What You Need To Know About The Bitcoin Network Fee
In recent days, the Bitcoin network has experienced a rise in its market capitalization and also has suffer high volume of traffic generated by users in its network due to the number of transactions, resulting in an additional cost of up to $30 each transaction when needed urgently, which makes it similar to the transaction costs that are usually associated with the bank industry; fees that were precisely part of the Bitcoin was trying to avoid. Additionally, those overpriced fees make it impossible for users who wish to send small transactions because they are now too expensive. As of right now, it can be easily observed how this situation has escalated and is now having an impact on Blockchain, especially with Bitcoins. On bitcoinfees.info you can find the average daily cost of the Bitcoin network fee:
(Bitcoin network fee on December 20, 2017, source: bitcoinfees.info)
But: What is the commission of the Bitcoin network?
The Bitcoin network commission, also known as the miner commission, is a transaction fee in Bitcoin that is charged to users when they do transactions with Bitcoin. This commission is collected as a reward to the miners for the maintenance of the Bitcoin network.
You must pay the commission to the network to ensure that your Bitcoin transfers arrive on time. This commission is one of the main tools used to accelerate Bitcoin transactions, which are sometimes slow due to high traffic of users in the Bitcoin network. Generally, the higher the commission, the quicker your transactions will be verified.
For the fastest Bitcoin transfers and exchanges, each transaction requires a blockchain commission. Normally, the commission is low, but sometimes higher fees may be required to complete your transfer or exchange. This article will explain the reason why and how you can avoid high blockchain fees.
But: Why is the Bitcoin network commission so high right now?
Network fees depend on several factors, including network traffic, time for transaction confirmation (affected by liquidity providers), and blockchain size (measured in kilobytes; affected when converting bitcoin from multiple entries as profits of a faucet or other microtransactions).
In other words, you may have to pay blockchain fees higher than normal if:
The Bitcoin network is busy or heavily loaded at the moment. Normally, the commission increases during fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin and important global events.
Your Bitcoin wallet has a history of micro revenues (such as referral bonuses). If your wallet has large amounts of small income, the size of your transaction will be higher since it will consist of many entries.
The larger the size of the transaction, the higher the blockchain commission.
There may be other reasons that cause high blockchain fees, but we have listed the most common ones.
So: Is it possible to lower the commission of the Bitcoin network?
You can make transactions without commission if you do not mind waiting a little bit longer for confirmation. Many wallets allow you to choose the commission, even though they establish one by default. For example, in Bitcoin Core, if you go to preferences you can choose the commission and put 0.00000000 as commission. Multibit, Electrum and Armory also allow you to choose the commission.
To avoid “spam” and the “dust” of the network, most miners discriminate transactions without commission, especially if they are very small amounts. But if you send one Bitcoin with commission 0, you won’t get your transaction confirmed fast enough or never been confirmed.
Exmo, a crypto currency exchange platform, is planning to launch its initial coin offering (ICO) in February 2018.
The project aims to raise $300 million USD to fund the development of the platform and its margin loan scheme.
This piece is an analysis of the facts available about the Exmo ICO sale. It should not be read as offering any advice or a recommendation. ICOs may have quickly become a favourite tool for funding new crypto projects but the ICO can be very high-risk for token purchasers. ICOs currently have an unclear legal and financial status in many jurisdictions.
Additionally, token buyers may find that their purchase does not offer them any security or equity in the start-up or project because the ICO is more like a crowdfunding initiative than a traditional IPO. As such, any investor who plans to buy tokens during any ICO needs to obtain all relevant independent advice and carry out their own appropriate due diligence.
Project overview
Founded in 2013, Exmo is a crypto currency exchange platform where users can trade or exchange their crypto currency for other crypto assets and fiat currency. In 2016, the platform had over 400,000 registered users. The ICO white paper states that daily traffic to the platform is over 70,000 visitors.
According to the white paper, money raised during the ICO will be used primarily to fund the development of the platform’s margin loan scheme. This type of flexible credit allows traders to borrow funds to make investments using their existing assets as security.
The ICO will also be used to cover costs of the platform’s expansion including marketing and technical support. The white paper states that the acquisition of rival crypto exchange platforms is being considered as a possible route for further growth.
Exmo is registered as a company in the United Kingdom.
An ICO pre-sale is scheduled to take place from 21 to 23 February 2018 with a hard cap of 5,000,000 EXO coins available for purchase during this period. The public ICO is due to open on 26 February 2018 and close on 26 March 2018.
