Monthly Archives: August 2020

WEI Art Collections Unveils New Multi-Million Dollar Contemporary Art Collection Commemorating Bitcoin and Ethereum – Yahoo Finance

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WEI Art Collections Unveils Art Collection Commemorating Bitcoin and Ethereum

WEI Art Collections Unveils Art Collection Commemorating Bitcoin and Ethereum

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WEI Art Collections(https://weiartcollections.art) has stayed true to the meaning of their name with a new art collection. WEI means extraordinary and WEI Art Collections is again set to excite the creative industry with their latest multi-million-dollar contemporary private art collection to celebrate blockchain technology. The new series is an unprecedented fusion of crypto-currency and art.

WEI Art Collectionshas carved a niche for creating the finest, most extraordinary abstract, contemporary, and crypto art. With a team of talented and well-respected artists from different parts of the world, representing numerous cultural, ethnic, and racially diverse creative talent, the platform has provided art collectors as well as corporate and technology leaders with an opportunity to acquire exclusive works of art from the WEI Art Collections series.

The WEI Art Collections Innovation Series are specifically put together for crypto-currency whales, art buyers, and advocates of the blockchain technology. The series also has its obvious appeal to professionals in the financial sector. The latest collection is coming at the most ideal time, with the world rapidly embracing the features and benefits of crypto-currency and blockchain technology.

In the fall of 2018, Adam Lindemann stated in an article in Bloomberg news byKatya Kazakina(https://bloom.bg/3eYwpla ) on November 29 as follows: "Everyone is talking about blockchain, but no one really understands it." Adam is a billionaire and abstract contemporary art collector, amongst the world's leading art collectors. He noted, "This is the right time to think about art and tech."

As the mp3 file undeniably influenced and redefined how the world listens to music, blockchain technology is about to be applied in numerous industries. The use of crypto-currency has become increasingly popular in recent times, with experts predicting growth to the tune of tens of trillions of dollars in the near future. The International Monetary Fund has also substantiated the claim, commenting on the advantages, stability crypto-currency values will enjoy as world economies, and fiat currencies continue to falter. However, the creative industry has been seemingly silent on the subject of crypto-currency and this is where WEI Art Collections is looking to change the narrative with the WEI Art Collections Innovation Series.

WEI Art Collections initially features the top three of the most prominent crypto-currencies destined for global dominance in the blockchain, global banking, and financial industries. There is also the Innovation Series 21 featuring 21 unique works, developed exclusively featuring Bitcoin. The series is developed in commemoration of Bitcoins issuance of 21 million coins. WEI Art Collections exemplifies the pinnacle of the crypto-art medium, engaging and employing emerging artists directly.

The mission of WEI Art Collections is to be amongst the premier contemporary abstract and cryptography art designers/producers/collectors, featuring works that celebrate the bourgeoning field of Cryptography through the new world technology of blockchain digital assets. Owning an exclusive work from the WEI Art Collections Series will also serve as an investment that will go down in history and appreciate over time. For more information please visithttps:/weiartcollections.art/

Media contactCompany: WEI Art CollectionsContact: Jean MarquetteE-mail:info@weiartcollections.artWebsite:https://weiartcollections.art

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WEI Art Collections Unveils New Multi-Million Dollar Contemporary Art Collection Commemorating Bitcoin and Ethereum - Yahoo Finance

Are Police Spying on Your Phone? Ask the Crocodile Hunter – PCMag India

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Think your calls and texts are secure? Think again.

Nefarious devices have long masqueraded as cell towers in a bid to intercept data from mobile devices. But at this week's (virtual) Black Hat, Cooper Quintin, Senior Staff Technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, outlined a way to detect these bogus base stations, and offered suggestions on how to prevent their use altogether.

Phony cell towers have been a mainstay of Black Hat and security research for years. Traditionally, the attack worked like this: the bad guy sets up a mobile cell station, like a Femtocell, and then jams the 3G and LTE bands. This forces nearby phones to connect via 2G, which uses a broken encryption system. Once phones connect, the attacker can see anything moving to and from victims' phones.

Police and other law enforcement agencies do the same with IMSI-catchers, which also simulate cell towers and trick devices into connecting. The use of these devices has long been controversial and shrouded in secrecy, but little was known about newer devices that targeted the 4G LTE bands. "We simply had no idea how they worked," Quintin said today.

This is important not only because 2G is increasingly obsolete, but because 4G offers numerous security improvements. LTE devices, for example, use better cryptography, and don't blindly connect to nearby cell towers. Understanding how LTE IMSI catchers worked would shed light on unknown vulnerabilities that might exist in the system.

In 2019, EFF Technology Fellow Yomna N tackled the problem, eventually producing a report that outlined the theoretical operation of a 4G IMSI catcher. In his presentation, Quintin showed how the first six steps of connecting a cellular device to a base station happened totally in the clear, and authentication didn't happen until the seventh step.

