Day: September 3, 2018

A “non-intrusive, effective and efficient” decentralised machine learning platform for the blockchain is helping charities and companies solve complex data problems #SPONSORED

Over 400 cryptocurrencies use the Masternode protocol, the most famous of which perhaps is Dash. Masternodes are a variation on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mining. PoS is when a user keeps coins in their wallet, staking them to help secure the network and generate new coins, accruing long-term interest. With Masternodes, a user must stake a large amount of coins and they receive significant profits long term, in exchange for their Masternode helping to run the network.

Dash is the top X11 cryptocurrency and currently ranked 12th overall with a market cap of USD 1.7 billion. Masternodes in Dash help mix coins to increase anonymity of Dash transactions. A user must lock 1,000 Dash into a node, currently worth USD 209,000 and keep it running perpetually.

The reward is currently 6.94% interest per year for doing this with variation. That comes out to nearly 70 Dash per year of interest or USD 14,600. Clearly, Masternodes can be quite profitable and provide an income.

The caveat is the coins must remain locked up, so the operator of the Masternode can lose significant amounts of money in a bear market and the operator can’t use the funds for anything else.

There are other Masternode cryptocurrencies with far lower barriers for entry. Some of the really cheap ones require less than USD 10 and have interest rates of thousands of percentage per year. Dash alternatives have market caps less than USD 100 million but some of the bigger ones can be quite stable and profitable. For example, Zcoin requires a stake of USD 13,000 and generates nearly 20% interest per year. ZenCash allows Masternodes with an investment as low as USD 800 with 39% interest per year.

Essentially, Masternode cryptos can be an overlooked way of generating significant profits, similar to mining but with less work and more predictability. Interest rates vary a bit but can be counted on long term, while mining rewards with Proof-of-Work (PoW) constantly decline long term.

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Japanese city Tsukuba completes a blockchain-based voting trial and plans to hold more of them

In the world of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, trading strategies play an integral role in the process. Even though there are numerous ways to make or lose money in quick succession, some of the common strategies tend to yield the most positive results in the long run. The following strategies are ranked in terms of popularity, with the latter one appearing to be the most popular strategy to follow.

#4 Position Trading

There is some confusion as to whether or not one can effectively consider position trading as an actual strategy in the first place. Since it seemingly mainly relies on buying and holding until an opportunity presents itself, it is often considered to be the most “boring” option of this entire list. That doesn’t mean position traders cannot make good money by executing their strategy to perfection.

This type of trading can lend itself to both novice and experienced traders alike. It remains to be seen how all of this will play out when dipping one’s toes in position trading, as it will require a lot of patience, knowledge, and luck alike. Especially when it comes to Bitcoin, position trading can be a wait-and-see game more often than not, but it still remains a more than valid option regardless.

#3 Swing Trading

Trends are ever present in the world of cryptocurrencies. Not all trends will make sense, but there is a gap in between different price trends where massive volatility can occur. Those traders seeking out those exact spells of changing momentum can make a lot of money quickly, although swing trades can still take over a full day to be executed.

#2 Scalping

For those seeking to make quick money with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, scalping can be a more than valid approach first and foremost. It is very commonly used among active traders, which revolves around exploiting every little opportunity or price gap. As the spread between bid and sell orders tends to spread on a regular basis, it is evident this method can help one make a lot of money.

Moreover, it is important to note that scalping does not require large orders whatsoever. Instead, it can be done by taking advantage of very small moves which occur on a frequent basis. Scalping requires a lot of attention and patience to be even remotely successful, a 0% trading fee on an exchange is definitely a must if you decide to go this route.

#1 Day Trading

One of the more accessible forms of exploiting cryptocurrency market momentum comes in the form of day trading. It is something most traditional financial markets do not allow, even though things are a bit different where Bitcoin and altcoins are concerned. Buying and selling within the same day is the main name of the game, and it can occur several times per day as well.