The EXO token is a utility token based on the Ethereum blockchain. Holders of the token would be entitled to share in the profits from the margin loans offered by the platform. According to the white paper, 50% of the revenue generated from margin loans would be divided among all token holders as a monthly dividend based on the number of EXO tokens owned by each token holder.
The team
The white paper lists a team of 14 who have experience in business development, marketing, blockchain and smart contracts. Desmond Marshall, founder of Rogue Ventures, is listed as an advisor to the project.
The Exmo crypto exchange platform has been in operation for several years. Its customer base is primarily in Eastern Europe. A margin loan scheme was added to the platform early in 2017. This service was likely introduced to encourage the growth of trading volumes on the Exmo platform.
The white paper
The 43 page document contains information on Exmo’s business proposition, the EXO token and the company’s roadmap. There is also a one pager which offers a shorter summary of this information.
The process for the margin loan scheme and the proposed rates of interest charged are also discussed within the white paper. Exmo is putting aside 5% of the funds obtained during the ICO to set up an insurance fund to minimise the risks of the margin loan scheme. In its roadmap, the company predicts revenues of $800 million USD from the margin loan scheme by 2022.
All of the objectives on the five year roadmap are quite ambitious. These include international expansion and becoming the market leader for crypto currency exchange services. Exmo is also in the process of setting up a Trust Fund in Sweden and has plans to register as an Alternative Investment Fund in the European Union.
These objectives are based on optimistic forecasts for the growth of the trading volumes on the platform. What happens if these scenarios are not realised? It appears that there is an assumption here that a wider adoption of crypto currencies will take place but this is not certain. Crypto may remain a niche and highly speculative space for enthusiasts and experts.
Exmo’s existing platform and customer base may offer a degree of reassurance to potential token holders. However, past performance cannot be said to offer a meaningful guide to the future potential of any crypto project given the volatility of the crypto space.
Website and digital footprint
The Exmo ICO site is separate to the Exmo trading platform. The ICO site contains infographics about the sale and the margin loan scheme. In terms of social media, Exmo has an active presence on Twitter, Facebook, Medium, Reddit and other platforms. For example, its Twitter account regularly tweets content about crypto topics.
Conclusion
Exmo appears to have ambitious plans for its future development and growth. Can all these ambitions be realized? It remains unclear. However, crypto currency exchange platforms and trading are crucial components of the crypto eco system.
10 Great Examples Of How The Un Is Using Blockchain Technology For Social Good
Many United Nations Entities are now Implementing Blockchain Technology. Here are some interesting examples.
In December 2016, Yoshiyuki Yamamoto was appointed as a special advisor at the United Nations, initiating the “UN Blockchain initiative”, an interagency effort to utilize blockchain technology to improve the distribution of aid. The initiative includes cooperation with the UN umbrella of agencies, which focuses on the effective use of philanthropic donations. The UN’s sustainable development goals (SDG) promote humanitarian causes, including ‘no poverty’, ‘zero hunger’, and ‘quality education’, among 14 others.
The current initiatives range from proof of concept, events and workshops to investments and publications. UN Women held a blockchain hackathon event, the UNODC held a cryptocurrency-focused train-the-trainers event, the UNDP used blockchain technology to manage UN car fleets and UNICEF has invested more than $11 million into blockchain start-ups. To help us visualize how blockchain technology can be useful, here are some more detailed examples of how it is already being implemented:
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
UNOPS is the organization that launched the UN Blockchain Initiative. It is the operational arm of the UN and so it aims to bring all other UN agencies together in an effort to synergize knowledge, processes and networks to achieve success with blockchain technology. Those who wish to contribute or ask questions are able to do so online by registering to the UN Blockchain Forum.
UN Women
In June 2017, UN Women partnered with Innovation Norway to hold an event in Oslo- a Blockchain Hackathon. 40+ women from around the world participated in the workshop. In addition to an application called VIPI Cash, an app which promotes entrepreneurship among women and permits for secure financial transactions between them, the women produced several other decentralized applications. Another 48-hour hackathon event was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on December 7th, 2017.
World Food Program (WFP)
The WFP distributed more than $1,000,000 in aid to thousands of Syrian refugees in Zaatari, Jordan. The assignment allowed the refugees to buy food using only the scan of their eye and partnered with Parity, Datarella and Iris Scan technologies. The project, which is called “Building Blocks”, is currently in its ‘Scale Up’ stage, after a successful prototype and pilot stage.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
The UNODC launched a training program as part of a wider investigation framework, which focused on tracing the movement of Bitcoin. The agency worked with law enforcement experts from 22 countries, as well as analytics start-up Chainanalysis.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
The UNDP has experimented with using blockchain technology as a mechanism to manage car fleets deployed in danger zones and developing countries. The agency has also explored the possibility of cryptocurrency as an alternative financing solution to meet its SDG agenda. This exploration has manifested itself in the Alternative Finance Lab, based in Istanbul, Turkey.
