Month: August 2018

The new company, which incorporates the Interledger and Codius technologies Thomas helped develop at Ripple, is now available to try out.

North America

Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.

USA

Crypto mining firm purchases New York dam: DPW Holdings subsidiary Super Crypto Mining has announced that it has bought the power generation of an entire river for mining purposes.

The Valatie Falls in New York has been purchased by the mining company and it produces 1 MW of clean energy from the hydropower project. The crypto mining farm will be established by Q4 2018 and will try and set a new precedent focused on mining from clean energy only.

The mining farm will yield a USD 2,000 worth of mining exploits every day for the company.

California introduces blockchain legislation: A bill has passed in the Californian state legislature in both upper and lower houses to define the scope of blockchain and form a working group of the government within a year.

Bill AB 2658 is now awaiting California governor’s approval. If signed into law, it would define blockchain as “a mathematically secured, chronological, and decentralized ledger or database“, something that will increase the importance of blockchain infrastructure development in the state.

The move follows a growing trend among US states to give blockchain and cryptocurrencies legal cover and promote innovation in the sector.

Securities administrators association reveal 200 active investigations on crypto-related products: The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has said that currently, there are over 200 active investigations in the United States and Canada regarding cryptocurrency projects.

The combined North American regulatory body said that investigations are part of a massive action called Operation Cryptosweep that has so far resulted in 46 enforcement actions involving ICOs and other crypto investment projects.

According to Joseph B Borg NASAA president:

“While not every ICO or cryptocurrency-related investment is a fraud, it is important for individuals and firms selling these products to be mindful that they are not doing so in a vacuum; state and provincial laws or regulations may apply, especially securities laws. A strong culture of compliance should be in place before, not after, these products are marketed to investors.”

The combined regulatory effort is aimed at suspected securities fraud for which the NASAA claims jurisdiction.

Canada

Government delays regulation of crypto and blockchain companies: The Canadian government has decided in principle to postpone the final regulations for its cryptocurrency and blockchain companies.

The reason for postponement was because the government is in pre-election mode ahead of the 2019 election and it is logical to delegate the task to whoever forms the next government. Meetings of regulatory bodies have been put on hold for the moment and the regulations will now be delayed till 2020 because it takes an additional 12-month period for any regulation to take effect after it has been signed.

The move was overall received positively by the crypto community as the government essentially backed away from strict rules drafted and published in June this year. But, some crypto quarters have concerns that this will damage the Canadian prospects of becoming a blockchain haven because of regulatory unclarity.

Mexico

Central bank to experiment with blockchain and crypto: The central bank of Mexico Banco de Mexico has announced plans to harness the power of blockchain technology and start using cryptocurrencies on a trial basis to lower transaction-related costs.

Officials from the national banking regulator announced plans for public consultancy as well. The process will start by regulators learning more about the virtual currencies and their payment processing systems based on blockchain technology.

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The CEO of Dash Core Group has said that despite the potential of cryptocurrencies, larger financial institutions must move cautiously.

Moving with the Times, but Caution is Still Needed

For years, the crypto industry has continually worked at attracting institutional investors to the market. It hasn’t been easy though. A lack of trusted custodians, in addition to warnings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has created a barrier to entry.

However, a shift is starting to take shape. Now there are more instances of former bankers joining the crypto space while big banks are announcing new hires and services indicating they are opening doors to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Despite steps being made by banks, for many forward-thinking finance executives the transition is too slow. Coinbase’s appointment of Jeff Horowitz, who formerly built global fraud-prevention programs for BNY Mellon, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Salomon Brothers, to the role of chief compliance officer, is just one example of a financial industry veteran making the jump into the crypto market.

Ryan Taylor, CEO of Dash Core Group, is another figure that left a Wall Street career, to move into blockchain. Previously a hedge fund analyst covering a global stable of payments industry investments for the private equity and public market funds of a $20 billion investment firm in New York, he soon saw the potential of the cryptocurrency market. And now he’s CEO of Dash, which boasts transaction confirmation times on par with Visa and Mastercard.