"This is where the dragons were," he said. During these initial steps, all sorts of important information could be extracted from the target device by a cell site simulator. It could even trick victims' phones into using a 2G connection, again opening up transmissions to the attacker.

Importantly, Quintin said that unless it's able to pull of its 2G switch, the new cell site simulators probably aren't able to intercept your data. But newer 4G IMSI catchers can track devices and surveil large crowds, like those found at protests.

Security wonks have already released several tools for finding bogus cell towers. Some rely on software-defined radio technology, while others are simply smartphone apps. But while they're useful, none are adequate for ferreting out newer cell site simulators, Quintin said.

So the EFF produced its own tool: Crocodile Hunter. Why the name? "Stingray" is the brand name for an IMSI catcher marketed to law enforcement. It's also the animal that killed Steve Irwin, star of the TV program Crocodile Hunter.

Crocodile Hunter uses a Raspberry Pi and about $500 worth of radio equipment. The setup gatherers data about all the surrounding cell sites, and then compares that information against an open-source database of known cell towers. Anything that's a mismatch gets marked on a map with a skull.

Quintin stressed, however, that just because something's anomalous doesn't mean it's nefarious. Suspicious sites were found and examined. If it turned out to be attached to a tower or a building, that was probably legit. "If it's not a building at all but an unmarked van, well, that's more suspicious," said Quintin.

One thing Crocodile Hunter can't do is communicate with the questionable cell towers, and for good reason"EFF lawyers helpfully pointed out, that would be illegal," explained Quintin.

The problem is that Crocodile Hunter isn't licensed by the FCC for such operations. That's too bad, because it would give researchers a lot more information about the suspect cell sites.

Work on Crocodile Hunter is ongoing, and Quintin hopes to improve its detection capabilities and bring down the cost of construction. The EFF has released all the information about Crocodile Hunter on GitHub, where any enterprising researcher can build their own version. The technology is currently being used in DC and New York, as well as in Latin America through the Fake Antenna Detection (FADe) project, Quintin said.

While detecting bogus cell towers is all well and good, Quintin has an eye on making it much harder for anyone to use IMSI catchers, or similar technologies, to surveil people. He called on Apple and Google to provide a toggle so users who don't need to use 2G can simply switch it off in Android and iOS. "This would eliminate the worst abuses such as downgrading to 2G," he said.

Quintin also suggested that the pre-authentication messages for 4G (and, he noted, 5G) either be eliminated or encrypted. Manufacturers and standards groups, Quintin suggested, should also make customer privacy a greater priority.

"None of these are foolproof, and none of these will stop [cell site simulators] entirely, but we aren't even doing the bare minimum," said Quintin.

Still, the talk ended on an upbeat note: "With a little elbow grease, and a little bit of political effort, this problem of IMSI catchers could be solved."

Further Reading

Security Reviews

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Are Police Spying on Your Phone? Ask the Crocodile Hunter - PCMag India

Why the EU must claim its place in the 5G race – The Parliament Magazine

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The introduction of 5G offers great promise, a new way of living and working, a new era with great hopes during uncertain times.

But beyond the enthusiasm surrounding this new technology, there are at least two issues that must be addressed: the need to guide a technology that promises to change the world and the need to protect against the risk of external interference, specifically due to 5Gs central role in our future social and economic relations.

Starting with the latter, a country that undoubtedly springs to mind is China. No longer a developing country, China is now a world leader and an increasingly assertive technological power in the international arena.

As the European Commission points out, the Asian giant is now a cooperating partner and a negotiating partner, with whom the EU needs to find a balance of interests. It is an economic competitor in the pursuit of technological leadership and a systemic rival in the promotion of alternative models of governance.

Europe cannot limit itself to being a battleground where the US and China engage in their power games; it cannot afford to be reduced to a contested market

If there is one domain that reflects these tensions, it is the digital one, especially the power struggle between the US and China over the dominance of 5G networks.

There are growing accusations against certain Chinese companies for allegedly creating back doors in their equipment that would allow the Chinese government access to data and communications of users using these networks.

These suspicions are fuelled by the fact that Chinas National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires Chinese citizens and companies to provide the Government with access to the private data of citizens and companies from other countries on the basis of national security or national interests.

Over the past few months, EU and national authorities have conducted a thorough audit of the strengths and weaknesses of their networks and their threat preparedness in the deployment of 5G.

And the diagnosis has been surprisingly realistic: greater exposure to attacks and more potential entry points for attackers; greater exposure to risks related to the dependence of mobile network operators on their providers; greater risks arising from high dependencies on providers, and yes, interference from third countries.

Europe cannot limit itself to being a battleground where the US and China engage in their power games; it cannot afford to be reduced to a contested market, but must become a relevant player in the race for a ubiquitous technology that will redefine the world we live in.

Europe cannot limit itself to accepting more technology and rules from third parties, but must define them on the basis of solid ethical principles. If this was important before the COVID-19 pandemic, it is even more so after it.

If anything has become clearer, it is the crucial nature of electronic communications in homes and businesses and the need to extend 5G coverage to every corner of our territory so as not to generate new gaps in societies that are increasingly dependent on high-speed connections to carry out their daily activities.