Day trading can also be extremely dangerous, if emotions come into play it is an easy way to lose one’s bag. If you are going to day trade get ready for one hell of a ride.

What is your favorite trading strategy? Let us know in the comment section!

Former Estonian prime minister Taavi Rõivas is joining cryptocurrency startup Lympo as the chairman of its supervisory board.

FOMO Moments

Markets have pulled back a little; Dogecoin, Monero, Holo still climbing.

A minor correction has occurred on Monday as markets declined a little following their weekend gains. Total market capitalization did not make it to $240 billion and dropped back closer to $235 billion.

Bitcoin has failed to climb any further and is trading at exactly the same level today as yesterday, $7,250. Trade volume has dropped almost a billion dollars in 24 hours indicating that the bulls could be tiring. Ethereum has already begun to fall back again and is very weak at the moment trading at just below $290, down 1% on the day.

Altcoins are slightly in the red falling back just a little from weekend levels. The top ten is showing very little movement aside from Monero which has surpassed Iota by market cap and is trading 4% higher at $123 at the moment. The rest are just a percent or two off yesterday’s prices.

The biggest mover in the top twenty is Ethereum Classic which has made 6.7% on the day to trade just over $14. VeChain is also up 4.5% but the rest are pretty flat, Iota has dropped out of the top ten losing a further 2% on the day to $0.70.

Dogecoin continues to head upwards with another gain of 13% today to $0.0053 or 74 satoshis. Over the past week DOGE has made an impressive 120% as trade volume jumped just $2 million to over $85 million per day. On the day though volume has halved indicating that this could be the end of the doggie run. There is a planned test of the Dogethereum bridge this week where a demo will be streamed live on YouTube. This enabling of Dogecoin on the Ethereum network still appears to be driving momentum making DOGE one of the top performing altcoins of the day.

Also performing well in the top one hundred is Holo which has pumped back up again by 52% today followed by Pundi X jumping 15%. Suffering at the red end is TaTaTu dumping 14% on the day.

Total crypto market capitalization has fallen back a little today, dropping less than one percent to $236 billion. Trade volume however has declined from $14 billion to $11 billion which is a possible sign of this rally coming to an end. Crypto markets have had a good weekend with an 8.7% gain which equates to around $20 billion. On the month however they are still down 10% and the long term down trend is still intact.

More on Dogecoin can be found here: http://dogecoin.com/

FOMO Moments is a section that takes a daily look at the top 30 altcoins during the current trading session and analyses the best performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.

The post Cryptocurrency Market Update: Another Good Day For Dogecoin appeared first on NewsBTC.

New Zealand programmer Phil Wilson has claimed to be part of the team comprising Satoshi Nakamoto, alongside Craig Wright and Dave Kleinman. Despite Wilson writing a detailed origin story of Bitcoin, former Bitcoin developer Wright has publicly denounced these claims as a fraud.

Wright has already come out publicly and claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, going as far as meeting with Bitcoin Foundation Founder Gavin Andresen, and proving his claims by signing a message with one of Satoshi’s private keys. However, the Bitcoin community has largely not been convinced, especially since the signed message was never shared publicly.

More evidence comes from a court case in Florida involving the estate of Kleinman versus Wright. In the case there is a plethora of evidence indicating that Kleinman and Wright invented Bitcoin and then mined 1.1 million Bitcoins together.

Now, Wilson is saying he worked with the two and claims it was his project that ultimately turned into Bitcoin. According to him, the duo were developing electronic cash and it wasn’t successful. Wilson created the Bitcoin project, which Wright and Kleinman joined later, to collectively be known as Satoshi Nakamoto.

Wilson asserts that he deleted all evidence that he was Satoshi to avoid government prosecution and there is no way for him to prove that his story is true. Wright says Wilson is a fraudster, scammer, extortionist, and he is a ‘scam-toshi’, and had no involvement in Bitcoin’s development.