Yet, even though the finance industry is showing signs of moving with the times, Taylor believes they should “move cautiously.” In an interview with NewsBTC, he said:

“Financial institutions are fundamentally risk management machines,” he said. “Their entire business model is dependent on compliance and risk management. So I think that despite the enormous potential of cryptocurrencies, the larger institutions must move cautiously.”

He goes on to state that if financial institutions want to enter the market in a meaningful way regulations and sophisticated chain of custody solutions must be developed.

“While those things are being worked on, it is clear that they started too late,” Taylor added.

And it’s because of this that it can become a frustrating experience for financial institution executives that believe in the technology. In Taylor’s opinion this is why people are leaving banks to pursue a career with crypto startups as “nobody wants to be left behind.”

How Will Financial Players Change the Market?

Earlier this month it was reported that Adam White, the vice president and general manager at Coinbase, said the company’s long-term strategy is to lure institutional investors into the crypto market.

This is apparent by its Coinbase Custody platform, which was released last month. In an interview with NewsBTC in July, Zeeshan Feroz, Coinbase UK CEO, said there had been “a lot of interest” in it. At the time, it was noted that the exchange had already accepted 10 institutional investors.

This month Goldman Sachs revealed that it was taking another step forward in the crypto market, with reports suggesting that it was considering offering custody for cryptocurrency funds. Indicators suggest that if true this could present a game changer in the industry.

With the market slowly changing, it shows how crypto is increasingly driven by differentiation and specialisation, said Taylor. After all, you can’t be all things to all potential customers. He adds, though, that as more projects are initiated, the industry will become more complex.

“Ultimately, most of the competitors entering the market today will fail, because the market is still discovering the sources of value that leads to success,” he added. “Eventually, I believe you’ll witness the emergence of several dominant blockchains within major use case categories, and a massive culling of ill-conceived projects.”

Featured image from Ryan Taylor.

The post Dash CEO: Financial Institutions Must Move Cautiously Despite Crypto Potential appeared first on NewsBTC.

Crypto investor Michael Terpin talks to CT about why he’s suing AT&T, today’s ICO landscape, and where he sees Bitcoin in 3-5 years

Europe

Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.

European Union

Crypto to come under focus in Vienna EU Moot: The European Union is now ready to take on certain issues in cryptocurrencies like money laundering and tax evasion in the next round of talks to be held in the Austrian capital of Vienna on 7 September.

While it was acknowledged on previous occasions that cryptocurrencies have the power to present great benefits to the public and governments alike, concerns remain. Blockchain technology was also singled out for praise for use in transparency advocacy.

The next round of talks will determine the future course of action of legislation in the Union.

Germany

Government working to create crypto-friendly system: The German government is deliberating on how to withdraw from the US financial system that has unfairly rendered countries like Turkey and Iran incapacitated in making transactions with other countries due to sanctions placed on them. A crypto-friendly economy is seen as a precursor by Germany for breaking free from the monetary stronghold of the US in the current fiat market.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said:

“For that reason it’s essential that we strengthen European autonomy by establishing payment channels that are independent of the US, creating a European Monetary Fund and building up an independent Swift system.”

Countries like Russia and even Western US allies that are disgruntled due to the attitude of the US government are also considering an alternative system that will challenge the SWIFT system dominated by the US. This news is optimistic for the future development of cryptocurrencies.

CryptoKitties to help German museum explain blockchain: CryptoKitties has proven to be a good initiative to promote awareness in blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors in the country and is now working in Germany for their next exhibit in a museum. Here visitors will experience the game to learn about different types of crypto technologies.

According do Dapper Labs, the owner of CryptoKitties, the exhibit in the museum will show the working of blockchain technology in real time.