It is therefore of the utmost importance to combat the unscientific claims which were made about this technology during the pandemic, taking advantage of citizens concerns over any potential threats to their health.

It is vital to quash unfounded fears among citizens to ensure the successful deployment of 5G. Of course, confidence in the security of this technology - which promises the possibility of guiding automated transport, or carrying out surgical operations remotely - must leave no room for the slightest doubt.

If anything has become clearer, it is the crucial nature of electronic communications in homes and businesses and the need to extend 5G coverage to every corner of our territory so as not to generate new gaps in societies that are increasingly dependent on high-speed connections

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has focused on achieving technological sovereignty in some critical technological areas: such as blockchain, high-performance computing, quantum computing, algorithms and tools to enable the exchange and use of data.

It is true, however, that among the top ten technology companies worldwide by market capitalisation, eight are American, one is Chinese and one is South Korean. If we look at the turnover, there are five American companies in the ranking, one Chinese, one South Korean, one Taiwanese and one Japanese. There are no European companies.

The fact that no European company leads the world rankings does not mean that there is not a rich and innovative digital ecosystem in Europe, in areas such as artificial intelligence, 5G, data analysis or cyber security.

In cyber security, for example, the EU hosts a wide range of specialised centres, and in AI, Europe hosts 32 percent of the worlds research institutions. Such knowledge, if transformed into marketable products and solutions and incorporated into our economy, could enable us to make the necessary leap to leadership.

I agree with Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton that Europe has everything it needs to lead this technological race; we have plenty of capacity and talent. But let us move now from words to action.

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Why the EU must claim its place in the 5G race - The Parliament Magazine

U.S. Congressman: Coronavirus Crisis Will Make Bitcoin More Important And Stronger – Forbes

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The coronavirus pandemic has caused an unprecedented global economic crisis, not unlike the 2008 global financial crisis that led to bitcoin's creation.

A number of investors have turned to bitcoin in recent months to combat the inflation they see coming as a result of the unprecedented coronavirus stimulus measures the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks have pumped into the system.

Now, with the bitcoin price following other so-called safe-haven assets like gold higher over the last week, U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer has said he expects bitcoin to "get stronger" as the world emerges from the coronavirus crisis.

Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is a long-time advocate of bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain and ... [+] thinks bitcoin will be strengthened once the world emerges from the economic chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"As we come out of the crisis, bitcoin isn't going away," U.S. representative Tom Emmer (R-MN) told bitcoin and crypto investor Anthony Pompliano, speaking during an interview on Pompliano's popular podcast, adding bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are going to "continue to become more and more important."

"[Bitcoin is] going to get stronger. You just watch, it has value, when something has value, people are going to take risks and its going to advance."

Emmer pointed to recent developments, including U.S. regulators last week authorizing banks to provide custody for cryptocurrencies, as the kind of progress that will bring bitcoin and crypto into the mainstream.

Emmer also criticized modern centralized monetary systems, going back to the U.S. departure from the gold standard in the 1970s.

"There are things happening that are going to disrupt the centralized nature of our society. We're about to blow that whole thing up, because of the pandemic, I believe," Emmer said.

Bitcoin is powered by decentralized blockchain technology that replaces centralized authority with a distributed network. Using blockchain, some think governments will be able to move away from top-down, centralized systems.

"I think were just moving into that next phase, which is why crypto, the area, excites me."

After crashing in March, the bitcoin price has strongly rebounded, climbing back above the ... [+] psychological $10,000 per bitcoin level last month.

Emmer has advocated for decentralized and blockchain-powered innovation in the past, calling for the U.S. government to take advantage of cryptocurrency technology.

Just this week, he co-signed a letter to the IRS, requesting the U.S. tax agency create a policy that supports the protocols used to create some cryptocurrencies, known as proof-of-stake.

Earlier this year, he raised concerns that regulation could ultimately smother innovation and called on the U.S. government to provide more regulatory clarity for the crypto industry.

"We're not going backward when it comes to the internet superhighway," Emmer told Pompliano. "We've got to go forward."

Emmer also used the recent Twitter hack, where high-profile Twitter accounts were hijacked and used to promote a bitcoin scam, to lend his support to bitcoin.

"Bitcoin isn't the problem," he tweeted in the wake of the attack. "Centralized control is."

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U.S. Congressman: Coronavirus Crisis Will Make Bitcoin More Important And Stronger - Forbes

What is Cryptocurrency? A Short Beginner’s Explanation …

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By: Steven Hay | Last updated: 4/24/20

Cryptocurrencies are the latest evolution of digital money. But what exactly is a cryptocurrency and what are its characteristics? This post explains it all, simply.

Cryptocurrencies are digital coins that arent controlled by a central authority but through a network of equally privileged participants that follow an agreed set of rules. The three ingredients that make a cryptocurrency are: A peer-to-peer (p2p) network, cryptography, and a consensus mechanism.

