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Max Keiser: Bitcoin Will Continue To Dominate The Crypto Market

By
Rebecca Campbell
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Max Keiser: Bitcoin Will Continue To Dominate The Crypto Market
Max Keiser: Bitcoin Will Continue To Dominate The Crypto Market

Even though the value of the cryptocurrency market is steadily rising, Max Keiser, host of Russia Today’s financial program, ‘Keiser Report,’ has advised that sticking with bitcoin is the best course of action to take.

Speaking with RT, Keiser said that bitcoin will continue to dominate the field, pushing the market forward, adding that:

“Fact is, bitcoin is a gift from God to help humanity sort out the mess it has made with its money.”

At the time of publishing, bitcoin is trading at $8,164, with a market cap worth $136.3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Where bitcoin is now follows a series of uncertain months where the digital currency’s value was being impacted by market events, the latest of which was the suspension of the planned SegWit2x upgrade earlier this month. Since then, however, bitcoin has rallied back, reaching a new record of $8,332 on Monday. Increasing its value eight-fold since the beginning of the year, the Keiser Report host believes that it has the potential to reach $100,000; however, when he thinks this will be achieved he doesn’t say. A Keiser Report episode from August shows Keiser saying that bitcoin will eventually be worth a trillion dollars.

Several others have also provided price predictions for bitcoin. Billionaire hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz thinks that the cryptocurrency will reach $10,000 before the end of the year. However, Ronnie Moas, founder of Standpoint Research, is of the opinion that it will hit $14,000 in 2018, given recent Wall Street developments regarding the crypto market.

Of course, when it comes to the rest of the digital currency market Keiser doesn’t have much hope for it. In fact, he said that ninety percent of trading is done within the top 20 coins, which will continue.

“The composition of the top 20 will change less frequently,” he added. “It’s similar to the thousands of stocks that trade on the NYSE and NASDAQ. Over the years, many disappear, new ones are listed. The difference being that with crypto, things move 100 times faster.”

Interestingly, while he claims that trading will remain within the top 20 alt-coins, he’s not a fan of the third most valuable digital currency, bitcoin cash. In his opinion it is plagiarising the idea of bitcoin.

“Bitcoin’s brand is being stolen by a competitor that calls itself bitcoin cash and this is outright fraud in my opinion, just like it’s fraudulent to use Coca-Cola and Nike’s name to sell soft drinks or shoes,” he said.

Despite his claims that bitcoin is here to sort out the fiat system, many in Wall Street don’t share his enthusiasm for it.

In a white paper published last month, UBS wrote that bitcoin was a ‘speculative bubble‘ and that it was unlikely to become a mainstream currency. Whereas, Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO, claims that the cryptocurrency is a ‘speculative‘ investment that thrives because of its anonymous nature. Many would argue, though, that bitcoin is pseudo-anonymous compared to monero or Dash, which offer more anonymity features.

According to Keiser, bitcoin is not a hyper-inflated asset, but thinks that the U.S. dollar is. In September, he was reported as saying that the real bubble was in banking, but not in the cryptocurrency market. More recently, he said that the digital currency has been hyperdeflating due to the fact that its supply is continually decreasing unlike the U.S. dollar.

“The US dollar is an inflating asset,” he stated. “There are trillions more of them every year. The amount I need to buy a Lamborghini keeps going up, not down. It’s garbage.”

At the end of October, Catherine Wood, CEO and CIO of Ark Investment Management, said during a PBS interview with Charlie Rose, that bitcoin had the potential to end up being bigger than Amazon or Apple.

That’s certainly the thinking of Keiser. In fact, he states that those who don’t believe in bitcoin can be compared to Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, who was against Apple in its early days.

“Twenty years later, [Apple’s] approaching a $1 trillion market cap, and nobody talks about Michael Dell anymore,” Keiser said.

Moyee Coffee Aiming To Use Blockchain To Bring Transparency To Coffee Industry

By
Simon Cocking
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Moyee Coffee Aiming To Use Blockchain To Bring Transparency To Coffee Industry
Moyee Coffee Aiming To Use Blockchain To Bring Transparency To Coffee Industry

BLOCKCHAIN PROJECT CAN REVOLUTIONISE THE COFFEE INDUSTRY

Dublin-based coffee innovators, Moyee Coffee, have partnered with bext360 to begin the world’s first coffee blockchain project to bring radical transparency to the coffee industry.

Moyee is the first European coffee company to benefit from the collaboration between Amsterdam’s FairChain Foundation and bext360, a US pioneering developer of technologies that streamlining critical supply chains in emerging economies.

