Making Blockchain Safe and Secure, a Balancing Act That Never Ends – Cointelegraph

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

Blockchain technology has become synonymous with privacy and security, but those very characteristics have been put to the test over the past decade. With historical roots embedded in cryptography, many blockchain and cryptocurrency projects purport to offer unbridled security and privacy measures. The industry is split between public blockchain platforms like Bitcoin and private or permissioned blockchains focused on enterprise use.

Cointelegraph has previously explored the ins and outs of privacy concerns around blockchain technology, but the security of these systems is a major consideration on its own. In the years since Bitcoins (BTC) inception, a multitude of cryptocurrencies has been created, along with numerous blockchain projects in the private and public sphere.

The sheer number of working parts and industry participants means that vulnerabilities have been identified and exploited over the years. This is despite the best efforts of those involved to create the most secure blockchains, cryptocurrencies and exchanges.

This article will shine a spotlight on public blockchains and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, permissioned blockchains that offer enterprise solutions to mainstream corporate companies as well as privacy coins to delve into the different considerations of their perceived and actual levels of security.

Given that the use of cryptocurrencies primarily began with individual users and adoption by bigger entities such as financial institutions has been slow, a major concern is the security of blockchain or cryptocurrencies being used by individuals. In order to get an understanding of what makes these systems secure, Cointelegraph reached out to blockchain and cryptocurrency analysis firm CipherTrace.

John Jefferies, who is the companys chief financial analyst, identified and separated the different categories that are needed to fully understand the level of security of an open blockchain or cryptocurrency like Bitcoin:

There are three levels of security to consider: personal, platform and technology. Blockchains provide the technology layer, but the average user must trust the security of the particular wallet or exchange they are using. A well-validated, open-source blockchain built using known, trusted encryption, such as the Bitcoin blockchain, provides the level of security to assure the average user that their transaction data has not been tampered with.

When asked whether open blockchain systems have provided trusted security and privacy to users, Jefferies outlined two key elements of Bitcoins system that answered long-standing problems plaguing earlier digital currency projects. First of all, the Blockchain technology proved to be a major advancement, as it solved the double-spend issue in peer-to-peer transactions.

Another vital protocol that ensured security was the basis of Bitcoins consensus protocol, as Jefferies explained, the blockchain technology also deals with the Byzantine Generals Problem, where a messenger sharing information between generals can deliver false information. However, if all parties receive information that is verified by the majority, the corrupt messengers will be discovered. While these two elements provide robust security to the overall Bitcoin system, Jefferies makes a clear distinction between the security of the protocol and the privacy afforded to users:

It is a common misconception that Bitcoin was designed to be anonymous, but in actuality, the Bitcoin blockchain is pseudonymous, meaning transactions are publicly visible yet the individual users associated with transactions are not. Satoshis white paper only discusses privacy in two paragraphs. If privacy was the goal, it would have been designed differently.

Cointelegraph also reached out to Stanford University Ph.D. student Florian Tramr, who recently managed to discover vulnerabilities in privacy coins Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC). A remote side-channel assault would enable an attacker to recover a users IP addresses, thereby destroying any semblance of anonymity and privacy of the users in a transaction.

Tramr weighed in on the level of security that open blockchain networks, like Bitcoin, offered the average user. He highlighted in a comment to Cointelegraph that Bitcoins consensus protocol has proved its efficacy on its own, but the development of numerous third-party applications, like exchanges, has added a number of vulnerabilities to the overall ecosystem:

The general idea of consensus via proof-of-work definitely seems to be standing the test of time in terms of security at least, not so much in terms of scalability. [...] On the security side, weve seen countless examples of vulnerabilities in smart contracts, wallets, exchanges, etc. From the privacy side, there have also been many studies showing that cryptocurrency transactions are relatively easy to trace and de-anonymize, even in systems, such as Monero and Zcash mostly because actually achieving good privacy requires a lot of extra care on the users side.

Private, or permissioned, blockchains have become a go-to solution for big companies and corporates that are looking for distributed ledger solutions for various business challenges. It goes without saying that bigger conglomerates will take no chances when it comes to security and so they turn to permissioned blockchains that are tailor-made and managed by specialist tech companies.