UN Childrens` Fund (UNICEF)
The goal of the UNICEF Innovation Fund is to empower and motivate technology start-ups to start thinking of open source solutions that can help solve the problems children all over the world are facing today. The fund has invested over $11 million in blockchain start-ups and funded in-house application prototypes. Aside from these projects, UNICEF is also commencing relevant trainings and knowledge sharing initiatives.
Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA)
While some projects are in the pilot stage and are already being implemented, others are still in the research and publication stage. Vanessa Ko and Andrej Verity published a paper called “Blockchain for the Humanitarian Sector: Future Opportunities”. It details how the blockchain could help with the supply chain, donor financing and provides recommendations for future research.
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
ECLAC released a paper highlighting a very serious problem, which is referred to as de-risking. De-risking is a process that global banks employ when they consider their relationship with a local or regional bank to be “high-risk” partnership. At the time of publication, 12 Caribbean countries have had at least one local bank terminated. This is especially problematic in remote destinations where citizens do not have access to many banking options. The research concluded that while blockchain is a possible solution, the technology is not yet well-enough developed to be viewed as an immediate solution.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
UNCTAD developed the ‘eTrade for all’ app, an application which aims to help people all over the world, particularly in developing countries, start their own online business and benefit from the developments of e-commerce. UNCTAD partnered with Alibaba for this initiative and based the technology on Estonia’s ‘’e-Residency’’ app.
United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT)
In April 2017, the UN/CEFACT published a whitepaper, authored by Virgina Cram Martos, proposing a workshop and business case, which will exemplify how blockchain can facilitate trade and related business within the UN system.
To learn about the other agencies’ involvement in the UN Blockchain Initiative, take a moment to review this presentation and check back in with cryptocoin.news for more articles.
By Michael Edward Naftaliev, who is a writer, entrepreneur, and a business strategy consultant, based in Vienna, Austria. His interests include learning, networking and empowering others. Michael has a bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration, which he obtained from Lauder Business School.
Spectiv Ico Review: Streaming Community-driven Vr Content Across The Blockchain
Virtual Reality (VR) is a cool new technology, hot on the heels of the Districts VR city we reviewed in the very recent past comes a new ICO that offers VR-related services.
Spectiv wants to create a VR ecosystem where members of the community can stream
their VR content, view someone else’s, and enjoy the full sensory experience that enhanced reality can offer, from the comfort of their own living rooms.
This piece is an analysis of the facts available about the Spectiv ICO. It should not be read as offering advice or a recommendation. While ICOs have quickly become a popular tool for funding projects and start-ups, they can also be very high-risk for token purchasers.
Additionally, ICOs currently have an unclear legal and financial status. Token buyers may find that their purchase does not offer them any security or equity because the ICO is closer to a crowdfunding initiative than a traditional IPO. As such, any investor who plans to buy tokens during any ICO needs to obtain all relevant independent advice and carry out their own appropriate due diligence.
Spectiv: The rise of VR across the blockchain
Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Enhanced Reality… What’s in a name, right? Whichever moniker you choose to use, all these concepts refer to the same thing. The illusion of a computer-generated reality that trick our senses into believing we are somewhere else. VR enables the user to access an alternative (‘virtual’) world, or reality and become an avatar of themselves for a little while.
This digital trickery has been around for some decades, but it never really looked, or felt completely right.
The advent of blockchain technology has become the new digital playground for VR evangelists and developers. The very decentralized nature of the technology suits the proposition perfectly, as a worldwide community can produce and view VR content.
Internationally, the VR market growth is expected to reach about $41bn by 2020, so the potential for revenue is remarkable.
Spectiv’s value proposition will place specific emphasis on the community. The platform will enable users in one country to experience what a different set of users elsewhere is seeing. For instance, they may be streaming an event, a visit to a local landmark, or a myriad of other possibilities.
The company’s website presents a core team of twelve people, plus six advisors.
The team’s quoted skillset appears solid and relevant, displaying a mix of financial, entrepeneurial, and technical expertise. There is a nice balance there.
All team members feature a link to their LinkedIn profiles.