“Blockchain has the potential to turn the global coffee industry on its head,” says Killian Stokes, co-founder of Moyee Coffee in Ireland.  “Our partnership with bext360 makes Moyee the first European coffee maker to introduce fully blockchain-traceable coffee.”

Revolution in Transparency

The bext360 platform gives all stakeholders – farmers, roasters, and consumers – access to data across the entirety of the supply chain. For consumers, bext360 provides unprecedented levels of transparency around origin and quality; and allowing, for the first time, a coffee drinker in Europe to pull up this data and verify exactly where her coffee was sourced.

At the point of collection, the bext360 platform instantly creates crypto tokens, which represent the value of the commodity. As the commodity flows through the entire supply chain, new tokens are automatically created to represent the commodity as its form changes and its value increases.

“Using bext360’s hardware and data, we will be able to pay our farmers the moment they bring their beans to the washing station and customers can follow real-time payments on fairchain.org,” says Moyee, Netherlands founder Guido van Staveren.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bby5BuHhHME/?taken-by=moyeecoffeeirl

The Problem with Coffee

“Coffee production is notoriously complex and involves countless middlemen, each taking a piece of the pie along the way. Coffee farmers and producing economies are always at the short end of the stick,” says Shane Reilly, Moyee Coffee’s other co-founder in Ireland. “Currently, only 2% of the added value of every cup of coffee ends up in the pockets of coffee producers,” he added.

The FairChain Foundation-bext360 collaboration began in early November in Ethiopia. According to the Foundation, blockchain’s transparency will radically reinforce its own value-added activities and FairChain premiums.

From early next year on all Moyee’s coffee will be fully blockchain-traceable from the washing station in Ethiopia to its retail and office customers in Europe. “Roasting in the country of origin enables us to share the added value across the entire chain. This is what sets FairChain apart from every business model in the coffee industry today,” says Reilly. “Blockchain introduces a whole new layer of transparency to this process, making it easier than ever to make sure farmers are paid living wages.”

“This partnership signifies a significant step towards fulfilling our vision of using the most cutting-edge technology to bring consumer and farming communities together to improve product quality, community livelihoods, as well as the consumer coffee experience,” says Daniel Jones, bext360 founder and CEO.

About bext360

bext360 develops technologies that strengthen local businesses and communities in emerging economies by increasing access to capital and streamlining critical supply chains. bext360’s “bext-to-brew” platform revolutionizes the coffee supply chain with IoT, blockchain, machine vision and artificial intelligence while bringing consumers and farming communities together to improve product quality, community livelihoods and the consumer coffee experience. The bext360 technology builds upon the fundamental shift in mobile access, microfinance, and mobile/digital payments in developing countries. A guiding principle of bext360 is to build community by enabling buyers and other organizations with direct paths to improve the quality of both the product and the communities that provide the coffee. For more, please visit www.bext360.com

About FairChain Foundation

Since 2012, the FairChain Foundation has been an outspoken supporter of businesses whose aim is both entrepreneurial competitiveness and social impact. Using its knowledge of raw commodity markets and smallholder communities, the Foundation supports its partners’ ambitions to create living incomes, urban employment, industrialization, investments, and pure, net profits in developing countries that produce the most valuable commodities, be it coffee or cocao, hazlenuts or tea. By creating more added value and paying fair prices to producers in the countries of origin, social enterprises can shift the balance in value chains. In addition to Moyee Coffee, the FairChain Foundation supports Sauce with a Cause, Frank about Tea, Soul Rebels and many more. For more information, see www.fairchain.org

About Moyee Coffee

Moyee is the world’s first FairChain coffee brand. Based in Amsterdam, Addis Ababa and now Dublin, the provocative coffee company is on a mission to transforming global coffee into a radically fairer and more transparent industry. Unprecedented in the coffee industry, all of the value-added aspects of Moyee’s coffee production take place in Ethiopia, including roasting. And because Moyee pays coffee farmers 20% above the market price, they have access to the country’s best coffee. The unique combination of uncompromised coffee and a progressive social and economic agenda is behind the company’s tagline: “Radically good coffee with radical impact”. A cult coffee brand in The Netherlands, Moyee recently introduced its FairChain coffee to Ireland. Further expansion in Europe awaits.

For more information, see www.moyeecoffee.ie

 

John McAfee Interview, ICO Investing, Why Pornhub Is Great For Viruses And Hacken ICO

By
Simon Cocking
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0
John Mcafee Interview, Ico Investing, Why Pornhub Is Great For Viruses And Hacken Ico
John Mcafee Interview, Ico Investing, Why Pornhub Is Great For Viruses And Hacken Ico

Interesting interview by our very own Editor in Chief, Simon Cocking  interviewing IT security legend John McAfee. After some initial internet gremlins John finally appears via his smart phone and talks about why internet security is some important and some key things you can do to protect yourself when you go on line.