Thats the definition of a cryptocurrency in a nutshell. For a more detailed definition keep on reading, heres what Ill cover:

The term cryptocurrency is a contraction of cryptographic currency. While a cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency, there are many digital currencies today that arent cryptocurrencies.

For example PayPal, Zynga chip and even our traditional fiat currencies (USD, EUR, etc.) are mostly digital.

In March 2018, Merriam-Webster announced that they would include this term in their dictionary. Their definition is as follows:

cryptocurrency noun cryptocurrency krip-t-kr-n(t)-s , -k-rn(t)-s : any form of currency that only exists digitally, that usually has no central issuing or regulating authority but instead uses a decentralized system to record transactions and manage the issuance of new units, and that relies on cryptography to prevent counterfeiting and fraudulent transactions. First Known Use: 1990

Lets try to break this confusing sentence down to the 3 main ingredients that constitute a cryptocurrency.

Unlike traditional digital currencies, cryptocurrencies dont rely on any central authority to validate or facilitate transactions.

Instead, theres a network of equally privileged participants that validate and update transactions in a shared ledger called a blockchain.

Cryptography is the art of secure communication in a hostile environment. Cryptography is used in cryptocurrencies so peers can communicate securely without the need of a central authority to validate their messages.

Now that we have a group of equally privileged participants that can communicate securely, we need to establish rules for our cryptocurrency. These rules are known as a protocol and they also include a consensus mechanism.

The consensus mechanism is a rule regarding who gets to update our shared ledger of transactions. In Bitcoins case, the mechanism used is called Proof of Work. Different cryptocurrencies use different consensus mechanisms.

If we visit Websters definition again after understanding these core ingredients, you can see that it makes much more sense.

While all cryptocurrencies claim to be decentralized, the truth is far from it. In reality, you have completely decentralized currencies like Bitcoin and centralized cryptocurrencies like stablecoins and Ripple.

Centralized cryptocurrencies are usually issued by a for-profit company that established the cryptocurrencys protocol and also determines who can participate in the network.

A good example would be the upcoming Facebook Libra a coin to be issued by Facebook, that while all participants in the network are equal, the network itself isnt open to everyone.

Centralized cryptocurrencies can be looked upon as an upgraded version of traditional fiat currencies, as they are still prone to all of the risks of centralized management (fraud, negligence, control).

Decentralized cryptocurrencies are usually issued by a non-profit organization. With decentralized cryptocurrencies, the playing grounds are leveled for all to participate.

The classic example for this would be Bitcoin. Anyone in the world can participate in the Bitcoin network, receive funds or become a Bitcoin miner, without the need to request permission.

Truly decentralized cryptocurrencies are completely transparent, open to all and censorship resistant.

Its important to note that while some cryptocurrencies are indeed built as decentralized, they are in fact centralized since not enough people are participating in their network. This makes the decentralized platform effectively controlled by a small number of participants.

The main takeaway here is that true decentralization is a matter of both design and adoption.

One important distinction that needs to be made is the difference between cryptocurrencies and tokens.

Cryptocurrencies are coins that have all of the three ingredients Ive mentioned above, hence creating their own blockchain of transactions.

Token, on the other hand, are a representation of an asset that resides on an already existing blockchain. For example, Tether is an ERC-20 token that uses the Ethereum blockchain to operate.

So tokens can be considered as a sub coin of a certain cryptocurrency that has its own blockchain and has the ability to run code that creates tokens (also known as the ability for smart contracts).

Tokens can start as part of an already existing blockchain and then convert to their own cryptocurrency. For example, EOS started as an ERC-20 token and later on became an independent cryptocurrency.

Tokens can be divided into two main categories utility tokens and security tokens.

Utility tokens are tokens that promise the future use of a product or service. They arent meant to be an investment, they have a utility.

Security tokens, on the other hand, are tokens that represent tradable financial assets, a share or a bond from a company, for example. They are meant to be a form of investment.

Cryptocurrencies use blockchains in order to operate in a decentralized manner. Cryptocurrency is the coin and blockchain is the ledger of transactions that documents the coins transactions.

Another way to describe this is that blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrencies.

Having said that, a blockchain is, in fact, the cryptocurrency itself as cryptocurrencies are just a record on a ledger (theres no actual physical coin). But for the sake of distinction, people use cryptocurrency to describe the end and blockchain to describe the means to that end.

Cryptocurrencies are the next evolution in digital currencies. Money has come a long way from commodities to coins, paper and finally digital information controlled by a central authority. Today, in its next phase of evolution, money is becoming decentralized through the use of cryptocurrencies.

Its important to distinguish between centralized cryptocurrencies, decentralized cryptocurrencies, and tokens. Hopefully, this guide made the difference clearer.

What are your thoughts about cryptocurrencies? Are they indeed the future of money? Let me know in the comment section below.

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What is Cryptocurrency? A Short Beginner's Explanation ...

Top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation

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This article analyses the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation.

