INVESTORS3
Home Blog Page 656

Can Blockchain Solve India’s Land Rights Corruption?

By
Daniel Wood
-
0
Can Blockchain Solve India’s Land Rights Corruption?
Can Blockchain Solve India’s Land Rights Corruption?

India’s state of Andhra Pradesh has partnered up with Sweden-based startup ChromaWay to work on a blockchain-based solution to tackle a growing problem with land ownership corruption.

The battle to claim land in India in the wake of rising real estate values has become an increasingly dirty business in a country that ranks 76 out of 176 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2016.

Politicians, social rights activists and economists all agree that the real estate sector is one of India’s biggest offenders, with bribery, corruption and even violent intimidation all contributing to vast amounts of illegal money exchanging hands.

Delhi-based Liberty Institute reported in 2012 that all the land transactions, including those related to natural resources like mining, generate $20bn (£12.54bn) to $40bn of illegal revenue each year – about 2 per cent of India’s GDP.

The local government in Andhra Pradesh, India’s tenth largest state by population, has now turned to blockchain technology as a possible means of addressing the prevalent corruption in the current system. It believes that by storing encrypted data in vast, tamper-proof groupings through distributed ledger technology, it can be maintained across a network of computers without any central authority to oversee it.

J.A. Chowdary, special chief secretary and IT advisor to the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh told CNBC that some $700 million in bribes are paid each year at land registrars across the country, leading to title disputes in court.

Land-related court settlements currently take up two-thirds of civil cases in India and can take as long as 30 years to clear, costing thousands of dollars.

The pilot blockchain project will be based on ChromaWay’s “Postchain” platform to include features from India’s traditional land registry database alongside new architecture combining blockchain with database.

“ChromaWay have made a registry that is transparent, resilient and secure, but also the traditional database features necessary for a registry,” said ChromaWay CEO Henrik Hjelte as reported by CNBC.

The Swedish tech firm has already piloted a blockchain project in Sweden, focussing on real estate buying and selling.

First Exchange Traded Product For Ethereum, Coinshares Launches Ether Tracking, Exchange Traded Notes On Stockholm Nasdaq

By
Simon Cocking
-
0
First Exchange Traded Product For Ethereum, Coinshares Launches Ether Tracking, Exchange Traded Notes On Stockholm Nasdaq
First Exchange Traded Product For Ethereum, Coinshares Launches Ether Tracking, Exchange Traded Notes On Stockholm Nasdaq

Investors seeking exposure to the price movement of ether, the native token of the Ethereum platform, just got a new, but familiar option: two Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) which track the price of Ether – Ether Tracker One (COINETH:SS) and Ether Tracker Euro (COINETHE:SS).

XBT Provider by CoinShares, the issuer behind the world’s first bitcoin ETNs, is announcing that the first Ether ETNs are now available for trading on Nasdaq Stockholm.

“The listing of these two Ether ETNs is a major win for European investors who have been requesting these products for over a year now. As of today, if investors want hassle-free exposure to the price movements of ether, they simply call their broker or trade on their normal brokerage platform – that’s truly remarkable. We are thrilled to be able to deliver on investor demand via a safe, familiar route in Nasdaq,” says Laurent Kssis MD of XBT Provider by CoinShares.

The two ETNs, COINETH and COINETHE are denominated in SEK and EUR respectively. In similar fashion to the group’s bitcoin ETNs, the ether ETNs are structured to track the price of ether, as determined by an index rate comprising the average of the 3 most liquid of a select group of exchanges, daily. The ETNs are traded during normal market hours on Nasdaq Stockholm.

“We are happy to be able to provide investors with this new investment opportunity. Given the high interest we have experienced for the previous listings from XBT Provider it is exciting to now expand the offering into this unique exchange traded certificate. While it is important to acknowledge that exposure to an asset in its early stage of development, such as a digital currency, comes with a risk, trading Ether on Nasdaq Stockholm provides investors with the protection provided by a regulated infrastructure, well-known marketplace and accessibility through their ordinary brokers,” says Helena Wedin, head of ETP Services Europe at Nasdaq.