The interview features John McAfee and Dmytro Budorin, Hacken CFO and Co-Founder. On Friday, November 24, 2017, Hacken launch a weekend bonus, see blackfriday.hacken.io for video link and details.

Hacken, is an ecosystem for white hat hackers and a bug bounty marketplace with a focus on blockchain security, announces an unprecedented additional bonus weekend inspired by John McAfee. The bonus weekend will start at 04:00 am UTC on Friday, November 24, 2017 and last until 23:59 UTC on Sunday, November 26, 2017.

“Recently, we’ve seen some great customer traction with our token sale. It intensified after John McAfee joined Hacken as our product advisor. Currently Hacken is en route to a successful completion of its token sale, with more than $3.2 million raised in the fiat equivalent. Our team has also completed the development cycle for HackenProof cybersecurity marketplace, our flagship product,” — Hacken Co-Founder Dmytro Budorin said.

The bonus weekend is the culmination of Haken token sale, the extended bonus weekend is in cooperation with John McAfee to accommodate his supporters and fans. Visit hacken.io to buy HKN. Follow us on Twitter or ask your questions via Telegram or on our Facebook page.

The Hacken Ecosystem is a community-based business organization consisting of the HackenProof bug bounty marketplace, Zero-day Remuneration Platform, Hacken Accelerator and Cybersecurity Analytics Center. The Hacken Ecosystem utilizes its own cryptocurrency HKN — a dedicated cryptocurrency for white hat hackers, to incentivize users to interact with its ecosystem. Hacken’s vision is to launch a movement that in several years will become one of the main driving forces deterring and countering international cybercrime.

Why Is It Better To Invest In Ethereum Than Other Cryptocurrencies?

By
CryptoCoin.News
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0
How Can I Use Ethereum? A Brief User’s Guide.
How Can I Use Ethereum? A Brief User’s Guide.

By Mary Ann Callahan

In recent years cryptocurrency has become a new promising trend, captivating enthusiastic investors and venture capitalists. In the world of cryptocurrency, you’ll see a wide variety of players. Bitcoin is the most popular among them. Besides, there are Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, etc. And these are only the most popular ones; there are many more titles. But before we dive further into this article, let us find out what cryptocurrency actually is.

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a digital form of currency which works on the basis of cryptography and serves as a medium for exchange. The platform on which it works secures the transactions in order to confirm the transfer of assets and manage the establishment of extra units. This digital currency is also known as virtual currency.

Bitcoin

The very first decentralized virtual currency was Bitcoin, which was created in the year 2009. Following this, manifold cryptocurrencies came up on the market. They are now known as altcoins, an amalgamation of alternative and Bitcoin. Since its foundation, Bitcoin has seen a drastic growth of price from $0 to over $8,000. Besides, its transaction volume has reached over 300,000 on a daily basis.

Ethereum

Ethereum is the second cryptocurrency on the ladder with a market cap of $34 billion and an ETH to USD rate over $360. It was invented by Vitalik Buterin, the young cryptocurrency genius. Ethereum processes complex programs as well as contracts in addition to the digital transactions, which makes the altcoin very flexible and an ideal tool for the Blockchain network.

However, there was a breach in the system, which is popularly known as The DAO Attack, or Hack, which is a smart contract developed on Ethereum. Owing to this, the developers of Ethereum decided that they will conduct a hard fork irrespective of the mass consent. This gave birth to Ethereum Classic which works wonderfully well.

In addition, Ethereum has multiple clones and also hosts numerous tokens. Undoubtedly, this is the reason why Ethereum is a whole cluster of cryptocurrencies rather than just one coin.

How does Ethereum work?

Ethereum borrows a plenty of its procedure and Blockchain design from Bitcoin. However, it also tweaks this in order to backup the applications besides of supporting money. With the help of Ethereum, the apps do not necessitate one unit to manage and pile up its data.

Ethereum aims to aid developers in creating additional steps, alternative transaction layouts, new ownership regulations, or varied methods to change state in the application or agreements. In fact, “Turing-complete,” the encoding language of Ethereum, assists developers in creating more programs, which can automate and direct particular results in the transactions occurring on the Blockchain. This makes Ethereum a unique cryptocurrency.

How is Ethereum different from Bitcoin?

Should I invest in Ethereum rather that Bitcoin? Why should I put my money in Ethereum? Many investors seek answers to these questions. However, it is not about one cryptocurrency being the best since both of them have different means of working. Nevertheless, we have jotted down a few points in which we compare these topmost cryptocurrencies and tell you which one wins over the other.