Social Media presence and digital footprint
A strong presence on Social Media is usually a good indicator of a company’s popularity, though it is not the only factor that determines success.
Here’s the numbers for Spectiv at the time of writing (December 2017).
Twitter – 2,533 followers
Facebook – 7,580 followers
LinkedIn – 58 followers
Thus far, Spectiv does not have a very significant presence on Social Media, which is somewhat peculiar for an ICO that is primarily involved with media distribution. There is no YouTube channel, for instance, nor Instagram account. These would be key media outlets to promote Spectiv’s business and capabilities.
Such distinct lack of presence on Social Media may be an oversight, but it will play against the ICO’s interests in a very significant way.
Overall, Spectiv has a lot of ground to cover if it’s to catch up with other ICOs in the Social Media stakes at all.
Competition
A few companies are working on the implmentation of blockchain-based VR projects right now. Districts, VARcrypt, and Decentraland to name but a few. Each of these propositions is unique in its own right, but it remains to be seen which, if any, is still standing at the end of the ICO race. VR can be a very ‘cool’ and profitable industry, so it will come down to the individual quality of every offering.
Website quality & layout
An ICO’s website is the first port of call for any potential investors, and if the site isn’t appealing enough, they will move on and forget about your proposition, no matter how good or viable it may be. It is therefore imperative to design a good website, to make a strong and lasting first impression.
Spectiv’s website is secure and rather brief. It essentially contains the Landing Page plus two additional pages. It does have a really neat feature under the VR ALPHA page, which is essentially a gallery showcasing VR content from a number of users. This page shows the potential of what Spectiv can accomplish in time.
A well laid out, informative, comprehensive Whitepaper is a must for any ICO, if they are to be taken seriously. Documentation is sometimes treated as an afterthought, leaving many companies open to some criticism.
Spectiv’s Whitepaper is rather pleasing to look at. It uses a nice color palette and a very elegant and easy to read font, plus a header. The paper shows that a bit of thought and work has been invested on it, which is not always the case for many ICOs.
The concept of what Spectiv offers is well explained, so any potential investors will be well informed of what the ICO is all about.
The paper thankfully avoids excessively technical jargon, which is a very positive thing. Again, many other ICOs may include this believing that it adds to their credibility. While technical information is sometimes necessary, it should be made available to download separately in a tech specs sheet or something like that.
Overall, Spectiv’s Whitepaper ranks as ‘Acceptable’.
Conclusion
Spectiv’s idea is quite neat, and it resembles a sort of YouTube for VR content, powered by blockchain technology.
The concept of creating and sharing VR content from around the world is rather interesting, specially if community members can make a profit out of it. The type of content shared will sometimes be interesting and dull in other occasions. This is the case with any video-sharing apps anyway.
This is an ICO that may very well make it to the top, but it definitely needs to invest time and effort on its Social Media presence.
We will keep an eye on Spectiv’s progress over the next few weeks.
North Korea Suspected Of Implementing Worldwide Cryptocurrency Mining Software
The US Government has accused state-sponsored North Korean hackers of being responsible for the hugely damaging Wannacry ransomware campaign that took place earlier this year.
The US Government has recently announced that North Korea is a prime suspect in the Wannacry ransomware attack campaign which ran rampant earlier this year. The ransomware is considered one of the most damaging attacks of its kind up to date and has pocketed billions from its collective victims.
In a recent article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal and was authored by the US President’s Homeland Security Advisor, Thomas P. Bossert, the US administration under President Donald Trump has officially taken the stance that North Korean hackers are responsible for the Wannacry ransomware attack. In addition, Bossert added that the ransomware campaign was enormously reckless and indicative of the regime whose behavior, according to Bossert, has grown radically more malicious after going unchecked for so long.
The notorious ransomware campaign operated by infiltrating devices that operated using Windows encrypted the devices information, and then demanded a ransomware to be paid in bitcoin by the victim, in order to recover the encrypted files. Experts have estimated that the Wannacry attack affected over 300,000 computers spread over 150 countries all over the world. The attack also targeted major institutions such as digital economic systems, banks, and telecommunications companies. North Korea is also considered the responsible party by Microsoft security experts, who made this determination after using a tool developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
In his opinion piece, Bossert wrote that once a device was infiltrated thousands of computers all over the world in private homes, hospitals, businesses, and homes essentially became useless, as the ransom fee did not necessarily decrypt their devices. Victims were eager to retrieve their valued information, and the hackers completely disregarded their pleas and pocketed their money. Bossert concluded that North Korea is directly responsible for this careless and damaging act.