This is the second major crypto-asset ETN Nasdaq has listed for the CoinShares group, noteworthy as this listing makes Nasdaq Stockholm the only European exchange to offer investors exposure to two of the leading crypto-assets (bitcoin and ether) in a familiar structure.

“Today is a historical moment for Ethereum and ether as an asset; and for the future of crypto-assets. It was a little over two years ago that the bitcoin ETNs began trading – offering investors exposure to bitcoin via an established exchange for the first time. Today, we are able to bring ether to the market and mark another major first. It is important to remember how far and how fast the space has matured in the less than 8 years since this revolution began,” says Ryan Radloff, Co-Principal at CoinShares.

CoinShares, which has been called the ‘iShares® equivalent for Crypto-finance,’ now represents six professional grade crypto-investment vehicles, all of which are pioneering products in their category. With the addition of ether to the platform, CoinShares represents the most diverse investment product line-up available in professional crypto-finance; and notably, the only way for European investors to add ether to their portfolio via an established exchange.

“We’ve stated before that as a group, CoinShares is committed to delivering world-class research and professional-grade access to crypto-assets. Today marks a critical step in delivering on that mission. This launch is the result of a tremendous amount of hard-work from the CoinShares team, key partners and our counterparts at Nasdaq. We could not be more proud to bring this latest set of pioneering product to the market,” says Daniel Masters, Co-Principal at CoinShares.

Abu Dhabi Announces Regulatory Guidelines For ICOs

By
Ali Raza
-
0
Abu Dhabi Announces Regulatory Guidelines For Icos
Abu Dhabi Announces Regulatory Guidelines For Icos

By Ali Reza

The country’s financial regulation authorities recently released guidelines for ICO investors.

Regulating bodies based in Abu Dhabi recently announced that they will start regulating initial coin offerings (ICOs). This announcement follows many warnings that financial authorities have released in regards to the risks involved in investing in ICOs.

ICOs work on a similar principle as crowdfunding but uses digital money. Essentially an ICO operates as a start-up, in order to raise money, they issue a new cryptocoin an in return, investors pay in bitcoin or ethereum. According to coinschedule.com, in 2017 start-ups have collectively raised $2.4 billion from ICOs alone.

Earlier this week, the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), made guidelines available to the public which pertained to ICOs and cryptocurrencies.

These guidelines stated that once an ICO has security characteristics, such as giving the investor shares in a company, it will fall under FSRA regulation.

The head of fintech strategy at FSRA, Christopher Kiew-Smith, stated that the ICO market offers investors a lot of diversity, but many ICOs also has a risk investment risk. Risky ICOs involve those who do not provide disclosures or financial statements and could be damaging for investors seeking a return.

According to Kiew-Smith, the FSRA is currently collaborating with firms who wish to implement ICO technology to generate funds transparently.

Under the guidelines stipulated by the FSRA, companies who wish to create an ICO must approach the FSRA before the FSRA will consider including it in their regulation. In addition, companies will be required to publish a prospectus. The process will work similarly to the process a firm has to undergo to create an initial public offering (IPO) when selling stocks.

Any secondary market operators who deal with ICOs must first be approved by the FSRA.

However, some ICOs will remain unregulated. Any investor who intends to invest in an unregulated ICO has been warned to exercise extreme caution when it comes to unregulated ICOs.

According to the FSRA guidelines, the risk of fraud and a loss of capital are significantly higher when investing in a non-regulated ICO. The risk increases when the token issuer promises a high return on investment.

The FSRA also stated that cryptocurrencies are not considered legal tender within Abu Dhabi, but are considered commodities instead. In this way, cryptocurrencies can be compared to previous metals or fuels.

Despite the increased warnings and regulations, Abu Dhabi appears to be committed to finding a middle ground between allowing investment and innovation and doing so safely.

Concerns regarding ICOs have risen amongst regulating bodies across the world. Dubai recently issued warnings regarding the dangers of investing in ICOs. China has banned ICOs and domestic cryptocurrency activity outright. While Japan has declared cryptocurrencies to be legal tender, they still have not released their official standing in regards to ICOs.