Beginning with the largest, the top 10 are currently Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), XRP ($XRP), Tether ($USDT), Bitcoin Cash ($BCH) , Litecoin ($LTC), EOS ($EOS), Binance Coin ($BNB), Bitcoin SV ($BSV) and Tezos ($XTZ).

There are approximately 5,392 cryptocurrencies being traded with a total market capitalisation of $201bn (as of April 22, 2020).

Our site is packed full of free guides, crypto news, jobs, news about jobs in blockchain technology, cryptocurrency analysis, and lots of features such as women in blockchain. Please take a look at our site and use the search bar at the top of this page to make use of our resources. We have a real passion for helping people understand the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

As a starting point, here are a few facts about the top 10 cryptocurrencies and some latest news for each one.

In August 2008, the domain name bitcoin.orgwas registered. On October 31st 2008, a paper was published called Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. This was authored by Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin. To date, no one knows who this person, or people, are.

The paper outlined a method of using a peer-to-peer network for electronic transactions without relying on trust. On January 3rd 2009, the Bitcoin network came into existence. Nakamoto mined block number 0 (or the genesis block), which had a reward of 50 Bitcoins.

Ethereum was launched by Vitalik Buterin on July 30th 2015. He was a researcher and programmer working on Bitcoin Magazine, and he initially wrote a white paper in 2013 describing Ethereum. Buterin had proposed that Bitcoin needed a scripting language. He decided to develop a new platform with a more general scripting language when he couldnt get buy-in to his proposal.

The development was funded by an online crowdsale between July and August 2014. The system went live with 11.9 million coins already mined for the crowd sale (about 13% of the total supply in circulation). Following the collapse of The DAO project in 2016, Ethereum was split into two blockchains. The new version became Ethereum and the original blockchain continues as Ethereum Classic.

Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) developed by the Ripple company. It is also referred to as the Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP) or Ripple protocol. It can trace its roots to 2004 when a web developer called Ryan Fugger had the idea to create a monetary system that was decentralised and could effectively allow individuals to create their own money.

RipplePay.comwas launched in 2005 to provide a secure payment system for members of an online community via a global network. Jed McCaleb began developing a digital currency system in 2011 in which transactions were verified by consensus among members of the network, rather than by the mining process used by Bitcoin which relies on blockchain ledgers. This new version of the Ripple system was designed to eliminate Bitcoins centralised exchanges, use less electricity than Bitcoin, and perform transactions much more quickly.

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Ripple was launched in 2012 to facilitate secure, instant global transactions supporting tokens representing fiat currency, cryptocurrency or any unit of value.

The EOS.IO platform was developed by private company block.oneand released as open-source software on June 2nd 2018. One billion tokens were distributed on the Ethereum blockchain by block.one. EOS is based on a white paper published in 2017.

Litecoin was released in October 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee. It was a fork of Bitcoin with the main difference being a smaller block generation time, increased maximum number of coins and a different script-based algorithm.

Bitcoin Cash was born out of the idea of making Bitcoin more practical for small, day-to-day payments. In May 2017, Bitcoin payments took about four days unless a fee was paid, which was proportionately too large for small transactions. A change to the code was implemented and Bitcoin Cash was born on 1st August 2017.

Tether was issued on the Bitcoin blockchain. In their own words Tether converts cash into digital currency, to anchor or tether the value of the coin to the price of national currencies. So, the value is meant to mirror that of the US dollar and each unit of Tether is backed by $1 held in reserve.

One of the main uses of Tether is to facilitate trading between cryptocurrencies with a rate fixed to the US$ allowing traders to take advantage of trading opportunities.

Stellar was founded in 2014 by Jed McCaleb and Joyce Kim. At launch it was based on the Ripple protocol but the network eventually forked. Stellar is an open source protocol for exchanging money where servers use the internet to connect to and communicate with other Stellar servers, forming a global value exchange network.

The TRON Protocol is pitched as one of the largest blockchain-based operating systems in the world, offering scalable, high availability and high throughput support that underlies all the decentralised applications in the TRON ecosystem.

An ICO campaign took place in September 2017 and raised US$70 million. The coin is called the TRONix (TRX).

To kick the month off weve had an extra $19B enter the market allowing Bitcoin to break past the previous resistance weve seen in 2019 and see all new highs. Bitcoin now is trying to break through major resistance of $6,000 which held for many months during 2018. Weve also seen a large premium on the exchange Bitfinex due to the news around Tether and reserve funds.

To kick the month off weve had an extra $16B enter the market allowing Bitcoin to break past the previous resistance weve seen in 2019. Tron ($TRX) has left the top ten leaderboard and has been replaced with Cardano ($ADA). Tether has dropped a few places this month as the sentiment is generally more bullish and people are taking cash out of Tether to buy back into the market.

This month we see a new entry in the top 10 as Binance Coin enters for the first time ever. Bitcoin SV drops out into the number 11 spot. The remaining top 10 are the same with some changes Ripple and Ethereum have traded positions once again and TRON has dropped two places.