State-sponsored North Korean hackers have been blamed for an array of cyber attacks in the last year or two, including ransomware campaigns and cryptocurrency exchange hacks. Security experts and researchers all over the world have confirmed that North Korean hackers are directly responsible for the highly damaging attack campaign launched against South Korean cryptocurrency exchange platforms, as well as data theft from the same companies.
What is troubling is that these attacks are not simply malicious, but an essential way for the poverty-stricken country to bypass crippling sanctions imposed on it by world leaders. In addition, these attacks contribute to their warfare strategy, as it has allowed North Korea to infiltrate, harass, and damage devices and its stored information of their enemies in both the West and the East.
Estonian Government Defies Eu Central Bank With World’s First National Ico
The Republic of Estonia’s e-Residency programme, a government initiative that aims allows global citizens to register and run an EU-company online, has announced plans to launch crypto token “estcoin” by launching an initial coin offering (ICO).
e-Residency managing director Kaspar Korjus wrote in an official blog post that explained how the government start up would provide the platform for distributing and trading estcoin globally through a secure digital identity that anyone in the world can apply for. Korjus said:
“From Estonia’s perspective, estcoins were proposed as a way to raise money and support for the development of our digital nation from more people around the world. We would also want to structure the tokens so that they help build our e-resident community and incentivise our own key objective, which is to increase the number of companies started in Estonia through e-Residency.”
Korjus further revealed that several companies were in the process of launching ICOs in Estonia through e-Residency, while various others are planning theirs and are already exploring how to integrate the e-Residency card into their KYC procedure.
He added that “we can provide clearer guidance on how to legally and responsibly launch an ICO within our regulatory environment.”
The idea had originally been suggested in an earlier article in August on the same blog that drew mixed reactions from the international community; support from the crypto sphere and criticism from political and economic institutions.
The European Central Bank’s president Mario Draghi was harsh in his assessment, saying that “no member state can introduce its own currency; the currency of the euro zone is the euro.”
The EU has generally been careful around the subject of crypto currencies, although some moves have been made by national regulators in the region such as that of non-EU member Switzerland to investigate ICOs launched from the country. Last week, EU legislators agreed to be stricter with crypto currency exchanges, as part of efforts to combat money laundering, tax evasion and terrorism financing, a move that will spend the end of anonymous transactions on exchanges and operations.
Estonia itself has not exactly been friendly towards crypto currency but this change of heart opens the door to both amend legislation to support e-resident entrepreneurs when appropriate and to amend legislation to support emerging industries. Should the estcoin ICO truly launch, it will have made a name for itself in crypto history as the first national ICO.
According to management consultancy Deloitte, Estonia has received €14.4m from e-residents in the first three years of the program, a number expected to rise to €1.8b by 2025.
Pm7 Ico Review: Introducing Affiliate Marketing Programs Through The Blockchain
Advertising on the internet is big business. Statistics show that the market volume this year (2017) will reach almost $228bn, and this figure is expected to grow to $335bn by 2020.
That is a big pile of loot, and many companies and entities want to join in the action and get their share.
There are many ways to advertise stuff through the net. Display ads, Google Adwords, Banner Ads, etc. All these have good market reach when they are targeted to the right audience.
But when it comes to rewards-based marketing, the best tool out there is affiliate marketing. In this model, a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer earned by the affiliate’s own marketing campaign.
PM7 is a new ICO, offering a blockchain-based affiliate marketing platform that intends to directly connect creators and innovators with their potential customers.
This piece is an analysis of the facts available about the PM7 ICO. It should not be read as offering advice or a recommendation. While ICOs have quickly become a popular tool for funding projects and start-ups, they can also be very high-risk for token purchasers.
Additionally, ICOs currently have an unclear legal and financial status. Token buyers may find that their purchase does not offer them any security or equity because the ICO is closer to a crowdfunding initiative than a traditional IPO. As such, any investor who plans to buy tokens during any ICO needs to obtain all relevant independent advice and carry out their own appropriate due diligence.
PM7: Connecting innovators with customers across the blockchain
The idea behind the PM7 proposition is the creation of a decentralized marketing platform that enables project creators, innovators, and entrepeneurs to connect directly with their potential customers, thus removing the need for intermediaries such as marketing or advertising agencies.
Blockchain technology allows this direct connectivity.
Payments can be made in BTC, ETH, LTC, and any fiat currencies.
The PM7 token
As with any other ICO, the company will issue its own currency, the PM7 token (PM7), which is based on the ERC-20 standard.