According to the FSRA, they are currently engaged in talks with the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) to collaborate on bitcoin regulation. Abu Dhabi authorities have stated outright that they have not ruled out the possibility of bringing cryptocurrencies under their national regulatory bodies.

According to the executive director of capital markets at the FSRA, Wai Lum Qwok, the FSRA has experienced several challenges in regulating something which is decentralized in nature. To address this, the FSRA has established a fintech department and sought contact with the Japanese FSA in order to learn from their regulating policies, and perhaps implement these into their own policies.

Despite ICOs many critics, the FSRA believed that when efficiently regulated, ICOs can be an innovative and transparent way in which to generate funds.

Title image from pixabay here.

Russian Central Bank Gets Presidential Rap For Opposing Crypto

By
Daniel Wood
-
0
Russian Central Bank Gets Presidential Rap For Opposing Crypto
Russian Central Bank Gets Presidential Rap For Opposing Crypto

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has been told by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin not to “build up unnecessary barriers” for new technologies. Putin said this at a meeting called on Tuesday to discuss the use of digital technologies in finance and the use of “innovative financial tools” such as cryptocurrency.

No direct references were made to an earlier statement from CBR first deputy governor Sergei Shvetkov that claimed Russia would move to block its citizens from accessing cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms. However, CBR may be more than embarrassed by the chiding, having displayed less-than-friendly attitudes towards cryptocurrency in the past, calling Bitcoin a “financial pyramid that may collapse at any moment”.

“Modern technologies in the banking sphere definitely open new opportunities for organizations and citizens, make business activity and daily life more convenient also. Virtual [currencies] or cryptocurrencies are becoming and have already become more popular. They have already become or are turning into a full-fledged payment instrument and an investment asset in certain countries,” Putin said.

The Russian head of state urged the country to use the advantages provided by new technology solutions, creating conditions for further growth and improvement instead of making extra barriers.

The meeting was attended by top regulators including the finance minister, central bank governor and the CEO of Russian payment service provider Qiwi. It was also partially open to media.

Russian news agency Tass reported today that the meeting discussed issues related to compliance with anti-money laundering legislation and complications related to identification. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed that it was agreed at the meeting that the Russian state should “control the process of cryptocurrency emission and its circulation”.

Curiously, other news agencies appear to be publishing articles with contradictory tones, such as the Reuters article which claims Putin has “turned cold” on crypto.

Genesis Mining Partially Acquires Hive, Gains Listing On Canadian TSX

By
Daniel Wood
-
0
Genesis Mining Partially Acquires Hive, Gains Listing On Canadian Tsx
Genesis Mining Partially Acquires Hive, Gains Listing On Canadian Tsx

Cloud mining company Genesis Mining Ltd. is effectively listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), after having reached agreement acquire to a major portion of Canadian tech firm HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (Hive).

In a press release on October 10, Hive announced a firm investment deal worth CAD 7 million from Genesis Mining, through the purchase of 4,666,667 Hive shares at CAD 1.50 each. The acquisition, which began earlier in the year, is expected to be completed today through a non-brokered private placement.

The deal will see both firms share exclusive arrangement on blockchain mining cashflows and rights. Hive CEO and President Harry Pokrandt remarked on the potential development made possible by the financial investment from Genesis as it would bring on board the significant hashpower already at its disposal.

Harry Pokrandt, President, CEO and a Director at HIVE said: “Genesis shares our vision to rapidly develop HIVE into a major player in the cryptocurrency mining space, leveraging traditional capital markets.We strongly believe in the success of HIVE and think there is a lot of growth potential from where we are now,” commented Marco Streng, Co-Founder of Genesis Group.

Genesis Group Co-Founder Marco Streng added: “We strongly believe in the success of HIVE and think there is a lot of growth potential from where we are now.

Genesis customers (who number more than 1 million according to the company) will be watching developments with interest, particularly following cashflow problems faced by some customers as recently as July and August this year, prompting aggrieved users to take to the bitcointalk forum, threatening legal action.