Prime examples are Microsoft Azure Blockchain Service and IBMs Blockchain platform, which is powered by the Linux foundations Hyperledger Fabric. Microsoft Azure Blockchain Service performs a similar function, allowing users to build and operate blockchain networks that scale. IBM Blockchain is aimed at large businesses and corporations and has a variety of existing blockchain platforms that companies can join. Clients can also build and launch their own platforms that can be programmed to carry out specific functions.

Related: Leveraging Hyperledger Fabric Enterprise Blockchain Unleashes Viable Solutions

When asked if permissioned blockchains are more secure than open networks, CipherTraces Jefferies offered an argument suggesting that these platforms arent inherently more secure:

No, they are simply attacked less because they do not move money and are not widely deployed. If anything, they could be more susceptible to hacks and security breaches because by nature of being permissioned, private blockchains are more centralized.

Tramrs take was similar to that of Jefferies about how permissioned blockchains would contrast the security of open blockchains:

The threat model is certainly different. Yet, some issues, such as smart-contract bugs, key management, etc., would also be a problem in a permissioned or private system.

While companies may turn to permissioned blockchains to operate closed-off ledger systems and other financial tasks, at the other end of the spectrum, there are privacy coins that aim to offer complete anonymity to users. Considering Tramrs research into perceived privacy and security offered by privacy coins, he insisted that assessing the actual degree of privacy and anonymity offered is not a clear-cut conversation:

On the one hand, Zcash and Monero use some fairly advanced and very recent developments in cryptography to offer, in principle, high degrees of privacy and anonymity for transactions. On the other hand, cryptography is only one part of a large distributed system implemented by these projects. And measuring privacy, or the lack thereof, at a systems level is very hard. There can be subtle implementation bugs and a variety of usage patterns or side-channel leaks that might reveal much more than the cryptography intends.

A key takeaway is that security concerns in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space transcend individual systems. One cannot label a single platform or cryptocurrency as insecure due to the fact that there are numerous systems that plug into one another. Tramr offered a comparison between traditional financial systems and the emergence of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies where no system is unhackable and that security concerns also come down to usability issues:

You shouldnt have to be an expert to use these cryptocurrencies in the most secure way possible. At the same time, striving for an unhackable system is not necessarily the right goal. If you look at the banking system for instance, things are clearly not unhackable. People get their credit cards and account logins stolen all the time; banks get hacked; theres a lot of fraud; and most of this gets handled by the legal framework and insurance. A similar framework for seamlessly and gracefully handling security breaches and losses in the cryptocurrency space doesnt exist yet.

In the decade following Bitcoins creation and the emergence of numerous altcoins, blockchain platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges and a multitude of other projects have sprung up. This inevitably included teething problems and hacks; fraud and security breaches were rife, particularly among cryptocurrency exchanges.

Meanwhile, technologists and developers have begun leveraging blockchain technology and cryptography to build secure and robust systems. The exploration of the capabilities continues today, and Jefferies believes that the technology will continue to drive the development of more secure systems across a wide range of industries:

Yes, there has been a lot of experimentation looking for use cases where blockchain provides benefits beyond traditional technology. [...] We are seeing companies and countries pursuing digital currencies because of the enhanced efficiency and control enabled by digitalization. In the next 10 years, every major economy will have their own Central Bank Digital Currency.

See more here:
Making Blockchain Safe and Secure, a Balancing Act That Never Ends - Cointelegraph

Global Quantum Cryptography Services Market 2020 by Product Types, Method, Application, End Users, Region, Industry Analysis, Recent Trend and…

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

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Made-up murder claims, threats to kill Twitter, rants about NSA spying anything but mention 100,000 US virus deaths, right, Mr President? – The…

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

Opinion In their natural habitat, when chimpanzees become angry, they often stand up, wave their arms, and throw branches or rocks anything nearby that they can get their hands on. When chimps are removed from the wild and kept in captivity, they experience stress and agitation, which can cause them to react in the same way by throwing things, explains the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.

Captive chimpanzees are deprived of the diverse objects they would find in nature, and the most readily available projectile is feces. Since they also tend to get a pretty strong reaction from people when they do throw it, their behavior is reinforced and likely to be repeated, which explains the abundance of YouTube videos on this subject.