The value of cryptocurrencies has grown this month with the value of the top 10 pushing back over $100bn following last months drop to $97bn.

The top 10 remains unchanged from last month in terms of the cryptocurrencies present, but there has been extensive jockeying for positions. Apart from the ever-present Bitcoin in the number-one spot, all the other cryptos have moved. TRON improved by two positions in the rankings, Stellar Lumens moved down three, and the remaining coins have seen a slight move up or down.

There has been a prolonged bear market in crypto, and the story this month is that from a market cap of $187bn on November 7th, the top 10 cryptocurrencies now have a combined market cap of $97bn. That is a remarkable drop in value over three months.

TRON reenters the top 10 at the expense of Cardano. This months big story is Ethereum regaining the number two spot from Ripple. It was a big story when Ripple became the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation during November:

Ethereums rally is due to the anticipation of a series of upcoming hard forks. Ethereum Classic Vision will be airdropped to Ethereum holders at a ratio of 3:1 on January 11th. The Ethereum Nowa fork, meanwhile, is planned on January 12th:

There has been some minor movement up and down for the remaining top 10.

This month has seen a dramatic fall in values, and there has been a lot of movement in the top 10. Bitcoin SV appears as a new currency and is a new entrant following the Bitcoin Cash fork. Ripple makes it into the number two slot at the expense of Ethereum as the flippening happens. The price crash of the last month has led to changes in the rest of the top 10 with various currencies moving position.

These last two weeks have seen the biggest change in the Top 10 this year. Bitcoin Cash drops out following the Bitcoin Cash fork. Ripple makes it into the number two slot at the expense of Ethereum as the flippening happens. Prices have crashed over the last two weeks. This has led to dramatic changes in the rest of the Top 10 with Tether gaining the most places. TRON makes it back into the Top 10. It has been in the Top 10 this year and is always close but the removal of BCH makes room for it to take the last spot in the Top 10. There is frequent movement in the top 10 as values fluctuate, so expect older currencies to drop out and re-enter the list regularly.

This month sees all the cryptocurrencies remaining fairly stable in terms of market capitalisation. The only currency that has changed significantly is Tether which sees its market cap fall by $1.04bn. This has dropped it from eight to ten in the rankings allowing Cardano and Monero to move up one place each.

This month sees all the cryptocurrencies remaining in the same position in the Top 10. Whilst there is no change in rankings to report, its interesting to note that Ripple actually gained approximately $10bn during the month. Every other currency (except Tether) lost value.

The total value of the top 10 cryptocurrencies (as of 3rd September 2018) is $200.79bn. This is a drop of $27bn compared to the previous month (August). This is a dramatic fall of $80bn since June where the total value stood at the $281bn mark.

This month sees Monero as a new entrant to the Top 10. Tether moves up to number eight whilst IOTA drops out of the Top 10 altogether. All the other cryptocurrencies are in the same spot as last month.

The Top 10 remained the same as Julys. Litecoin dropped from the number six spot to number seven; Stellar Lumens rose from the number eight spot to number six and Cardano dropped one place to number eight.

Themarket capitalisation of the Top 10 cryptocurrencies grew by$4.34bn in a month (August 2018 vs July 2018).

There were 2,041 cryptocurrencies with a total market capitalisation of $253bn.

TRON dropped out of the top 10 into the number 11 spot. It was replaced by Tether.

The market capitalisation of the Top 10 cryptocurrencies fell by $57 billion in a month (July 2018 analysis compared to the June 2018 analysis).

There were 1,894 cryptocurrencies with a total market capitalisation of US$275 bn.

Bitcoin SV came into existence following the Bitcoin Cash chain split on November the 15th 2018. The chain split was caused at two competing software implementation for the Bitcoin Cash blockchain (BitcoinABC and Bitcoin SV) broke away from consensus, and was subsequentlysupported by two different groups of miners. After the time of the fork, users could claim tokens on each side of the fork if they had previouslyheld tokens on the old Bitcoin Cash chain.

Bitcoin Cash ABC is now being recognised by most exchanges as Bitcoin Cash (the name of the original pre fork currency) with a separate listing for Bitcoin Cash SV.

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Top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation

Leaving Cryptocurrency in a Trust | Nolo

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Using a trust to transfer cryptocurrencies keeps information about your coins private and out of probate.

When you have cryptocurrency, you need to consider how to include this asset in your estate plan. If you dont, your beneficiaries may not be able to access your crypto-investments after you die. One way to ensure your loved ones will inherit your cryptocurrency is to leave it through a will. Another way to pass along cryptocurrency is to leave it through a trust.

There are several advantages to using a trust. For example, a trust:

A trust is a flexible estate planning tool that can be created while youre alive or after you pass away through your will. A living trust is made by transferring some of your property to the trust during your lifetime.