Italy

Shares in Italian football club bought with crypto: Italian football club Rimini in the Serie C division has sold a portion of the ownership of the club for cryptocurrency.

This first-of-its-kind acquisition in the country was made by Heritage Sports Holdings (HSH), a sports investment company based in the United Arab Emirates and the cryptocurrency used was Quantocoin, a Gibraltar-based cryptocurrency.

Russia

Government to use Ethereum blockchain for market allocation of farmers: The Russian government has announced that the country is looking to develop a system that uses the Ethereum blockchain to simplify the process of allocating commercial plots for farmers.

The system is designed to allocate over 1,500 trading spots with over 20,000 farmers scrambling for them. Farmers from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan all are vying for a place in the weekend market in the nation’s capital.

Malta

Pro-Bitcoin Malta prime minister targeted by crypto fraudsters: Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who has a very pro-Bitcoin stance, was the subject of a recent Instagram scam.

His name was used to open a fake Instagram account in an attempt to promote a Bitcoin investment scheme. The fraudulent account quickly gained 1,300 followers and promoted a Ponzi scheme that preyed on unwary investors. But, when pointed out, the account was swiftly deleted by the scammers.

The Mediterranean island is working to bring cryptocurrency and blockchain projects from around the world to its shores. The island is becoming more and more suitable for cryptocurrency investment in the continent and the world. It has been continuously ranked as one of the best in crypto-friendly attitudes.

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The entire blockchain industry is abuzz with distributed applications. Various networks are competing for traction when it comes to dApps, with EOS slowly making a name for itself as of right now. The following dApps are sorted by their current popularity, although these rankings are bound to shift sooner or later.

#6 DeltaDex

It is not surprising to see token exchanges drive overall adoption of distributed applications on any blockchain. In the case of EOS, DeltaDex is one of the few decentralized exchanges available on the platform today. It offers some interesting trading pairs, even though its number of users per 24 hours is still relatively low. This is despite the 24-hour volume surpassing 3,639 EOS for the first time in history.

#5 EOS Lottery

Gambling initiatives always tend to do well in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. EOS Lottery does exactly what the name suggests, even though its 24-hour volume tends to fluctuate a bit. At the time of writing, the EOS dApp generated nearly 3,700 EOS in volume, which is still a near 50% decline compared to the previous day. Even so, it will get a lot of people interested in dApps regardless.

#4 Lucky

Another gambling app making it in the top six goes by the name of Lucky.  Its purpose is running 24-hour games where players purchase bullets to extend the game. All EOS accumulated by selling Bullets is sold to holders proportionally, which makes for an interesting concept. Its current 24-hour volume sits at over 9,000 EOS, confirming there is a genuine interest in this venture.

#3 DEXEOS

Gambling and decentralized token exchanges will dominate any dApp ecosystem for quite some time to come. DEXEOS is another trading platform running on top of the EOS blockchain, successfully generating over 22,400 EOS worth of volume in the past 24 hours. The dApp also notes a healthy increase in the number of active users, as well as transactions. Positive growth all across the board, although competition is heating up.

#2 Newdex

One of the other decentralized exchange dApps competing with DEXEOS and DeltaDex is Newdex. It generates nearly twice the volume of the previous dApp, primarily because of its bigger user base and increasing number of weekly transactions. Competition among dApps focusing on decentralized exchange solutions is always a good thing, primarily because the centralized aspect of cryptocurrencies need to be eroded completely.

#1 EOSBet

No one will be surprised to learn there is a gambling app at the top of the EOS dApp charts right now. EOSBet has no competition to speak of in this regard, as it still generates over 440,000 EOS in 24-hour volume While this is a 52% setback compared to the day before, it still remains the most successful dApp on the EOS blockchain as of right now, and will remain to be for some time to come.

There has been a lot of positive news in the crypto industry recently. Do the price charts support a bullish outlook? Let’s find out

Even though many people assumed the Dogecoin price pump would end pretty quickly, it seems the opposite is coming true. Thanks to its increasing trading volume, the value per DOGE has gained even more ground in very quick succession. It raises more questions as to when things will turn around, but for now, that does not appear to be on the horizon just yet.