Further, Wright says hard drives were stolen in 2015 containing info about Bitcoin’s early development, and Wilson obtained this stolen data. Wright says “easter eggs” of incorrect information were kept in the hard drives just in case they were stolen, and Wilson’s story includes critical mistakes due to these easter eggs.

It doesn’t really matter what’s true and what’s false, since Bitcoin is decentralized, and the only thing that matters is that it was created and it is functioning.

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It would appear most cryptocurrency have begun showing signs of recovery in the past few years. This may very well signal a brand new bull run which affects both Bitcoin and the numerous altcoins on the market. The Ethereum Classic price is noting some solid gains right now, primarily because it is gaining a lot more traction in the financial sector.

Ethereum Classic Price Rise has Merit

Ever since Ethereum Classic hard forked from Ethereum, there have been some questions as to whether or not the project would succeed. While some speculators will always doubt ETC should even exist, it is evident the rest of the world is warming up to the idea. These recent developments result in the current Ethereum Classic price increase of 6.15%,

Even though Ethereum Classic has seemingly been subject to pumps and dumps, it appears this latest price development is pure organic growth. More specifically, the altcoin is gaining a lot of traction in the financial sector all of a sudden. Not just one, but two major announcements have been made in the past few days. These changes will expose both consumers and institutional investors to Ethereum Classic and everything else the ecosystem has to offer.

First of all, there is the news surrounding Balance. This financial firm announced a new offline storage and digital asset management solution. It will encompass the top cryptocurrencies, and Ethereum Classic is counted among the assets to be supported from day one. This is another example of how the popularity of cryptocurrencies should not be underestimated whatsoever.

Secondly, it appears Kingdom Trust is making some big moves. The company is launching a Lloyds of London-insured custody platforms for select digital currencies and assets. Ethereum Classic is one of the currencies supported out of the gate. This further confirms the altcoin is on a lot of people’s radar as of right now. Both of these recent developments bring a lot more legitimacy to ETC as a whole.

In light of these major tidbits of news, it is not surprising to see the Ethereum Classic price rise accordingly. The current 6.15% gain pushes the ETC value above $14 again, although it may very well surpass $15 before the day is over. This uptrend is aided by a strong ETC trading volume of $214.19m, which is a lot higher compared to most other altcoins on the market today.

How all of these developments will impact the long-term Ethereum Classic price, is difficult to predict. More exposure usually results in more interest, but it can also trigger an increase in overall volatility. That is not necessarily a bad thing either, albeit it is too early to make any real price predictions in this regard. Everything is seemingly coming together for Ethereum Classic, which is a bullish sign for the overall cryptocurrency industry as well.

Internet search giant Google is providing a Big Data window into ethereum after adding the network to its analytics platform BigQuery.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tend to attract a lot of attention. Not all of this attention is positive, and financial experts often condemn Bitcoin for having no real value or future. The following list of individuals is ranked by their “clout” in the world, even though virtually all of these opinions will fall on deaf ears in the end.

#4 Themis Trading Group

This particular group has not been too involved in voicing opinions on Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies. That suddenly came to change a few days prior to CME Group launching its Bitcoin futures. As there is no official template or regulation for such investment vehicles, it seems the financial firm was convinced CME Group “caved in to client demand.” Moreover, Themis Trading LLC claimed Bitcoin was an instrument subject to plenty of fraud and manipulation.

#3 Severin Cabannes

In the financial world, most service providers tend to not look beyond the traditional financial offerings. Given the lack of regulation surrounding Bitcoin in the US and other countries, that is not entirely surprising either. Severin Cabannes, the deputy CEO at Society Generale SA, is one of the people in the “Bitcoin is in a bubble” camp.

In a way, that statement was not entirely incorrect either. Late last year and early 2018 generate unsustainable values for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. With all prices crashing down in spectacular fashion, it would appear any bubble concerns regarding Bitcoin have evaporated. That doesn’t mean there will be no further price increases or new all-time highs.