Living trusts are popular because they can be revoked or changed during the trust makers lifetime. During life, trust makers usually act as trustees of their own trusts, managing trust assets just as they did before they transferred their property into the trust. When a trust maker dies, the successor trustee (named in the trust) takes over. What happens to the trust property depends on the terms of the trust. Some trusts will direct the successor trustee to distribute trust property to beneficiaries, ending the trust. Other trusts will instruct the successor trustee to continue to manage trust property for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

Putting your cryptocurrency in a trust makes it less likely that your cryptocurrency will go undiscovered after your deathbecause the existence of your cryptocurrency will be documented in the trust. This is important because, unlike other property, cryptocurrency is not an easily discoverable asset. It has little to no paper trail, so its difficult for your loved ones to discover it after you die. If they dont already know you have cryptocurrency and how to access it, this asset might be lost to them forever.

However, when your cryptocurrency is in a trust, its documented and youve made a plan for what should happen to it when youre dead. Your trust tells your successor trustee that your cryptocurrency exists, where to look for it, and what to do with it. This greatly reduces the possibility that your cryptocurrency will be lost after you die.

While your trust alerts your successor trustee to the existence of your cryptocurrency (and names who should get it), you dont have to leave all of the details of your cryptocurrency in your trust document. Instead, its wise to create a separate document that describes in detail how to find and access your cryptocurrency. You can leave this access plan for your successor trustee or whoever will need to access your coins after you die.

When you die, the law requires (most of) your property to go through a legal process called probate. During this process, your estate is submitted to the court, and your property is distributed to your loved ones either according to the terms of your will or by intestacy laws. This process can still take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months and can be quite expensive, especially if the estate must pay a lawyer or an executor, or both.

If you leave your cryptocurrency through your will (or you make no plan at all), your cryptocurrency will go through probate and your beneficiaries wont have access to your cryptocurrency until the probate process is completeweeks or months after your death. With the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency markets, your coins could lose tremendous value before your beneficiaries ever get access to your digital wallet while they wait for your estate to be probated.

Any property included in your trust wont go through the probate process when you die. Instead, your successor trustee will immediately have the right to access and distribute your cryptocurrency following the terms of your trust. Keeping your cryptocurrency out of probate will likely save your beneficiaries time and money because they will get access to your coins faster and with fewer court costs.

Another benefit of using a trust is that you can maintain more privacy for you and your beneficiaries. During the probate process, a will is filed with the court and can become part of the public record. So if you leave your cryptocurrency through your will, information about your cryptocurrency may not remain private.

This prospect is unappealing for people with large cryptocurrency assets. Any public information about your cryptocurrency will make it easier for hackers and scammers to target your loved ones.

In contrast, trust documents arent part of the public record and only your successor trustee will need to know about your cryptocurrency. This added layer of privacy will help maintain the security of your cryptocurrency for you and your beneficiaries.

Creating a trust for your cryptocurrency is a good idea if your beneficiaries are very young, aren't tech savvy, or are unable to manage their own finances because a trust provides a system of management for the cryptocurrency you leave behind.

If your beneficiaries receive your cryptocurrency through a will, legally, they will have direct access to your coins. In some cases, this may not be a good ideaparticularly if your beneficiaries dont understand what cryptocurrency is or how it works. It may be overwhelming for those beneficiaries to learn about digital wallets, figure out cryptocurrency exchanges, and maintain all the security practices needed to secure the cryptocurrency they inherit.

Under a trust, your cryptocurrency will be managed by your successor trustee after you die. Your successor trustee will be responsible for accessing, maintaining, securing, and distributing your cryptocurrency according to the terms of your trust. So you can lay out exactly what should happen to your cryptocurrency and give the responsibility of managing it to a person who can be trusted to know or learn how the system works. In this way, using a trust could be a great relief to your beneficiaries, especially in the wake of your death.

One of the greatest benefits of creating a cryptocurrency trust is maintaining some control of your investment even after you die. You can use your trust to dictate how an asset is used and for what purpose. This is different from leaving cryptocurrency through a will, which gives your loved ones complete control over your cryptocurrency after they inherit it.

For example, if you want your beneficiaries to stay invested in cryptocurrency for a specific period of time, the trust can hold your coins until then. This can prevent a premature sale of your coins if you believe your cryptocurrency will get more valuable as time goes on. A trust can also allow your loved ones extra time to understand cryptocurrency before they get control of it, or you can choose to have the trust manage this asset for them indefinitely. You can tailor your trust to fit the specific needs of your loved ones.

There are some challenges unique to cryptocurrency trusts, but you can cover your bases by consulting an estate planning attorney or doing the necessary research. Creating a trust isnt necessary, but it will ensure that your coins wont get lost after you pass away and help maintain a level of privacy. A trust also provides a trusted manager for your coins and relieves your loved ones from the burden of trying to figure out cryptocurrency after you die.

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Mining Cryptocurrency By Reading Users’ Brain Waves …

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Would you accept cryptocurrency as a reward for watching ads? How about if you had to prove you had watched said ads by having your brain waves analyzed? It might sound a bit crazy, but its an idea Microsoft lays out in a new patent application titled Cryptocurrency System Using Body Activity Data.