Dogecoin Price Rush Continues

It is relatively fun to watch the Dogecoin price evolution over the past few days. After months or sideways trading and small dips, the Dogecoin price is not rising sharply. So much even that is on the verge of surpassing $0.0041. That value may not seem impressive, but given the supply of over 115 billion DOGE, it all adds up fairly quickly.

Over the past 24 hours, the Dogecoin price has risen by another 34.59%. This is on top of the gains noted yesterday, which are still in place as of right now. Although a 34.59% gain is unsustainable in the long run, this trend is something the cryptocurrency industry direly needs right now.

As one would come to expect, the Dogecoin rally in terms of Satoshi value is also firing on all cylinders. Despite Bitcoin recovering from its brief dip, the DOGE/BTC ratio is still improving in favor of the altcoin. With another 30.94% increase in this department, things are looking increasingly promising. A positive spell for cryptocurrency is more than welcome, especially given the troubled year 2018 has been so far.

As the overall cryptocurrency trading volume rises, so does the DOGE volume. Although it is far from the liquid market it used to be many moons ago a daily volume of over $52.87m is not too shabby by any means. It is more than sufficient to rekindle the public’s interest in Dogecoin, even though the profit taking cannot be too far off as of right now. Even so, anything is possible in the cryptocurrency world.

Most of the volume still originates from Gate.IO’s USDT pair, which continues to dwarf all other markets. Poloniex and Bittrex offer 2 BTC pairs to complete the top three. ZB.COM is in fourth place with its USDT offering, followed by yet another BTC pair on BTCTrade. A more than interesting collection for Dogecoin as of right now, although it remains unclear if more gains will be on the horizon.

As is always the case on Fridays, crazy things tend to happen right before the weekend. This Dogecoin price trend has been building up for some time now, and it only seems to intensify. A $500m market cap for Dogecoin is well within reach, although it may not necessarily go much higher than that. At the same time, this may be the beginning of a push toward new all-time highs for all cryptocurrencies, for all we know.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

In today’s digital world, we are sitting on zettabytes of digital data generated from various online, as well as offline activities. These data volumes will only grow exponentially, as the trend shows, doubling every two years through 2020 and beyond. Much of this data is private and sensitive; therefore, it requires protection, which in our digital age implies encryption.

The shift from traditional systems to digital platforms has led to a lot of new development across industries. Bitcoin is one such invention that has taken the financial sector by storm. Unlike traditional assets that are pegged against tangible resources, Bitcoin is made “out of thin air” (a popular claim by financial houses that can be contested). It’s magical internet money that is hardly regulated and not backed by real, physical assets. While cryptocurrency definitely has its advantages there are some drawbacks as well, which can make it highly risky if one’s not careful when dealing with it. Some of these drawbacks include;

•      Impossible to recover once stolen
•      Impossible to recover once access is lost
•      Partly or fully illegal in many jurisdictions
•      Traded by young online companies with no proven track records
•      Historically prone to hacks and heists

These challenges broadly apply to all cryptocurrencies. Therefore, crypto holdings need to be secured to continue their exponential rate of growth.

HoweyCoins – The Fraud & Infiltration of Private Funds (An Example)

The rise of cryptocurrency has also led to the creation of a whole new system of initial coin offerings where projects attempt to raise funds by selling tokens. However, what was presumed to be a boon to accelerate innovation has turned into a minefield of frauds and scams where unwitting investors have been relieved of their money by conmen.

The best example of such ICO scams is HoweyCoin, which was presented as an attractive investment opportunity to be part of a travel network. However, in this case, the project was floated by the US Securities Exchange Commission as an awareness drive.  The HoweyCoin project was designed to emulate an actual token sale campaign with an attractive website, a professional looking whitepaper with a complex yet vague explanation of the investment opportunity, promises of guaranteed returns, and a countdown clock that shows time is running out on the deal of a lifetime. It also included team information along with celebrity endorsements.