According to the company, “the PM7 tokens perform infrastructure functions and they are the identifier, the unit of measurement of PM7 events, and quantity of PM7 events per month that the backer receives by purchasing events during the ICO.”
Once created, the PM7 tokens will be distributed as follows:
Contributors – 50%
Company – 20%
Advisors and Team – 13.6%
Investors – 15%
Bounty – 1.4%
All unsold tokens will be destroyed at the end of the ICO.
The team
PM7’s website lists 10 people as core team members, plus seven advisors.
The team includes a balanced mix of technical people (blockchain experts, software developers, etc.), and financial staff.
The Advisory Board brings in a lot of additional blockchain & cryptocurrencies expertise. Overall, the team appears solid and well balanced, with the right set of skills to suit this ICO’s objective.
Social Media presence and digital footprint
A strong presence on Social Media is usually a good indicator of a company’s popularity, though it is not the only factor that determines success.
Here’s the numbers for PM7 at the time of writing (December 2017).
Twitter – 984 followers
Facebook – 88 followers
Medium – 148 followers
LinkedIn – n/a followers
Telegram – 138 followers
So far, this ICO’s presence on Social Media appears to be rather poor, but this is common for start-up ICOs. PM7 does have a lot of work to do on the Social Media front over the coming weeks and months.
Competition
There are other ICOs out there offering decentralized affiliate marketing programs. Bitcomo and Hoqu, to name just two.
This means that PM7 will need to better these ICOs’ offering, if it’s to gain a good market share. The first step would be to establish a more solid presence on Social Media, to extend its reach and make its value proposition known.
Other ICOs offering affiliate marketing programs are likely to come into the market also, the pie is bound to become smaller as time goes by.
Website quality & layout
An ICO’s website is the first port of call for any potential investors, and if the site isn’t appealing enough, they will move on and forget about your proposition, no matter how good or viable it may be. It is therefore imperative to design a good website, to make a strong and lasting first impression.
PM7’s website is secure and well designed, with a pleasing color palette and properly laid out information. The language could be improved in a few areas though, such as the FAQ for instance. This sort of problem is very easy to avoid by hiring a proofreader, though the budget may not always be readily available there.
In any case, PM7’s site is easy to navigate and use.
Whitepaper
A well laid out, informative, comprehensive Whitepaper is a must for any ICO, if they are to be taken seriously. Documentation is sometimes treated as an afterthought, leaving many companies open to some criticism.
PM7’s Whitepaper comes in on the brief side, just shy of 30 pages. Though brief, the paper is very informative, providing background information on the ICO’s proposition and concepts, etc.
Once again, the language used throughout the paper is rather poor in places. This detracts from the overall experience, and it is entirely avoidable.
All things considered, the PM7 paper ranks as ‘passable.’
Conclusion
The idea of developing affiliate marketing programs on the blockchain is a rather interesting one. The technology allows for a decentralized implementation of the marketing strategy, potentially connecting innovators & project developers with their customers directly.
This direct connection may play in everyone’s favour, enabling a quicker and more profitable turnaround time for everyone.
We’ll keep a close look on PM7’s proposition and report back on its progress.
Sec Suspends Crypto Co. Trading As Stocks Soar 17,000%
The US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) today has suspended trading of The Crypto Company until midnight January 3rd, as stocks of the Malibu-based company achieved 17,000% appreciation in value over the last three months, almost tripling in the past week.
According to Financial Times report, the SEC had called for the suspension citing concerns over “the accuracy and adequacy of information in the marketplace about, among other things, the compensation paid for promotion of the company, and statements in Commission filings about the plans of the company’s insiders to sell their shares of The Crypto Company’s common stock.”
Little seems to be known about the physical operations of The Crypto Company, which describes itself as a consultancy offering a portfolio of digital assets and technology to cryptocurrency markets, with plans for a “rollout of a full scale, high frequency cryptocurrency trading floor.”
Its stock was traded over the counter, starting at below $0.05 until September, when demand became red hot, with shares hitting a high of $642 earlier this month. The company had been preparing to do a 10:1 stock split when the SEC suspension was announced.
The news will likely remind traders and other markets that the SEC has its eyes fully trained on crypto currency and companies related to them, as more investors and market analysts sound the alarm of an impending crypto bubble burst.
The crypto craze has seemed to lend immediate value to other stocks and companies, with Nasdaq-listed shares of trade finance specialists Longfin gaining a 1,000% gain last week when it announced plans to buy blockchain firm Ziddu.
Representatives of the stock have not responded to press comments.