Assumption of value

The value of an asset is probably the first and the foremost criterion for investors to focus on. When it comes to speculation, both Ethereum and Bitcoin have dramatically risen in the past years. Bitcoin has seen smaller gains in terms of percentage. However, Bitcoin was launched way prior to Ethereum and its rate has increased gradually since its introduction. Ethereum is relatively young and has seen a major boost in its value over the past 2 years, which is even more than Bitcoin’s in terms of percentage. If to trace the movement of Ethereum price during the last year, it will show a 3000% rise. Looks impressive, doesn’t it?

Like all other cryptocurrencies, the price of Ethereum is connected with the price of Bitcoin. This means that with the rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum will see a slight descend until it stabilizes. However, when Bitcoin rises, Ethereum might either decline or gain a little. These values are rectified within a few hours. Even though Bitcoin is the topmost cryptocurrency at present, Ethereum can soon lead the way, considering its current rise.

Technology

The main difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin is the underlying technology. With respect to this, Ethereum is a sure shot winner with its “Smart contracts,” owing to which it has grabbed many eyes of investors. Ethereum uses a very quick data processing system as compared to Bitcoin. This is because the system of Ethereum automatically puts in the terms and conditions of the program or contract after an agreement. Additionally, Bitcoin has many possibilities of being a decentralized application deficient, which augments the status of Ethereum in this battle.

 

Why Ethereum can rise in value as compared to Bitcoin in future?

Bitcoin touched $8,200 in November 2017 for the first time, and ranges around this value at present. Owing to its quick augmentation over the years, it has enticed numerous investors. However, the escalation is not just about Bitcoin.

The cryptocurrency which is giving a serious competition to Bitcoin in terms of value growth is Ethereum. It took Ethereum as little as one year to considerably soar in its rates. It was just $8 at the commencement of this year and has now reached over $350 in value, irrespective of the recent rectifications.

In the past few years, investors have looked forward to other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin. And, seeing the rise in Ethereum, they have turned towards it, which resulted in a fair share of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Moreover, with more supporters turning to Ethereum these days, the ecosystem and community behind it becomes stronger and stands a good chance to compete with that of Bitcoin.

However, many people have the notion that Ethereum is below Bitcoin since its value is lower. This can, in fact, prove to be really lucrative for prospective investors who want to invest in a cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. The lower value gives more escalation space to the investors. This enhances the chances of Ethereum growing more than Bitcoin in the coming years.

Conclusion

The cryptocurrency market is only set to grow in the future. There’s no looking back. But, when it comes to investing your hard-earned money in cryptocurrency, you wonder which one should it be – whether it should be Ethereum, Bitcoin, or any other digital currency.

We’ve supplied the solution to your dilemma in the aforementioned post. Now, you would have a clear vision in your mind as to why you should opt for Ethereum. You never know – in a few years you might own thousands of dollars just owing to a good investment decision.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Philippines Legalizes Bitcoin

By
Ali Raza
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0
Philippines Legalizes Bitcoin New
Philippines Legalizes Bitcoin

A prominent financial regulator in the Philippines has recently announced that they intend to grant Bitcoin the status of security within the country. According to the Philippines’ Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (PhSEC), the country will from here on out subject Bitcoin to the Securities Regulation Code. The announcement was made just yesterday and signifies some long-awaited movement following a period of consideration and collaboration between both PhSEC and the country’s central bank.

It is likely that the Philippines became inspired to embrace cryptocurrencies, following Japan’s large success after they declared cryptocurrency legal tender.

It was only a matter of time before the Philippian government started addressing the growing popularity of cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs) within the country. A prominent agricultural company in the Philippines, Calata Corp., recently lost its formal stock exchange due to improprieties. Since this event, the firm has launched its own ICO, where investors are rewarded with Calcoins, proportionate to their investment. In the last year alone, ICOs have raked in a total of US$4 billion.

According to commissioner Aquino, ICOs will also be granted security status, meaning that the ICO has to be registered with PhSEC and that each ICO must be compliant with all policies as outlined by the regulatory body.

Bitcoin enthusiasts seemed to welcome the move. While increased policies tend to stifle innovation, it’s a better option than banning cryptocurrencies and ICOs.

PhSEC has been closely monitoring and researching the cryptocurrency and ICO phenomenon for quite some time, according to Aquino. The commissioner stated that while their research proves that Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the two most popular cryptocurrencies, smaller and new altcoins will also enjoy securities status in the country. The commissioner added that they looked towards regulations passed by countries such as the US, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong, to aid them in constructing a regulatory framework.