Genesis Mining came to prominence as one of the earliest firms to introduce the concept of cloud mining, in which cryptocurrency is mined using a remote data center with shared processing power. It offered customers “mining” contracts that allowed them to purchase hashpower to mine cryptocurrency, leaving hardware management entirely to the company.

However, cloud mining has been grappling with a poor reputation among the crypto community. With volatile returns based on Bitcoin difficulty and market value, customers face potentially long periods of months before being able to recoup initial investments, often having their contracts terminate before they recover initial capital.

 

 

 

Kickstarting Blockchain Fundraising Revolution, KICKICO Helps Funding Ideas Through Cryptocurrencies

By
Fernando Sanchez
-
0
Kickstarting Blockchain Fundraising Revolution, Kickico Helps Funding Ideas Through Cryptocurrencies
Kickstarting Blockchain Fundraising Revolution, Kickico Helps Funding Ideas Through Cryptocurrencies

You’ll find boredom where there is an absence of a good idea, some say. Ideas usually go hand in hand with creativity, and while some creative projects require little more than an idea and a computer screen, others call for the investment of large amounts of cash.

Cost is to a good idea what the iceberg was to the Titanic. A huge obstacle standing in the way of history.

One cannot circumvent the issue of cost, so unless you were born with a silver creative spoon, you’d want to work hard on raising the money you need to make your own history.

One way to raise money for your project is crowdfunding, an activity which became popular towards the end of the first decade of the 2000s.

While – somewhat ironically- a good idea in itself, crowdfunding was always marred by controversy due to its very nature of raising funds for an often vague purpose. Initially envisioned to become a fundraising avenue for small projects and individuals, it soon fell prey to larger corporations with a lot of marketing clout, thus defeating its original vision. Crowdfunding became further tainted by fraudulent activity, excessive fees, and restrictive regulations, which meant that as much as 80-90% of crowdfunding efforts failed, in many cases leaving backers big time out of pocket.

The rise of cryptocurrencies has infused crowdfunding with a new lease of life, as the decentralization principle jettisons dependency on a single platform. The advent of blockchain heralds a new era in crowdfunding history, with KICKICO offering an interesting opportunity.

Crowdfunding, KICKICO style

Making history is never easy, is it? One must do something pretty big (for the good, or for the bad) to make one’s entry into the books.

KICKICO is an online, blockchain technology-based crowdfunding platform that provides its users with online fundraising tools that operate through decentralized blockchain technology and Ethereum-based Smart Contracts, which removes the need for intermediaries (banks, payment systems, etc).

The company is etching its own future by becoming the first fully functional blockchain fundraising platform offering comprehensive solutions for three types of campaigns: ICOs, crowdfunding, and crowdinvesting.

KICKICO’s goal is to provide innovators, game developers, entrepreneurs, designers, and other future-thinking creators with a blockchain-based platform to turn their ideas into reality, regardless to their location, origin, or socio-economic status.

KICKICO’s 20-strong team provides fundraisers with:

  • Technical Solutions, including Smart Contracts, marketing outreach, and advisory and management expertise
  • A bonus, in addition to the tokens they receiveProtection from unrealistic projects, by carefully analysing a project’s viability
  • KICKONOMY, s transparent ecosystem driven by the KickCoin fund, which is regulated by the community

KICKONOMY, and the four pillars supporting the blockchain fundraising monolith

Kickstarting Blockchain Fundraising Revolution, Kickico Helps Funding Ideas Through Cryptocurrencies

KICKONOMY is defined as the ecosystem of projects that accept KickCoins. Any project bearing the KICKICO banner will accept KickCoins as payment.

The idea behind KICKONOMY is to create a synergistic relationship between backers and the community, to enable a cohesive integration between all parties involved.