Crap-flinging has become a regular response from another angry, caged animal experiencing stress and agitation and the past 24 hours have seen such an extraordinary amount of it that as the excrement has piled up, the shock value has faded and the chimp, or chump, hurling the stuff is starting to get it on himself.

In the past 48 hours, there have been no less than 38 tweets from Donald Trump, every one designed to elicit outrage, upset and fury. Even by the current... standards of the current occupier of the White House, they were extraordinary.

But even though they touched every topic from free speech to voting to space exploration to surveillance, there was a common thread, and it was death.

President Trumps patently absurd and offensive claims that MSNBC TV host and former Republican lawmaker Joe Scarborough was behind the accidental death of a staffer decades ago began the pattern. It began with an allegation of murder, and morphed into an ugly line in the sand that no one was willing to cross for political sport, and even partisan news outlets slammed the American president's vile outbursts. To be clear: Scarborough didn't kill anyone.

The death of democracy came next: Californias effort to move to mail-in ballots to ensure the presidential election in November could carry on despite the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the country.

The ballots would be substantially fraudulent the Shit-Flinger-in-Chief warned. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed.

It was too much even for Twitter, which created an entirely new feature for the occasion. Get the facts about mail-in ballots, reads an appended message to those tweets, leading to a separate spot on the social network outlining that not a single component of the foul-smelling claim is true.

But to a man on the look-out for a fight, this was a hit. Who dares silence conservative voices? Another turd quickly hurled out the West Wing window: We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen. Them being social networks like Twitter.

The president currently has no power to shut down law-abiding websites in the US just because he disagrees with their speech. An executive order is promised on Thursday tackling internet giants that have upset him, though this isn't the first time he's threatened such a thing.

By now, the pile of crap has started building and everyone is standing back, staring at the angry ape and keeping out of range. The fun seemingly over, Congress turns to leave. His bowels emptied, Trump looks around for something else to fling. And what will soon land on his desk but a bill authorizing the extension of controversial spying powers.

He flings it: WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICANS IS WRONG! Nothing. He tries again: If the FISA Bill is passed tonight on the House floor, I will quickly VETO it. Our Country has just suffered through the greatest political crime in its history. The massive abuse of FISA was a big part of it!

But no one is buying the claim that the man in the cage will kill programs that bring him so much information and power. In 2018, he authorized NSA snooping programs.

In a far corner there is the unmistakable stench of death. A black man named George Floyd lies there, motionless, having been needlessly, cruelly crushed under the knee of a white cop. It was captured on camera, all five excruciating minutes of it. Trump flings it.

At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd. I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement. My heart goes out to Georges family and friends. Justice will be served!

But no one cares what Trump has to say; the ability to intone about, or inflame, race relations left long ago with the very fine people of Charlottesville. Arm aching, empty innards slumping; the crowd still there but increasingly bored. One last chance: a moment of national pride as NASA sends men to space.

The exhausted ape and his family is moved to Florida with a chance to relish in its power, and perhaps hitch a ride on a phallic explosion to dispel any thoughts of flaccid leadership. But it too died; a storm was brewing across the water so the NASA-SpaceX launch was postponed.

As the sun went down, the smell of stale sweat and crusted feces wafting around on the breeze, death finally arrived on its own terms. One hundred thousand or more souls taken by the coronavirus in America. The official count ticked over, and millions of phones across the land buzzed as the terrible milestone was reached. And it was all anyone cared about.

Kayleigh McEnany just accidentally revealed the key difference between the media and the Trump White House – KTVZ

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany thought she had scored a direct hit on the medias credibility during Thursdays press briefing.

Asked by CNNs Jim Acosta about Twitters decision to append a fact-check to President Donald Trumps false claim that mail-in balloting is a Democratic attempt to rig the 2020 election, McEnany said this: If youre going to get into the fact-checking business theres no one that should be fact-checked more than the mainstream media that has been continually wrong about a number of things.

She then went on to detail several instances including a 2017 CNN story in which we wrongly reported that Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. had received an email providing them access to hacked WikiLeaks emails before the public had access where mainstream media got reporting about Trump wrong.

