Samsung enters the crypto-mining market
Samsung, the South Korean electronics manufacturing giant, has recently been reported to be willing and ready to begin manufacturing ASIC chips for the cryptocurrency mining market. The news has been reported all across Korean media; Samsung’s involvement in this is yet another factor demonstrating the widespread legitimization of cryptocurrency. Samsung is already heavily involved in the production of GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) chips used for gaming and mining.
In an interview with TechCrunch, a spokesperson from Samsung was able to provide confirmation of their new product developments:
“Samsung’s foundry business is currently engaged in the manufacturing of cryptocurrency mining chips. However we are unable to disclose further details regarding our customers.”
Up to this point, the leading producer of Asics chips in the market has been Bitman. They have a massive share of the market at 70%. Samsung’s entrance into the market can only mean bad things for Bitman, as they will be forced to step up to a whole new level of competition.
Experty ICO hacked
Experty.io, one of the more popular ICOs launched this year, has been the latest organization targeted by hackers, who scammed 71 of their investors through phishing. Through a breach in their security systems, the hackers gained full access to the email addresses of the applicants registered to the ICO. Once in, the hackers sent false pre-ICO offers, asking the recipents to send funds to their wallet.
The breach was luckily stopped before it got out of hand, but in a short period of time, the 71 investors lost an estimated figure of $150,000. Experty and BitCoin Suisse have stepped up to the table and, in an admirable display of goodwill, they have offered compensatory tokens from the ICO to those who were affected by the hack.
Donald Trump Bought For $150,000
Donald Trump can’t seem to keep himself out of the eye of the media, going from controversy to controversy, but have you ever wondered how much it would cost to buy him? Well, wonder no more! The latest craze to hit the blockchain since Crypto Kitties is a game based on the buying and selling of celebrities. Donald Trump is just one of the many celebs available in this game, and to buy him all you need is a meager $150,000.
If a celebrity wishes to get involved and endorse the game, they can have their ‘identity’ implemented, and either receive a share of the trading profit or donate it to a chosen charity. The game is called Cryptocelebrities and it requires nerves of steel. It’s essentially a form of gambling, made popular by the inclusion of blockchain technology. It is always quite surprising the effect that crypto has on seemingly mundane and overdone things; we wonder what is next in the pipeline and who will be next to hop on the blockchain bandwagon.
Ukraine looks to join the crypto community
Ukraine is in the news again: in December, we reported on the kidnapping of Exmo boss Pavel Lerner, and now we have Ukraine looking to bring in legislation for cryptocurrency. This revelation comes with the news that there are moves within the Ukrainian authorities to give cryptocurrency trading and mining a legitimate legal status, which could encourage a healthy amount of activity.
A specific group in the Ukrainian parliament has been tasked to set up and investigate the matter, and every few days a different government official plans to state their opinion on the matter. The latest person to do so is the MP Alexander Danchenko stating:
“Prior to the Revolution, Ukraine had 60% of the world’s mining. Now, after the pressure of the security services, this share fell to 3%.”
Belarus is also warming to the adoption of cryptocurrencies, as they intend to implement tax breaks for mining activities in their country. These breaks will start from next March and are yet another positive step for cryptocurrency as a whole.
Altcoins suffer second major price slide this year
It’s been another steady week for Altcoins, with a lot of the major currencies making a steady recovery from the recent crash. Ethereum led the way on Sunday, peaking at $1250. A second major price crash panic set in on Thursday afternoon, starting from the Asian markets and spreading like a virus to all cryptocurrencies, stripping their value down by 20-30% in one day. They’re still in a very weak position and are dropping at a gradual rate.
This crash seems to have generated interest around the previously unknown Asian coin DigixDAO (DGD). They have undergone a huge surge in trading activity, and a price inflation due to the growing attraction to their currency. The coin’s value is linked to actual gold reserves, which may explain its recent growth, with many viewing it as a stable option for investment. The coin was launched via ICO in March of 2016 and had a decent amount of investment by the end of last year.
With the recent panic in the market, there are bargains to be had, especially with newly-released coins. The market has taken a big hit and for now, it remains largely unpredictable. We can only hope that it does a 180 soon and regains some stability.