The KICKONOMY environment is supported by four pillars:

Kickstarting Blockchain Fundraising Revolution, Kickico Helps Funding Ideas Through Cryptocurrencies

  • Projects geared towards ICO, crowdfunding, and crowdinvesting
  • Founders, the creators of crowdfunding projects
  • Investors, the people supporting crowdfunding projects
  • KickCoins, KICKONOMY’s fuel and lifeblood, the  domestic currency that underpins the entire ecosystem

KickCoin, the vital fluid running through KICKICO’s framework

KickCoin is an Ethereum-based digital token that follows the ERC-20 standard. It is a virtual currency proprietary to the KICKONOMY environment.

KickCoin is a cryptocurrency awarded to backers who support preICO, ICO, or crowdfunding campaigns, and it’s designed for project authors to:

  • Pay for the launch of crowdfunding projects
  • Purchase services for crowdfunding projects
  • Any other internal processes and payments pertaining to the infrastructure of KICKICO and KICKONOMY.

How KickCoins work

KickCoins are automatically generated by the Smart Contract when backers support campaigns launched through the KICKICO platform.

A total of 800 million KickCoins have been generated, including 30 million to conduct preICO, and 600 million to conduct ICO. 10% of the total KickCoins supply will be generated and shared between the founders of KICKICO. The rest have been generated for advisory, lottery, bounty, seed backers and PR pools. KickCoins will not be mined by users or any other companies.

The future of KICKICO and KICKONOMY

KICKICO’s a fully operational platform, launched this very month. The company has a roadmap to success, spanning to 2019 and beyond.

The KICKONOMY concept is sound and can attain success if it delivers on its premise of growth and development.

Every campaign launch will raise KICKICO’s profile higher, in turn attracting more attention and backers to it. The potential for exponential growth is there.

Have a look at KICKICO’s White Paper for more information.

Malaysia Might Soon Ban All Cryptocurrencies

By
Ali Raza
-
0
Malaysia Might Soon Ban All Cryptocurrencies
Malaysia Might Soon Ban All Cryptocurrencies

The Governor of Malaysia’s Central Bank recently revealed that the country might soon introduce a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency activity.

While Malaysia’s financial organizations have been developing tips for cryptocurrencies, experts have noted that a blanket ban might also be in the works.

The governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), governor Muhammad, recently addressed reporters during the Ninth International Conference on monetary Crime and terrorist act funding in Malaysia. The governor addressed reporters and contained his address to the area of the coming laws and regulations for the cryptocurrency industry.

According to The Malaysian Insight, the governor did not completely rule out a blanket ban on cryptocurrency activity.

Reports stated that the governor mentioned that the ban is something which will be decided towards the end of 2017. The governor stated that the BNM will announce the country’s official policy towards cryptocurrencies towards the end of the year.

This statement follows several governments looking towards increasing their regulatory policies in cryptocurrency activity. China recently installed a ban against domestic cryptocurrency trading as well as initial coin offerings (ICOs). This bold move by the People’s Bank of China resulted in the shuttering of all bitcoin exchanging platforms in Red China. Experts have speculated that several other Asian countries may soon follow China’s lead.

However, it remains unlikely that Malaysia would incorporate a similarly strict ban. According to CCN, Ibrahim stated that the BNM hopes to develop and incorporate guidelines towards the end of the year in regards to cryptocurrency. The main concern for the BNM at present remains the prospects of money laundering and terrorist funding that cryptocurrencies offer. The BNM will work to establish guidelines in order to minimize any crime that could result from cryptocurrencies.

However, the guidelines could also prove to be rigid rules set in place to regulate the cryptocurrency market. Overly rigid guidelines could include collecting user information and recording what exactly is done with cryptocurrency.

Many experts have speculated that rigid rules might cripple the immense growth in market value that cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, have hitherto experienced.

The last official stance of the BNM on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies was made explicit during 2014. In this stance, the bank declared that they did not regulate any operations pertaining to bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. The bank also did not at the time recognize bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as a valid monetary system.

Title image from Pixabay here.