In 2017, your network, CNN, botched their WikiLeaks email exclusive and were forced to make on-air corrections, McEnany scolded Acosta.

Pay very close attention to those last few words from McEnany make on-air corrections.

Yes! CNN did do that! And wrote an entire article about the initial article being wrong and detailed past errors we have made.

Because CNN is a big news organization that is ultimately just a lot of people trying to get it right. And because we are people, we dont always get it right. And when we get it wrong, we do our best to explain why and how and try to not make that same mistake again.

Thats how journalists maintain credibility with audiences. Not by never making a mistake, because that is impossible. Rather, by doing everything we can to get the story right and, when we dont, admitting we didnt. The very fact that we issue public corrections in the most transparent way possible is a testament to our commitment to getting it right.

Now, contrast that approach to how President Trump and the White House operate.

Trump, according to The Washington Posts Fact-Checker blog has said more than 18,000 false or misleading things in his first 1,170 days in office an average of 15 incorrect claims every single day he has been president.

Many politicians, faced with being fact-checked and deemed to have gotten something wrong, have one of two reactions: 1) They apologize for the misstatement or 2) (and this one is more common) they simply stop repeating the falsehood. Trump doubles, triples and quadruples down on known falsehoods.

When pressed about Trumps incorrect claims on Thursday, McEnany said this: Im around the President. His intent is always to give truthful information to the American people.

Sure! Most people do try to tell the truth most of the time! But even if you try to tell the truth all of the time, you get stuff wrong. It happens. Because we are human.

So, how many times has Trump or a member of his senior staff admitted they simply got something wrong? Uh, so, well, not many? And thats being very, very generous.

In fact, Trumps default response when he is asked to apologize for getting something wrong is an I-am-rubber-you-are-glue defense, attacking and blaming the media. Where is their apology to me for all of the incorrect stories?? Trump tweeted in June 2017.

In other words: Trump seeks to distract from his own comments and demands that he either retract or apologize for them by accusing someone else almost always the media of needing to apologize to him. Its sort of like this defense used by Al Pacino in And Justice For All.

What McEnanys response to Acosta, which was celebrated by conservative media, proves is the exact opposite of what she was going for. Its not that journalists arent willing to look in the mirror and admit their own mistakes. Its that the White House doesnt understand that journalists willingness to publicly acknowledge their mistakes is a sign of strength, not weakness.

True weakness is pretending that you never screw anything up. And that weakness leads to never learning from your mistakes because, well, you dont think youve many any.

Thats what McEnany revealed on Thursday even if she didnt mean to.

More:
Kayleigh McEnany just accidentally revealed the key difference between the media and the Trump White House - KTVZ

Regulation Of Cryptocurrency In China – Technology – China – Mondaq News Alerts

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

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Cryptocurrency-related activities have received little tolerancefrom the Chinese government. Initial coin offerings (ICO) werebanned in China in September 2017. Exchange platforms that tradedcryptocurrencies or provided facilitation services were alsoordered to be closed following the crackdown on ICO. Many exchangeschose to relocate to jurisdictions that are more favorable tocryptocurrencies than China. However, due to the long-armjurisdiction of the Chinese criminal laws, organizers and promotersof overseas ICO and exchanges may not be free from the jurisdictionof Chinese criminal laws, if those persons are Chinese citizens orif Chinese investors invested in overseas ICO or tradedcryptocurrencies on overseas exchanges.

Interestingly, it is not illegal to hold Bitcoins and othercryptocurrencies or even to buy or sell them in China. The Chinesegovernment also encourages the development and application ofblockchain technology, but made it clear that blockchain technologymust service the real economy.

1. ICO

China's Policy:

On September 4, 2017, seven government agencies of China, i.e.the People's Bank of China ("PBOC"), the CentralCybersecurity and Information Technology Lead Group of CommunistParty of China, the Ministry of Industry and InformationTechnology, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce,China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Security RegulatoryCommission and China Insurance Regulatory Commission, jointlyissued the "Notice regarding Prevention of Risks of TokenOffering and Financing" (the "Notice"). The Noticebanned all ICO in China and ordered that any organizations orindividuals who had previously completed ICO to make arrangementssuch as return of token assets to investors to protect investorrights.