Aquino continued to add that the PhSEC and the central bank, BSP, will be working closely together. According to the commissioner, there are already five or six companies which are registered and acknowledged by the BSP. However, the registered companies all fall within the financial service-providing sector.

Governor Nestor Espenilla, of BSP, stated that the bank has an open mind when it comes to the world of financial technology. Espenillia continued to add that the bank intends to play an active role in creating a policy framework that is conducive to fintech innovation.  According to the Governor, there are already two cryptocurrency exchange platforms registered with BSP, and other platforms are currently being evaluated.

At the start of 2017, BSP created a regulatory framework for trading platforms to address issues such as money laundering. The bank’s main concerns were to keep the country as liquid as possible. A growing trend in the Bitcoin community is for people to use Bitcoin as a means of international remittances to evade strict capital controls.

According to the Governor, citizens will be allowed to exchange any cryptocurrency into fiat currency.

Earlier this year, the BSP Governor was reported by the Manila Times Online as stating that BSP would regulate two cryptocurrency trading platforms. According to the Governor, the platforms were based in the Philippines but had international options.

Readers Crypto Questions. Using Crypto Wallets, Recovering Them Via Mnemonic Phrases And More

By
Daniel Wood
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Readers Crypto Questions. Using Crypto Wallets, Recovering Them Via Mnemonic Phrases And More
Readers Crypto Questions. Using Crypto Wallets, Recovering Them Via Mnemonic Phrases And More

The editorial team at CryptoCoinNews receives regular feedback on the news stories and analyses published on the site. Ranging from the technical to the curious, we do our best to respond to them.

The recent developments in Bitcoin’s widely-covered scaling issues, beginning with SegWit activation and the Bitcoin Cash fork in August and culminating, for now, in the abortive Segwit2x fork have stirred particular interest in our readership. The most common queries coming to us reflect their concerns about how to “claim” new crypto generated by these forks, and how they might affect regular Bitcoin use.

Here is a selection of these questions (and our responses), beginning with one from Irish pro rugby player Jack Carty:

Q:  I have Coinbase as my wallet for BTC, ETH and LTC, then I am using Bitstamp for my XRP. Do you think it would be wise to go about getting a wallet to store all my cryptos or should it be a decision I should take down the road if I was to continue to invest/hold larger amounts?

Ultimately, it’s a question of weighing convenience against security. The idea of storing crypto online with services like Coinbase may appeal to people because of perceived security (you only need a password and username) and safety.

But even if it’s a couple of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin or a small amount of XRP, you should really consider how badly managed these online services are in terms of customer support, the fees associated with using them, and the risk of them simply disappearing with your money one day. You only need to remember the stories of exchanges like Mt. Gox and BTC-E and how they lost millions of dollars worth of customer assets after building up years of trust and reputation.

Storing coins on third-party services like Coinbase makes you vulnerable to several risks. You are not in control of your funds at all, you cannot choose how you spend them, you cannot set your own fees. You rely on their good faith to honour your withdrawals, to credit you with balances in the event of hard forks, to respond to your issues promptly.

Besides putting you (and only you) in full control of your digital assets, learning to use your own wallet is part of the fun and discovery with crypto. Crypto was built on ideals of liberalisation and decentralisation – ensuring you never needed to trust anyone to manage your wealth and letting you spend and transact the way you want.

Learning to use cryptocurrency with a wallet only you control can seem like a daunting task, but here are a few newbie-friendly ones to try.

1. Waves.
Ignoring all the other features of the Waves platform and that it’s also a cryptocurrency, the Waves wallet supports the major cryptocurrencies mentioned (BTC, ETH and LTC). It is a lightweight Chrome extension with a very simple GUI.

2. Electrum.
Bitcoin is king so if you transact heavily with BTC, you want to manage inputs, you want to decide fees, and you want a wallet that’s lightweight, flexible and even transportable. Electrum is highly recommended.

In the latest version, you can even opt to create SegWit wallets that’ll have you ready for full-blownSegWit implementation next year once sites begin to update software. It has a great (replace by fee) RBF feature that is helpful in times of heavy network load – basically, a full-feature Bitcoin wallet that can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be.

3. Coinomi or Jaxx.
Both Coinomi and Jaxx are good multi-crypto wallets, with support for a wide range of altcoins and tokens. They can both act as a wallet app on your phone, and have friendly user interfaces, letting you keep all your alts including XRP within easy access.

The only shortfall these wallets have is that they’re not fully open source. That’s unlikely to affect most casual users, though.

Q: Simon, as Coinbase is an advocate for the fork and if all goes ahead, do you see Bitcoin fork coins become available on Coinbase for BTC holders?