Hyperledger Launches First Free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) On EdX.org

By
Simon Cocking
-
0
Hyperledger Launches First Free Massive Open Online Course (mooc) On Edx.org
Hyperledger Launches First Free Massive Open Online Course (mooc) On Edx.org
Pre-registration now open for Blockchain for Business: An Introduction to Hyperledger free online course. Hyperledger, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies, announced today the availability of its first free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) — Blockchain for Business: An Introduction to Hyperledger. The free, self-paced online course is offered through edX.org, the nonprofit online learning platform founded in 2012 by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The course provides an introduction to Hyperledger and its key business blockchain frameworks. Pre-registration is now open with the course becoming fully available on October 25 with the option to add a verified certificate of completion for $99. Verified Certificates are a valuable addition to academic or professional portfolios and can be added to resumes/CVs and LinkedIn profiles.
“Interest in blockchain technology is exploding; Software developers, product teams, and business managers are all desperately eager to figure out how this technology can solve real-world problems,” said Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director, Hyperledger.  “This first introductory-level course is carefully designed for both nontechnical and technical audiences, to bring everyone further up the learning curve and get started with it on their own business needs.”
The MOOC is delivered in partnership with edX and the Linux Foundation, responsible for training and certifying more developers on open source software than any organization in the world. It covers key features of blockchain technologies and the differentiators between various types of Hyperledger projects.
The course will provide an understanding of:
  • Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies
  • Current Hyperledger projects and common use cases
  • How to do clean installations of Hyperledger Fabric, and Hyperledger Sawtooth frameworks
  • How to build simple applications on top of Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Sawtooth frameworks
  • How to become involved in and contribute to Hyperledger
“Hyperledger and blockchain are two key skillsets that are increasingly in demand in today’s digital world,” said edX CEO and MIT Professor, Anant Agarwal. “Our global community of learners have told us that they are seeking courses to help them gain the career-relevant skills they need for the modern workplace. We are thrilled to once again partner with the Linux Foundation to offer a course on this popular, in-demand subject that will provide the building blocks needed for success within the exciting and rapidly expanding field of blockchain technologies.”
About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.
About Hyperledger

 

Hyperledger is an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. It is a global collaboration including leaders in finance, banking, Internet of Things, supply chains, manufacturing and Technology. The Linux Foundation hosts Hyperledger under the foundation. To learn more, visit: https://www.hyperledger.org/.

What Is Hyperledger? Brian Behlendorf Executive Director Of The Hyperledger Project Explains

Why Bitcoin Will Remain Relevant, ICO Opportunities, And Other Crypto Insights With Jon Matonis

By
Simon Cocking
-
0
Why Bitcoin Will Remain Relevant, Ico Opportunities, And Other Crypto Insights With Jon Matonis
Why Bitcoin Will Remain Relevant, Ico Opportunities, And Other Crypto Insights With Jon Matonis

By @SimonCocking, great interview with Jon Matonis. Founding Director, Bitcoin Foundation, VP of Corporate Strategy, nChain,  Twitter  |  LinkedIn see more about Jon on his blog here. Jon is also one of our top 50 crypto people to follow on Twitter too, see more here.

What is your background briefly?

My background is in trading and banking. I managed the interest rate derivatives desk for Sumitomo Bank Chicago and I established the forex trading desk for VISA International. As VISA was an early lead investor into VeriSign during the mid-1990s explosion of the WorldWideWeb, I started by career in financial cryptography. After VISA, I was the CEO for Hush Communications (creator of HushMail) where I also recruited Phil Zimmermann as our Chief Cryptographer.

Does it seem like a logical background to what you do now?

It does seem like a logical progression to me now, but not so much at the time. I had edited a digital currency blog even before the release of Bitcoin, so I have a background in exploring and researching digital cash protocols. My first paper on the topic was actually in 1995.

One min pitch for what you are doing now?

I am currently VP of Corporate Strategy for nChain in London, which is a blockchain R&D company. I am also Chairman and co-founder of Globitex. Additionally, I support other Bitcoin companies as an investor and non-executive board director.

We visited Riga for TechChill, great place, what projects are you working on there?

I am a co-founder and Chairman of Globitex, which is an institutional global bitcoin exchange with development and management based in Riga.

What do you do in your role at the Bitcoin Foundation?

The Bitcoin Foundation was conceived in 2012, where I served as board member and Executive Director until Dec 2015. I will always be a founding director and I promote the foundation currently through my many speaking engagements.