Background:

To understand the harsh attitude of the Chinese governmenttowards ICO, we have to look at the big picture of China'seconomy and financial market. In the past 20 plus years, China hasenjoyed high speed economic development, which, many believe, cameat the cost of high leverage in the financial system andaccumulation of financial risks. In the past two years, control offinancial risks and stabilization of the financial system hasbecome the top priority of PBOC. Before ICO, internet platformsproviding P2P loans and micro lending had been targeted by PBOC andother financial regulators and are still in the process ofcleansing and rectification. It is no surprise that ICO, due to thesheer increase both in numbers and in the amount of funds raised,as well as some socially chaotic events caused by ICO, received thedeath sentence from PBOC.

Nature of ICO in the Eyes of PBOC:

In the Notice, ICO was described as a process by whichfundraisers distribute digital tokens to investors who makefinancial contributions in the form of cryptocurrencies such asBitcoin and Eethereum. The Notice further pointed out: "Bynature, it is an unauthorized and illegal public financingactivity, which involves financial crimes such as illegaldistribution of financial tokens, illegal issuance of securitiesand illegal fundraising, financial fraud and pyramidscheme."

Among the crimes mentioned in the Notice, "illegalfundraising", which generally means raising funds withoutgovernment approval, is a crime that has been widely used incracking down on undesirable financial activities as the scope ofthe crime can be interpreted very broadly.

Overseas ICO:

It should be noted that even ICO outside of China are notcompletely safe if they attracted Chinese investors. According toArticle 6 of the PRC Criminal Law, if any of the criminalactivities or results of such activities occurred in China, thecrime is deemed to have occurred in the territory of China. If theICO involved financial crimes based on Chinese criminal lawstandards, the promotors or organizers of those ICO may potentiallybe subject to Chinese criminal liabilities if they are Chinesecitizens. Even if they are not Chinese citizens, if overseas ICOattracted Chinese investors, they may still potentially be subjectto Chinese criminal liabilities.

Initial Miner Offerings (IMO):

After ICO was banned by the Chinese government in September2017, a new business model quickly became popular, which was called"Initial Miner Offerings" (IMOs). In contrast to ICO, theorganizers sell mining equipment to investors initially, and theinvestors are awarded with tokens or points for their miningactivities using the equipment. On January 12, 2018, the NationalInternet Finance Association of China ("NIFA")[1] issuedthe "Risk Alert concerning Prevention of Disguised ICOActivities", in which NIFA pointed out that an IMO involvesfundraising activities and is a disguised form of ICO. Followingthe NIFA alert, the IMO market in China also went down.

2.Exchanges

China's Policy:

The Notice also targeted cryptocurrency exchanges and orderedthat any so-called "fundraising and trading platforms"shall not:

- Offer exchange services between fiat currency, tokens and"virtual currencies";

- Buy or sell tokens or "virtual currencies", or buyor sell "virtual currencies" as a central counterparties(CCP); or

- Provide price determination or information intermediaryservices for tokens or "virtual currencies".

Adjustments of Market Players:

In the several months after the Notice, most of thecryptocurrency exchanges closed down their platforms in China butcontinued exchange business through platforms registered in foreignjurisdictions such as Japan, Hong Kong, Korea or otherjurisdictions which seemed to be more favorable to the exchangebusiness than China.

They also made adjustments to their business models. To avoiddirect confrontation with Chinese monetary authorities, someexchanges no longer provided exchange services between fiatcurrency and cryptocurrencies. Some chose to introduce a new token(such as USDT, QC, etc.) to their platforms which has valueequivalent to the value of fiat currency, as an intermediarybetween fiat currency and cryptocurrency. Investors may use fiatcurrency to buy this new token and then use this new token to buycryptocurrency.

Further, many exchanges launched peer-to-peer trading platformsthat support direct transactions between investors without theexchange acting as a CCP. On those platforms, one investor can buycryptocurrencies from another investor and pay the seller via banktransfers, Alipay or Wechat pay[1].