The takeaway from this exercise is to be vigilant and conduct a thorough due diligence to establish the credibility of the project to protect yourself from being scammed.

Some of the red flags that one has to look out for in an ICO to decide whether it is a scam or not are:

–       Claims of high guaranteed returns
–       Celebrity endorsements
–       Claims of being SEC compliant
–       Seeking investment through credit card

But saving oneself from a fraudulent token sale is not the only thing crypto investors have to worry about. It is also important to ensure the security of the cryptocurrencies that are already in your possession. In order to do that, you should make use of reliable cryptocurrency storage solutions known for their security features. In addition, you should also pick an exchange or trading platform with extensive support for a range of cryptocurrencies and tokens, along with an active and prompt customer support team to resolve any issues that might occur at any time.

It always helps to keep cryptocurrencies in their respective wallets rather than storing them on exchange wallets. Unlike standalone wallets, the private keys belonging to the exchange wallets are never in users’ control, leaving them at the mercy of these centralized players.

Now that the importance of wallets is established, it is time to look into some of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets.

1. Ledger Nano S  

The Ledger Nano S is a cryptocurrency multi-asset hardware wallet that looks like a folding flash drive.  It can store Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins. The Ledger Nano S connects via a USB cable and requires interaction with the device to confirm transactions. Ledger’s Nano S is also U2F authentication compliant for use with other services and can run multiple apps.  The Ledger Nano is safe, relatively inexpensive, malware proof and cannot be hacked.

2. Jaxx

Jaxx is one of the most popular cryptocurrency wallet applications. The platform rightly calls itself the blockchain interface, as it supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies. The Jaxx blockchain wallet allows its users to have complete control over their funds. In addition, the platform is always working on adding support for the next best cryptocurrency so that its users can just use one wallet application to manage their entire crypto-portfolio. Jaxx also integrates ShapeShift, which allows users to convert one ShapeShift supported crypto to another from within the application.

3. Ledger BLUE

The “Rolls Royce” of hardware wallets!  It is by far the most advanced hardware security gear on the market.  It comes with a large, colored touchscreen, Bluetooth, and a rechargeable battery, and is lightweight for easy transportation and storage.  Ledge BLUE with multi currencies and is compatible with other apps. Ledger also offers enterprise-level security, something that not all hardware or software wallets offer.

4. KeepKey

KeepKey is a simple hardware wallet that secures Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Dash, and Namecoin. It claims to protect assets from hackers and thieves. The simple, yet effective hardware wallet is also virus and malware proof as it doesn’t have its own operating system. It is a 100% open source firmware that works flawlessly on PC, Mac, Linux, and Android.

5. NAGA WALLET

NAGA WALLET is a cutting-edge, cryptocurrency wallet that allows users to securely store six of the world’s leading digital assets – BTC, LTC, DASH, BCH, ETH, XRP & NGC – alongside all ERC-20 compatible tokens. The highly versatile wallet is NAGA’s secure solution to the persistent challenges dogging digital asset ownership which serve to impede the mainstream adoption of cryptos. NAGA WALLET users can even send coins and tokens directly to their contacts through their email address!

The NAGA WALLET is also a multi-currency payment gateway, equipped with a multi-factor authentication system, providing users with the highest level of security. A key feature of the NAGA WALLET is its user-friendly interface, which makes it perfect for both beginners and pros of the crypto world.

Once your cryptocurrencies are secured in a reliable wallet, and ample due diligence has been conducted before investing in any token sale, one can breathe easy. And in the end, the key to holding long enough to prosper is to remember that “if anything seems too good to be true, then it probably is”.

The post Important Rules For Protecting and Storing Your Crypto Holdings appeared first on NewsBTC.