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Russian Crypto Media Outlet Accuses Ukrainian Security Service Of Unlawful Conduct
The popular Russian crypto news outlet, Forklog, has accused the Ukrainian Security Service of unlawful conduct and harassment during an unwarranted shakedown last week.
Anatoly Kaplan, the owner of the Russian cryptocurrency news outlet, Forklog, has recently stated that his company has been harassed by officials from the Ukrainian Secret Service (SSU). Last week, SSU agents searched both the new outlet’s offices situated in Odessa, as well as Kaplan’s home. According to the SSU official at the time, the search was conducted to investigate a possible affiliation between Forklog, and instances of U.S. citizens committing crimes.
The SSU is a Ukrainian law enforcement agency that focuses on acts associated with counterintelligence as well as terrorist activities. According to Kaplan, the SSU agents stated that they were searching the premises of Forklog as well as Kaplan’s home to investigate a possible connection between US and Ukrainian citizens committing fraud. The SSU also stated that the suspects exchanged bitcoin to the Ukrainian fiat currency, hryvna, using Forklog’s platform. However, since these events, both Kaplan, as well as the Russian media, has accused the search as unwarranted as Forklog does not even have an exchange service. Kaplan has confirmed that Forklog does not have the available software to enable them to do this.
According to Kaplan, SSU officials confiscated his laptop as well as several storage devices during the search. In addition, a particular SSU agent attempted to transfer a portion of Kaplan’s bitcoin holdings to another address. Kaplan added that the agent was halted in this after Kaplan’s lawyer intervened and told the agent that that would be considered robbery and dealt with accordingly. Despite this, the SSU agents continued to take Kaplan’s laptop, and the following day, a large portion of Kaplan’s ethereum funds was transferred to another address.
Kaplan stated that he has decided to make this public, as it illustrates the need to form a friendly relationship between the state and cryptocurrency and its users. The forklog owner added that it’s about ensuring future protection for the entire crypto community, and not about protecting his own interests. Kaplan added that it sent a message to all members of the crypto community, that they’re not safe, not even if you’re a prominent public figure.
According to Kaplan, the company is now engaged in attempting to retrieve the items that were unlawfully taken from him and Forklog offices. The fact that SSU agents attempted to transfer crypto funds seems, at best, an unusual and strange practice. In addition, Kaplan’s lawyer has detected several procedural violations during the search, such as the fact that agents turned off the camera.
Perhaps more alarmingly, Kaplan and his lawyer confirmed that SSU agents routinely conduct unwarranted searches and harassment campaigns against individuals and firms in the tech and blockchain industry. The so-called “Search Season” has been active since 2015, and it involves SSU officials raiding well-known figures in the tech industry.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency-related firms have also fallen victim to Search Season, as the SSU also recently raided the bitcoin firm, Kuna Bitcoin Agency. In this raid, both the Kuna offices, as well as its founder, Michael Chobanian’s, apartment was raided. Kaplan notes that mining farms have also recently registered on the SSU’s radar.
However, Kaplan confirmed that he and his lawyer intend to file charges against the unlawful conduct of the SSU.
Kaplan’s lawyer stated that after taking legal action, they expect all confiscated items to be returned as well as to get a reaction from the SSU and to start a conversation regarding law enforcement’s apparent hostility to the tech department. Kaplan’s lawyer added that this will prove a watershed case for the tech and crypto industry of Ukraine.
CNN looks at three ICOs this week in the energy, bacteria and AML space.
ENVION
One stop shop in modular crypto rigs
Envion purports to be one shop in modular crypto rigs. They have a clear focus on green energy with their main pitch offering cloud/crypto mining kits. These specialized kits deliver renewable energy at almost zero cost according to their white paper. There is no mention, however, if the company has any commercial price agreements in place.
Most investors will look for hard evidence that their green renewable mining kits work which is not apparent. There is also an absence of a rollout program and no mention of physical sites – or if the physical sites might require planning permission. Other possible issues appear to be a lack of experience in these installations. Finally, should they be successful, will the company be able to scale?
Professionally presented ICO
As far as the actual ICO documentation is concerned this is well presented and is well weighted towards crypto and mining. On the negative side, the website offers highly speculative return figures but failed to supply a more detailed financial model.
The whitepaper does not have any SWOT equivalent of any type and there is no mention or evidence of a market analysis, therefore it does not identify the relevant competitors in the market.
Interested parties might invest some time and google on modular mining rigs, cloud crypto mining and ICO crypto mining to see if they can find comparable ventures that could give any potential investors some information and yardsticks to help in a proper evaluation.