Will Bitcoin remain relevant in the light of the evolution of other altcoins which have more functionality / flexibility?

Bitcoin will remain relevant because it has achieved two of the qualities to function as money (store of value, medium of exchange), whereas the other altcoins have not achieved this status and they mostly serve as appcoins, or protocol/utility tokens, or company script.

What do you think about this current deluge of ICOs? 

I think that the ICO marketplace represents pure, unlicensed capitalism but it will also be an environment of “caveat emptor” for the investors.

Is there value within the noise? & what tips would you give for those thinking of getting involved?

Yes, there is definitely value, but investors have to recognize that they are not always purchasing equity with ICOs.

50 Great Crypto Experts To Follow On Twitter

Most Pirated Content Sites Are Implementing Cryptocurrency Mining Software

By
Ali Raza
-
0
Most Pirated Content Sites Are Implementing Cryptocurrency Mining Software
Most Pirated Content Sites Are Implementing Cryptocurrency Mining Software

By Ali Raza image from pixabay here.

Major pirate websites are looking towards cryptocurrency mining scripts to generate funds, but the implementation of this has begun a lot of debate amongst users.

Since the discovery of The Pirate Bay implementing a cryptocurrency mining script in its code, cryptocurrency mining has become more and more associated with pirated media downloading platforms. Implementing a mining script could be an innovative solution to the economic problems that private hackers face.

The latest use of mining script would generate revenue for the site. Instead of uploading or downloading freely, the amount of cryptocurrency mined will now serve as a user’s credit to “buy” content.

The debate on using this method has exploded ever since The Pirate Bay was the first to implement a mining script for a trial period.

Popular pirate sites intend to embed software into their websites. This software, or mining script, will utilize the user’s CPU cycle to create funds for the particular website.

However, this suggestion has received ample criticism.

Most critics have based their arguments on the issue of consent. Certain websites did allow the user to choose whether they want to be involved. However, many websites have implemented the script without notifying or asking the user. In response, several site administrators likened the implementation of a mining script to advertisements. A user’s consent is not required for them to display advertisements, so why should this be different when it comes to mining scripts?

The debate sparked controversy amongst users worldwide, until one Reddit user recently came up with a viable solution.

Just last week a Reddit user posted a screenshot of a reputable private tracker. This website also implemented a mining script, but this script gave something back to its users.

Most Pirated Content Sites to Implement Cryptocurrency Mining Software

The first way in which this mining script differs from others is that it gives the user the choice of whether or not they want to be involved. The user can control if they want mine, and can stop the process at any time. There are also additional control settings such as how many CPU threads the user is willing to commit to mining, as well as a percentage utilization selector.

The second way in which the mining script is unique is the fact that the mining affects the user’s “upload credit.” Without upload credit, a user is unable to download any content.

Uploading credit has been another point of debate amongst users. While upload credit is essential to be able to download content, many users often go into an undesirable deficit due to either the tracker’s economy or a simple lack of resources.

Previously, certain websites have allowed users to donate money to receive more upload credit, but now this site offers the user to use their mining efforts to trade-in for upload credit.

For many users, this innovative usage of mining credit was a lucrative option.

Currently, the private tracker system works in such a way that users can “mine” uploading credits by donating bandwidth to other site users. However, this new method will give users the opportunity to mine cryptocurrency and be able to convert that to uploading credit. At the same time, the site operator can also generate some funds.

Other private tracker sites have also shown innovation in implementing mining scripts. Another site, in particular, had full transparency of their mining script system towards the users. However, it is still uncertain whether this mining script was forced or optional.

The site also displayed the total number or users mining and hashes solved per minute. In addition to this, the site also published a Top 10 list of users who mine the most. This small publication could prove to be a popular incentive to users.

While cryptocurrency mining has been the source of a lot of controversies as of late, innovative implementation of mining scripts could be the long-awaited answer to problems faced by both site administrators and users.

1...655656657...662Page 656 of 662

LATEST NEWS

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

© CryptoCoin.News