Filed in September 2018, but only recently published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and highlighted by PC Magazine, the application describes a method of how brain wave or body heat emitted from the user when the user performs the task provided by an information service provider, such as viewing an advertisement or using certain internet services, can be used in the mining process.

As is described by the patent application, instead of the massive computation work that is required by conventional cryptocurrency systems, Microsofts hypothesis is that data generated based on the body activity of users can help solve the computationally difficult problem unconsciously. Other than brain waves and body heat, the system could also potentially monitor body fluid flow and organ activity and movement.

All of this would, of course, require biometric reading of users, potentially via attached sensors. As a reward for wearing these, however, the system would then pay out cryptocurrency for completing certain tasks. As the application notes: The cryptocurrency system communicatively coupled to the device of the user may verify if the body activity data satisfies one or more conditions set by the cryptocurrency system, and award cryptocurrency to the user whose body activity data is verified.

In addition to watching ads for a set amount of time, the patent application also notes how it could track tasks such as social media, using search engines, sending and receiving email, visiting websites, or using chatbots.

Overall, it leaves a whole lot more questions open than it poses answers. Which cryptocurrency? Would the mining of these currencies be the main benefit for Microsoft or would it be the ability to prompt users to use certain services? And, most crucially of all, will this ever transition from a proof-of-concept to a fully fledged product? As with many patents, theres a good chance that this is a defensive patent that will never actually be turned into a user-facing product. Nonetheless, its another reminder that tech giants are always looking for new ways to keep eyes (and brain waves, organ activity, etc.) on their products.

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New Cryptocurrency Exchanges Launch in India as Businesses …

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The Indian cryptocurrency industry has been growing rapidly despite the nationwide lockdown and the coronavirus crisis. Two new cryptocurrency trading platforms are launching in India while existing crypto businesses seek clarification from the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The crypto sector in India is showing significant growth with several crypto exchanges reporting a 10X increase in trading volumes and a substantial increase in new users. Despite the global coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, new cryptocurrency trading platforms are launching in India.

Global cryptocurrency exchange aggregator Coinswitch is launching a crypto trading app for Indian users on June 1. Announcing pre-registration for Coinswitch Kuber, Coinswitch explained on Wednesday:

Coinswitch Kuber will ensure the best rates by aggregating liquidity across all Indian exchanges and will support over 100 currencies for Indian users to buy and sell easily using Indian rupees (INR).

Coinswitch aggregates the liquidity of a number of crypto exchanges in India to provide its users with the best rates for cryptocurrencies. The exchanges include Binance, Huobi, Kucoin, and Hitbtc. To access this pooled liquidity, users simply enter the INR amount and the cryptocurrency they want to buy, and the service will provide a list of offers at various exchanges that auto-refreshes every 30 seconds.

The first 25,000 users during pre-launch pay no INR trading, deposit, or withdrawal fees. Users can earn Coinswitch points, or Kuber points, as a part of the new platforms reward program, which can be redeemed from the reward section once the platform is live.

Besides Coinswitch, another cryptocurrency exchange has launched in India. The Bangalore-based Bitpolo announced on Thursday that it is now live. The exchange offers instant INR deposits and claims that withdrawals are within seconds. Chief business officer Suresh Choudhary said:

We were building through the bear market and thought the timing of our launch cannot be more apt than when the world is slowly inching back towards normalcy post a pandemic & recessionary environment.

As we foresee fragilities of traditional asset classes, crypto markets seem to offer the bigger upside and we intend to bring simplicity and solid technology to the screens of Indian traders and hodlers, Bitpolo added.

Ever since the Supreme Court of India quashed the RBI ban, the Indian crypto community has been waiting for more instruction from the central bank. The RBI has not sent any notices to banks regarding the supreme courts ruling, which has led some banks to continue denying service to crypto businesses. According to reports, the central bank is not obligated to issue any updates.

A number of crypto businesses have reportedly approached the RBI seeking clarity on the status of the banking ban and the taxation of cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency exchanges also want clarity as to whether they are being categorized as commodity, currency, goods or service as this is set to impact the way they get taxed under goods and services tax (GST) framework, the Economic Times reported Monday.

If the digital assets are not exempted from GST, the digital currency exchanges in India are going to have a standoff with the tax authority, Praveenkumar Vijayakumar, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Belfrics Global, was quoted by the news outlet as saying. He elaborated:

In the wake of the recent supreme court ruling, we have also approached the RBI for clarity on this, as if we pay GST on the whole transaction, then most platforms would not be able to survive.

Several Indian tax authorities have been examining how to tax bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The indirect tax department has been investigating whether cryptocurrency could be brought under GST and how much to tax crypto exchanges. The sales tax department and VAT authorities are also looking into cryptocurrency taxation.

What do you think about how fast the Indian crypto sector is growing? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Coinswitch, Bitpolo

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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New Cryptocurrency Exchanges Launch in India as Businesses ...

Coinranking: Cryptocurrency Prices Live – Rates List Today …

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