Envion has a launch date which runs from the 15th of December through to the 14 of January with a 30% presale bonus scaling back to no bonus by mid-ICO. It has a hard cap of $150,000,000 and while there is no formal soft cap stated, the references noted that if they raise less than $7 million they will spend the funds mainly on business development and will not purchase any equipment.
Heavy on tech, light on rollout
The team appears to be young and energetic, with skillsets weighted towards the crypto world and a bit of emphasis on solar energy as well.
The team appears to lack experience however in the supply chain management and network implementation/maintenance.
Envion has a decent social media presence: Twitter 4407, Facebook 37 284, Instagram 12 100, Telegram 11 951.
Overall there is a good buzz around Envion; but investors need to be aware that while good ideas are valuable, execution and delivery on promises are key.
2. BACTOALARM
BactoAlert – a revolutionary labeling system that detects bacteria.
BactoAlert is a revolutionary new breakthrough in biotechnology and food labeling. It is a simple invention, a food label that detects unacceptable levels of bacteria in food and changes color accordingly. The company claims to be fully patented and linked up with a suitable manufacturer and is ready to hit the global market in a major way.
BactoCoin – Is it a currency or is it a token?
The BactoCoin is not really a currency – in that it might be tradeable in future. The concept seems to provide a token that they can use to get crowdfunding for their innovative patented idea.
Traditional fundraising is not easy, so it would appear the BactoAlarm team has decided to opt for the ICO business model. The ICO seems to be have been done on no budget; there is no mention of a technical team within the structure. This may mean that they have added the ICO attempt at a late stage within their development and don’t fully understand the need for a good solid tech support to be demonstrated.
It is also important to include building a social media buzz around their product. For now, they are taking the Henry Ford approach and believe that their product is strong enough to stand on its own and speak for itself.
A team based heavily in science but not technology.
With this approach, they are polarizing the investment prospects which will make it interesting to see how they do in their new climate. After going through the whitepaper, and the associated materials, it definitely seems like they have been working on their invention for quite a while and have academics involved as well as legitimate manufacturers. This will be a test of pure innovation; how good that innovation is and how well can they convince the public/their audience of its profitability.
Their business plan is not entirely detailed, and there seems to be a lack of heavyweight business acumen to push this one forward, they need to bring a broader base of skills to push their current route.
Important factors – independent verification of the invention.
Key to the success of this project is the strength of innovation. To this end, they advertise their patents and provide insight into current tests and experiments. While this is impressive, a prudent investor would also investigate independent verification for the tests they are running on their invention. Another missing component was a full business plan and the proposed roadmap to profitability.
Once the third party, independent verification can be obtained, this could prove to be an exciting project to invest in but the public verification is key at this stage.
Bacto is running for one week only from the 14th of the December to the 23rd. There is no presale on this one. The token is BTN (Bactocoin) worth 25 CHF (Swiss Francs). There is aim to sell 4 million BTN during this week and aim to raise approximately $90 Million. There seems to be no information on the soft cap as of yet.
3. COINFIRM
Crossover product from crypto to mainstream
This is a rather complicated offering that wishes to bridge the need for better risk and compliance reporting. The pitch is all about compliance and risk management. They are aiming for mass adoption of cryptocurrencies to the mainstream market and are all about “anti money laundering” (AML) and “know your customer” (KYC).
They have a large, well established social media presence: Twitter 2800, Facebook 760 and they have an impressive list of positive articles across crypto and financial media. They have a large team with established names that check out, along with some heavyweight partners.
Managing risk, compliance, and audit
Many companies struggle with regulatory compliance. Coinfirm’s Amlt network focuses on three specific aspects of regulatory compliance, including Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF), and Know Your Customer (KYC).
These regulatory requirements play a crucial role in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries. The Amlt whitepaper explains that these requirements have “been a massive roadblock to their overall mass adoption.”
Platform agnostic working across BTC, Ethereum, and Dash
The compliance product so far is set to work with BitCoin, Ethereum, and Dash and is platform-agnostic. The product definitely appears from everything presented to be legitimate and generating interest, claiming $6 million raised on the first day of its ICO. Whilst it might not promise the quick rich fortunes of some of the edgier ICOs, this is definitely worth examining in detail if you are looking for solid bets.
Amlt ICO runs from 12th December 2017 – 30th of January 2018. 10,000,000 Amlt’s being offered currently at about $40-50 million value. It is an Ethereum based currency with the ratio being 1 AMLT to 0.00003387075 ETH.