Legality of Adjusted BusinessModels:

Those modified business models are not entirely safe from theChinese criminal law perspective. Although major exchanges havebeen relocated overseas, they may still be subject to Chinesecriminal liabilities due to the long-arm jurisdiction of theChinese criminal laws. If the founders or managers of an exchangeare Chinese nationals, or they make decisions in China to operatethe overseas exchange, or the investors are in China, if theexchange performs prohibited functions, Chinese justice authoritieswould still have jurisdiction over those persons.

Access to Overseas Exchanges:

To further prevent Chinese investors from purchasing and tradingcryptocurrencies on overseas exchanges, China has blocked internetaccess to the websites of some overseas exchanges from China.According to Chinese laws, no person should use the internet toview information that violates Chinese laws and regulations. Thosewho access overseas exchanges via virtual private networks(VPN's) may potentially face risks if the exchanges containprohibited information. In January 2017, the Ministry of Industryand Information Technology ruled that only authorized VPN'scould be used in China. The sale or provision of VPN services bycompanies or individuals without telecom licenses issued by Chinesetelecom authorities became illegal.

3. Mining Activities

It was reported that on January 2, 2018, the Working TeamLeading Risk Control and Rectification concerning Internet Finance,a special task force established under the State Council, issuednotices to local governments requesting them to take measures to"guide" Bitcoin mining operators to exit from theirrespective regions. Since then, major miners reportedly decreasedor ceased their operations in China, once the largest mining basein the world, and moved to more favorable countries, similar to themove of the cryptocurrency exchanges.

4. Legality of Holding and TradingCryptocurrencies

In view of China's harsh attitude towards ICO,cryptocurrency exchanges and mining activities, some may assumethat it would be illegal for Chinese to hold or trade Bitcoins orother cryptocurrencies. This is not correct. No PRC law orregulation prohibits Chinese investors from holdingcryptocurrencies or trading cryptocurrencies . This seems to beconsistent with an early notice jointly issued by five Chinesegovernment agencies led by PBOC back in 2013, which defined Bitcoinas a special virtual commodity, but not a currency. That noticealso explicitly provides that Bitcoin does not have legal status asa currency and should not be circulated and used in the market as acurrency. This should still be the position taken by PBOC as oftoday.

Article 127 of the General Rules of the Civil Law of China,which took effect on October 1, 2017, provides that: "In caselaws have provisions on the protection of data and internet virtualproperties, such laws should be complied with." Some Expertsbelieve that this means that one of the basic laws in Chinarecognizes the legal status of cryptocurrencies as virtualproperty.

5. Transfer of Payments Using BlockchainTechnology

Senior officials of PBOC have publicly encouraged the use ofblockchain technology to improve the convenience, promptness andlow cost of retail payments. In fact, PBOC established its ownDigital Currency Research Institute for the goal of issuing digitalmoney. It should be noted, however, that China's digital moneywould still be fully controlled by the central government, incontrast to the nongovernmental nature of Bitcoin.

According to news reports, in December 2017, China MerchantsBank, Wing Lung Bank of Hong Kong and Wing Lung Bank, ShenzhenBranch have successfully completed cross-border transfers ofRenminbi[4] payments using blockchain technology. Many other bankshave reportedly made experiments and even progress on the use ofblockchain technology to improve their transaction systems.

6. The Future of Blockchain in China

Despite the ban on ICO and cryptocurrency exchanges, PBOC andother government agencies have consistently showed great enthusiasmtowards the application of blockchain technology for the goal ofmodernizing China's financial systems and becoming a worldleader in this new innovative technology. In recent years, variousguidelines and papers issued by the government have endorsedblockchain technology and even placed blockchain technology in thesame category of big data and artificial intelligence (AI). In thepast twelve months, many local governments sponsored the formationof sizable investment funds to make investment in startups ofblockchain technology and applications.

However, the endorsement of blockchain technology is not withoutreservation. In the view of PBOC, blockchain technology and digitalcurrency should be researched for the goal of better service to thereal economy. PBOC believes that blockchain technology can bedeveloped without the use of tokens, which are believed to havebeen the roots of various social problems such as illegalfundraising and fraud.

Footnotes

1. The current leaders of NIFA are former seniorofficials of PBOC, and alerts issued by NIFA often predict the nextmoves of PBOC.