Coinbase has been a long advocate for Bitcoin Classic… their original founders years ago were the first to take sides in the 3-year “civil war” that they surely felt prematurely ended with the Segwit2x suspension. Their close corporate connections and aggressive threats in the past to throw support behind Bitcoin XT/Classic have made their reputation irreparable within the “core” Bitcoin community.

In the case of Bitcoin Cash, with which Coinbase made a U-turn on their original decision to NOT support, it would seem that Coinbase’s next logical step would be to support it after all, especially since Classic has announced its own end and joined ranks with Bitcoin Cash.

But if the resurrected Segwit2x happens, Coinbase can either give up on Bitcoin Classic aspirations and follow their lead to align with Bitcoin Cash… Or go with the riskier alternative of Segwit2x.

Either decision, they are almost certain to credit BTC holders because their long-term view seems to be to make their chosen fork the “new Bitcoin”.

The best answer for the average Bitcoin user: don’t choose sides. Store your Bitcoin in your own wallet and you’ll also own any and all coins on whichever fork happens.

Q: I have a Jaxx wallet on my phone – how do I back it up in case I lose my phone… what do I need to save etc in the cloud?

Jaxx uses a “mnemonic seed” as its method of recovery, currently a random string of 12 words. This seed is what you have to keep as a back up. If you ever lose your device, you can reinstall Jaxx (or any other wallet that supports mnemonic seed recovery) and simply restore your wallet by entering that seed.

To retrieve your seed from Jaxx, open your wallet, select Backup/Recovery Phrase, check the “Yes, I understand how Jaxx backup works”, and click Next. Your seed will be shown. Click Next to confirm.

To restore, install and open. Instead of choosing to Create a New Wallet, choose Pair/Restore Wallet. Enter your seed (Recovery Phrase) in the exact order with spaces. Click Next and continue set up.

Q: Are 12-word seeds good enough? 12 random words from a public dictionary of only 2,048 words don’t sound very secure.

It’s a lot safer than we can fathom. Here’s the simple maths: 2,048 multiplied by 2,048 11 times is a possibility of 1 in more than 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s 39 zeroes). For perspective, a brute force hacker would need to process 10 billion guesses every second for 1.7 X 1022 years… more than twice the age of our planet.

Image from pixabay here.

 

Under-pressure Tether Alleges $30 Million Loss To Hack

By
Daniel Wood
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0
Under-pressure Tether Alleges $30 Million Loss To Hack
Under-pressure Tether Alleges $30 Million Loss To Hack

The much-maligned cryptocurrency Tether (USDT) now faces fresh criticism after announcing a hack of the Tether Treasury wallet that took place on November 19, leading to a loss of more than $30 million.

The “critical announcement” posted on the Tether website stated that “$30,950,010 USDT was removed from the Tether Treasury wallet on November 19, 2017 and sent to an unauthorized bitcoin address”. It further said that it was in the midst of ongoing investigations and urged all Tether integrators to take preventive steps to “prevent further ecosystem disruption”.

In other words, the hack has essentially taken out of equation one of the larger USDT liquidity injections that happened in November.

Following the announcement, the crypto community has been awash with speculation that this hack could be the precursor to “another Mt. Gox”, referring to how the world’s once-largest Bitcoin exchange was forced to ceased operations amidst allegations of money laundering, with its initial hack claim never fully resolved.

Some have ridiculed the announcement’s plan to mark the stolen USDT tokens as unspendable, since exchanges that support the token already apply some of the strictest anti-money laundering/know your client (AML/KYC) procedures on its users.

Tether is a digital token pegged to the US dollar, allowing users on exchanges supporting it to trade cryptocurrency against the USDT. It was meant to be form of stable currency, offering the ability to store, send and receive 1-to-1 backed digital currency across exchanges, platforms, and wallets.

Tether has come under intense scrutiny since its inception in 2015, drawing consternation from some observers due to its perceived links to major exchanges, its sudden injections of new issuance, and problems with banking institutions. Earlier this year, Wells Fargo locked up some $180 million in Tether-related customer accounts, as USDT’s value continued to fall against the US dollar.

Customer confidence in Tether could not be lower, with allegations that Tether-supporting exchanges are facing insolvency issues linked to the falling value of USDT. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex responded to these allegations on Twitter on the same day as the alleged hack, leading some to wonder if the timing of the hack and announcement were more than coincidence.

Meanwhile, major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum – both recording significant trading volumes against USDT – have fallen about 5% in price since Tether’s announcement.

SpectroCoin Launches IBAN For Users

By
Ali Raza
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0
Spectrocoin Launches Iban For Users
Spectrocoin Launches Iban For Users

The cryptocurrency service provider will now allow users to have IBAN numbers linked to their cryptocurrency accounts.