#2 Tidjane Thiam

Similar to Cabannes, Tidjane Thiam holds a high position at Credit Suisse Group AG. One does not become a major financial group’s CEO by taking unnecessary risks or jumping on every single bandwagon as the opportunity presents itself. Even so, claiming Bitcoin is only designed to “make money” and nothing else is rather shortsighted first and foremost. There are numerous use cases for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth exploring.

#1 Jamie Dimon

Everyone has heard the comments uttered by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon over the past 18 months. He was one of the first to claim Bitcoin is a major bubble, although that was the least offense of his comments to date. In further interviews and presentations, Dimon went as far as calling Bitcoin owners “stupid” and how the government would “eventually crush this scheme.”

While those comments seem to be on the bitter side of the spectrum, they also highlight a clear lack of understanding how Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies work. That is not uncommon in the world of finance these days, unfortunately, although it remains doubtful any positive changes will be made in this regard moving forward. As JPMorgan & Chase postponed its Bitcoin trading desk plans, it seems unlikely the bank will ever revert its stance on this new form of money.

Do you think these financial moguls are correct? Is Bitcoin heading into oblivion? Let us know by leaving a comment!

Is it time to rethink private blockchains? The World Bank’s “blockchain bond” success has reinvigorated that question.

Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) intends to introduce tracking software for cryptocurrency transactions as it strives to curb the use of cryptos in illegal transactions, a local media outlet recently reported. The software was necessitated by increased instances of crypto use in illicit transactions in what has become one of Bitcoin’s largest markets globally. According to the report, the installation process has already kicked off in the major police stations, with the software being intended to be applied fully by 2019.

Reducing Crypto Crime

The report by the Tokyo-based public broadcaster NHK indicates that the NPA will finally be able to keep an eye on all the crypto transactions, extract the required data and carry out related investigations. The agency will also be able to take note of any suspicious activity or errors made and educate users on the practical ways of reducing those errors. The project was fueled by the ever-increasing challenges that the police face in regards to blockchain transactions. For instance, in March, the agency released a report indicating that more than $6.2 million worth of cryptos was stolen from Japanese users’ wallet accounts in 2017. In January this year, another hack was also reported in which $520 million worth of cryptos was lost in the year’s biggest hack yet.

The software which will be used for the tracking is still under development, a task which has been designated to an anonymous private company. The tracking software installation project is reportedly quite costly, with the NPA funding the process. The estimated budget for the project stands at $315,000 (35 million Yen).

As one of the countries with an already established cryptocurrency industry, Japan has been looking for effective ways of making transactions secure and safe. In June this year, Japanese financial authorities asked for implementation of crypto regulations to establish order in the thriving crypto exchange industry. Recently, the country’s Financial Services Agency urged the industry to implement the laid out regulation and to work with the regulator to push the industry ahead. Recognizing the mammoth task that lays ahead in regulating the nascent industry, the FSA suggested an inter-state and inter-industrial body that would strategize on the way forward for the industry.

Having been one of the easiest-going countries for crypto trading, Japan took a sharp turn after the hacking of Coinceck crypto exchange in which $520 million worth of NEM tokens was lost. It has since then cracked down on exchanges and enforced tough regulatory measures meant to prevent another hack. This has led to the closing of a number of exchanges which could not keep up while others like Binance have relocated to other destinations.

In August, Trend Micro, a leading security software company in Tokyo, discovered a Bitcoin ATM malware that was reportedly on sale in the online black market. According to the company, the malware even comes with after-sales support for the buyer and can be used to steal over $6,500 from a Bitcoin ATM.

Meanwhile, the financial monitoring service in Russia is also implementing similar tracking software to minimize terrorist financing risks in the country. Russia is one of the states that insist that cryptocurrency transactions must only be done under close monitoring by government institutions. The proposed system is expected to be complete before the end of this year and it will be used as a central network to connect financial databases. The project, which is estimated to cost around 200 million rubles -nearly 3 million dollars- will go a long way in making the Russian crypto space safer.