 1 digital currency is now more than 20% off its August 14 low. A single bitcoin BTCUSD, +4.78% last ...
Bitcoin Posts Longest Rally in a Month as Charts Turn Bullish Bloomberg The asset class has had a tough year, as 2017’s mania ended in a selloff for Bitcoin of as much as 70 percent from its record intraday high in December. Yet predictions of doom proved premature, and prices have consolidated above the $6,000 level.
Bitcoin Posts Longest Rally in a Month as Charts Turn Bullish Bloomberg The asset class has had a tough year, as 2017's mania ended in a selloff for Bitcoin of as much as 70 percent from its record intraday high in December. Yet predictions of doom proved premature, and prices have consolidated above the $6,000 level.
DNA can secure your bitcoin riches CNET Looking to keep your bitcoin fortune safe? Here’s one option: Hide your password inside a micro tube of DNA. No, really. A startup called Carverr provides that very service to protect the digital money of its customers. It’s a unique and extreme …
DNA can secure your bitcoin riches CNET Looking to keep your bitcoin fortune safe? Here's one option: Hide your password inside a micro tube of DNA. No, really. A startup called Carverr provides that very service to protect the digital money of its customers. It's a unique and extreme ...
The cryptocurrency industry is constantly bombarded with the opinion on-lookers. Some take an interest in a respectful manner, while others do their best to chastise something that they often do not, or even want to understand. The latter happens far too often, with critics continually lambasting Bitcoin, along with other cryptos, with false claims, facts, and…
The cryptocurrency industry is constantly bombarded with the opinion on-lookers. Some take an interest in a respectful manner, while others do their best to chastise something that they often do not, or even want to understand. The latter happens far too often, with critics continually lambasting Bitcoin, along with other cryptos, with false claims, facts, and beliefs.
Bitcoin: The Good, The Bad And The Scam?
As reported by NewsBTC, Jordan Belfort, former Wall Street investment “guru” and convicted felon, recently spoke out against crypto in an interview with CNBC, putting this industry in a negative public light. Although Belfort, who has been dubbed “The Wolf Of Wall Street” in pop culture, portrayed himself as knowledgeable in the area, it is clear that this is far from the case.
In the aforementioned interview, along with his appearance on CNBC’s “Bitcoin: Boom or Bust” documentary, Belfort highlighted a variety of reasons why “Bitcoin will evaporate.”
Throughout his two appearances on CNBC, two primary qualms prevailed, first was that this anonymous asset can be used for money laundering. Bitcoin’s ethos was never to be a money laundering tool, but rather a form of a distributed digital cash not backed by a central authority. And although cryptocurrencies were given a bad rap by mainstream media following the collapse of the Silk Road, a former Bitcoin-centric illicit goods marketplace, it has become apparent that Bitcoin has an array of utilities.
To further rebut his criticism of this market, Belfort himself used government-issued dollars to launder illegally-obtained money stolen from the accounts of retail investors. So who’s to say that U.S. dollars and other fiat currencies cannot be used for money laundering as well?
His second qualm was that the American government will eventually crack down on Bitcoin and other anonymous crypto assets. But as seen by recent statements from the CFTC’s Chief Innovation officer or SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce, the U.S. government has no intention to wipe the crypto industry out of existence. Rather, U.S. governmental bodies intend to approach the industry in a bid to protect investors, by providing regulation that leaves innovators with some leg room at the very least. Evidently, this is the same with governments around the world as well, with the head of Japan’s SEC equivalent, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), recently revealing that his organization has no intention to curb the development of crypto and related technologies.
Moreover, why would the heavily-regulated Intercontinental Exchange, along with two corporate giants, make a foray into crypto if there were glaring regulatory risks?
Although ‘Wolf’ was clearly talking out of his ass in this interview, this wasn’t the end of his baseless claims, as Belfort added that Bitcoin is slow and expensive for merchants to use. What he clearly left out is that Bitcoin transactions currently cost less than $1.00 on average, allowing users of the network to send thousands, if not millions of dollars worth of the asset for a negligible fee. For merchants, the fees (or lack thereof) are a lifesaver, as traditional payment processor may often charge a 2-3% percentage fee on each and every purchase.
In terms of speed, Belfort makes no mention of scaling solutions, like the Lightning Network, which will create an environment where Bitcoin’s second-layer can transact near-instantly, with no fears of delay, high fees or low transaction throughput.
So maybe it’s time for Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street, to do a bit of research on Bitcoin before speaking out against it the next time
Iran has been developing a national cryptocurrency, a move that could allow them to evade US economic sanctions. Informatics Services Corporations, the country’s leading provider of banking systems, has reportedly been designing and developing the cryptocurrency and has now revealed its features. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space Built on Hyperledger Informatics […]
Informatics Services Corporations (ISC) has revealed the attributes of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s national cryptocurrency, Ibena reported Monday.
The ISC further detailed that “after being tested and reviewed,” the infrastructure of Iran’s national crypto “is supposed to be as an ecosystem available for Iranian banks and active companies in cryptocurrencies.”