With Bitcoin’s growth, several cryptocurrency service providers have been looking towards tailoring their services to introduce Bitcoin to the financial mainstream. Several cryptocurrency service providers have provided innovative ways to make Bitcoin to fiat currency conversions quicker and easier, while other introduced cryptocurrency-based debit cards. The cryptocurrency service provider SpectroCoin has recently joined this race when they announced that they will start providing their users with an International Bank Account Number (IBAN).

What makes this move the most surprising perhaps is the fact that the relatively obscure platform, SpectroCoin would decide to take such a big leap in the crypto community. However, the platform has a solid reputation amongst its users. SpectroCoin provides its users with a host of finance solutions tailored to cryptocurrency, including a trading platform, a payment option for retailers, debit cards, as well as a wallet. While this seems like a comprehensive package, there has been ample competition when it comes to this sector.

The need to gain an edge over their competitors could perhaps be what encouraged SpectroCoin to launch their own IBAN service. IBAN is commonplace for any traditional licensed bank, which makes it all the more mysterious on how SpectroCoin gained access to provide their users with this service.

Bank accounts numbers have a host of complicated additional numbers. A modern bank number generally includes a country code, which is succeeded by up to 34 digits, depending on the bank account user’s country of origin. The concept behind IBAN was to create an international standard for bank account numbers, to make international banking more accessible, among other reasons. However, SpectroCoin identified a lacking area in banking solutions in that some individuals can’t even create a bank account due to not having the means or access to banking solutions.

Once a SpectroCoin user is issued with an IBAN number, they can link their cryptocurrency funds to their fiat currency. This feature will enable users to remit payments in Euro from their bank account immediately. Every transaction is also conducted using the user’s own, legal name, which is likely to assuage local authorities. However, it remains unlikely that US users will receive access to this feature.

This service is likely to attract several users, especially those that struggle to access online banking services. SpectroCoin’s IBAN solution could enable users to pay their bills easy and without intervention required from third parties. While it is true that an IBAN feature will make cryptocurrency somewhat more centralized, its convenience to users is undeniable, as it gives the user full access to their bank account. What is perhaps more notable is that the service will also be available to companies and corporations.

SpectroCoin’s latest move has unlocked much debate over the subject. As Bitcoin has entered the spotlight, several services, such as SpectroCoin’s IBAN feature, has significantly undermined the cryptocurrency’s decentralized nature. While the convenience of the service is undeniable to the average user, especially those in countries with often inaccessible banks, it seems unlikely so far that the IBAN feature would be welcomed among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

Bail Bloc Asks You To Mine Monero To Help Free People

By
Daniel Wood
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0
Bail Bloc Asks You To Mine Monero To Help Free People
Bail Bloc Asks You To Mine Monero To Help Free People

Remember Coinhive? That dirty little snippet of code that several major online services including Showtime hid on their websites to secretly mine Monero with users’ computers?

Non-profit initiative The New Inquiry has launched a similar program called Bail Bloc that people can download to do the same thing. That is, to use their computer’s idle processing power to crowd mine Monero, proceeds from which will go towards a good cause: “to post bail for low-income people detained in New York effective immediately”.

It is a partnership initiative with the Bronx Freedom Fund, a charity that works specifically with communities in the residentially segregated neighbourhood of South Bronx in New York, notorious for its poverty and state of urban decay. As jail time often disrupts normal employment for many residents accused of misdemeanours, the fund’s goal is to keep people in their communities and in their jobs while they await trial, by posting their bail money.

According to the Bail Bloc website, every fraction of Monero mined as a result from the collective efforts of users will be converted (sold) to US dollars, of which 100% goes into a bail fund. These funds are “revolving”, meaning that they are returned to their source when people appear for all their court appointments.

As funds are only used for clients of the Bronx Freedom Fund, this results in a high revolving fund rate of 96% and a potential accumulation of the fund.

Bail Bloc Asks You To Mine Monero To Help Free People

As with similar scripts, taking into account the difficulty of mining Monero and the comparatively low computational power of the average home computer, Bail Bloc does not expect individuals to mine very much. However, based on their calculations (which can be tested on the website), it would take about 15 people 5 months to raise enough money to free one person from pre-trial detention.

If successful, the venture could be one of many turning points for Monero’s reputation, often associated with the less savoury elements of cryptocurrency use on dark markets.

The original concept widely introduced by Coinhive is turning into a viable source of alternative revenue for services unable or unwilling to turn to advertising, with crypto faucet sites especially finding significant support from users volunteering to run the script from their web browsers.

Its covert use by popular sites like Showtime and Pirate Bay, however, have meant that most major antivirus and anti-malware software now automatically block scripts running similar processes. As a result, any future initiatives will likely require people to download and execute a program, much like Bail Bloc.

 

 

 

6 Cryptocurrencies You Should Know About (and None Of Them Are Bitcoin)

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6 Cryptocurrencies You Should Know About (and None Of Them Are Bitcoin)
6 Cryptocurrencies You Should Know About (and None Of Them Are Bitcoin)

In the 21st century, money is no longer limited to bills, coins, and credit cards. In fact, some money is truly international, not owned by any particular government, and regulated “by the people” instead of a central entity. It also exists wholly on the internet. This type of money is called cryptocurrency.

You may have heard of or even used Bitcoin, but where Bitcoin used to rule, other cryptocurrencies are now being used. To pay back family members for lunch, charge customers for products and services and make other everyday transactions. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to keep an eye on the most commonly-used cryptocurrencies. Here are six you should know about.

Ethereum

Rather than competing with Bitcoin like many other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum complements it. While the Bitcoin blockchain network tracks ownership of its own currency, the Ethereum blockchain runs programming codes for its users’ applications. People use Ethereum to create custom (but trustworthy) crowdfunding platforms, autonomous online organizations, and even their own cryptocurrencies. Because these applications are decentralized, they can only be built in the Ethereum network.

Though Ether, the network’s money, wasn’t made to be used for everyday payments, anything of value can be traded for products and services; as a result, many developers use it to pay for each other’s help in building applications.

Litecoin

If Bitcoin were gold, Litecoin would be silver. Litecoin works just like its more popular counterpart, but it’s worth a little less. There is 21 million total Bitcoin in existence and 84 million Litecoin. Litecoin is easier to mine and quicker to move from person to person due to its faster block generation. It is perhaps the least intimidating cryptocurrency for those who are new to exchanging money online. Litecoin’s wallet can be downloaded from the official Litecoin website. It’s fully encrypted to prevent accidental spending and computer viruses. This is a super simple network for those who need to move smaller amounts of money fast.

Ripple

While other cryptocurrencies avoid banks, Ripple embraces them. Ripple was made for banks, to allow them to make faster, low-cost, on-demand global payments of any size. Traditional cross-border transactions require banks to go through an intermediary (or often several) delaying completion. Ripple offers a faster more direct alternative. When a bank customer in the US wants to send a payment to a different bank customer in China, Ripple immediately queries both banks for their transaction fees and makes the transfer in a matter of minutes. It even updates both customers’ ledgers right away so they can view their balances following the transaction. This unique cryptocurrency enables banks to offer new and improved payment products, and it simplifies regular transactions for consumers around the world

Dash

Though Dash can be used for transactions between consumers, it was made for shopping. Think of Dash as a replacement for PayPal. Many merchants accept Dash just as they do USD, but the transaction is faster. You don’t have to wait a day or two to see the payment reach your account. Like any other cryptocurrency, you can buy Dash using government-regulated currency and keep it in a designated Dash wallet until you’re ready to spend it at a compatible merchant. You may even consider adding your own business to the merchant map.

Dashing Over Bitcoin, Why Dash Gained 40% In Value, Fernando Gutierrez Explains

Zcash

If you want to maximize your confidentiality, this cryptocurrency is for you. Zcash has been dubbed the first “zero-knowledge” cryptocurrency with its ability to “shield” the identities of all senders, recipients, and values. Each transaction is fully encrypted, so users can enjoy the advantages of a public blockchain without offering up private information. Many view Zcash as a more confidential version of Bitcoin.

Monero

Monero is another excellent cryptocurrency option for those concerned about their privacy. This currency was designed to give individual users full control over their money; with Monero, you are your own bank. Transactions are “selectively transparent,” meaning you decide who can and can’t see where your money is going. Crises faced by banks and governments won’t affect your assets or compromise confidential information. Finally, like many cryptocurrencies, Monero is decentralized and community-built, over thirty developers have directly contributed to Monero so far.

How To Trade Cryptocurrencies

Why are these so important?

If your business doesn’t use any of these cryptocurrencies already, you may want to start incorporating them soon. When it comes to online financial transactions, cryptocurrencies like the ones above have started to give PayPal, Stripe and other payment systems a run for their money.

Cryptocurrency transactions aren’t validated by a central entity, meaning there are no bank or platform fees associated with payments — just minute fees (one percent or less) that speed up the transaction. You also don’t have to wait as long to receive cryptocurrency as you may with traditional money.

A cryptocurrency’s most important feature might be that it’s truly international, no particular government owns or regulates it. This means the transaction works the same wherever in the world you or the other party are located.

Written By Asad Abbass

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