2. Both of which are popular third party payment APPs inChina.

3. Given that cryptocurrency exchanges were banned inChina, cryptocurrencies may only be traded in a peer-to-peermanner.

4. Official currency of China.

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

Investors fear cryptocurrency CEO accused of stealing millions could be on the run – News24

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

07:53 29/05/2020 Buks Viljoen, Correspondent

A man accused of stealing millions from Bitcoin investors appears to have made a run for it.

Investors who were contacted by News24 said they have not heard from the CEO of VaultAge Solutions (VS), Willie Breedt, since December when he promised to pay back their money.

The Hawks have stepped in to investigate after an investor opened a case of fraud against Breedt.

Some have speculated Breedt is staying at a luxury mansion in the well-known Marina Martinique Estate in Ashton Bay, Jeffrey's Bay.

However, officially he seems to be still out of the country.

According to information from the Department of Home Affairs, Breedt left the country for Mozambique on 21 December via the Kosi Bay border post.

There is no indication on the system he had returned to the country; however, a source said a glitch in the system might not have updated his movements.

Hundreds of investors

In the meantime, investors are concerned they will never see their money again.

VaultAge Solutions, which is not registered as a legitimate financial institution with the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA), has more than 2 000 investors.

Millions of rand have been invested in Breedt's cryptocurrency scheme, with one investor depositing more than R6 million.

Pleas to return the money have fallen on deaf ears.

READ |Hawks investigate cryptocurrency CEO after investors cry foul

Besides a few generic emails from Breedt promising to repay the outstanding amounts, no other communication has been received.

"I don't have R50 in my purse," Lettie Engelbrecht from Krugersdorp said.

"We are pensioners and invested R200000. From December until April, we received payments on the growth of our investment. Since then, we never got any money. We are desperate and living on a shoestring budget."

In a written reply to News24, Breedt said: "I am busy attendingto the commitments I have made to members. The commitment is to have all the initial capital paid back by 31 May."

Case under investigation

He, however, did not respond to the questions about his whereabouts and his visit to Mozambique.

Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale confirmed they were still investigating the case and "cannot reveal any information at this stage".

Bitcoin hodl waves indicate 60% of the cryptocurrency is being hoarded analysts suggest a bull run could be – Business Insider India

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

What is hodling?According to Bitcoin analyst Phillip Swift, 60% of all the Bitcoin (BTC) available has not moved in the last one year essentially, this 60% of the cryptocurrency has not been traded at all. This is known as hodling a term that means holding but is spelled as such due to a typing error.

60% of all bitcoin has not moved on the blockchain for at least 1 year. This is an indication of significant hodling. The last time this happened was in early 2016, at the start of the bull run, said Swift.Advertisement

Interest from institutional investors like Goldman Sachs turned Bitcoin investors bullishOne of the reasons behind the massive hodling in Bitcoin could be the interest from institutional investors like Goldman Sachs and hedge funds.Advertisement

Apart from GS, well known hedge fund manager and founder of Tudor Investment Corp., Paul Tudor Jones came out in support of Bitcoin. Bitcoin reminds me of gold when I first got into the business in 1976, he said in a market outlook note.

The best profit-maximizing strategy is to own the fastest horse. If I am forced to forecast, my bet is it will be Bitcoin, he further added.Advertisement

Bitcoin stalls at key $10,000 resistance level, but has significant upside if it can break through

Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones says he's loading up on bitcoin (GBTC)

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Bitcoin hodl waves indicate 60% of the cryptocurrency is being hoarded analysts suggest a bull run could be - Business Insider India

BitPay Awarded Best Alternative Payment Solution from CNP Summit – AiThority

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

BitPay, the worlds largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, today announced the company wonBest Alternative Payment Solution from CNP Summit. Each year, the CNP Awards is the only awards competition honoring the companies, programs and solutions that have distinguished themselves in the card not present space throughout the year. Over the last few months, the CNP panel of independent industry experts and the nominees customers have been deliberating on the winners for this years program.

Businesses of all kinds are being forced to adapt and innovate in this unprecedented year, said D.J. Murphy, editor-in-chief of Card Not Present. Merchants in the e-commerce fraud and payments community, facing completely new online shopping and fraud patterns, are working hand-in-hand with service providers to respond. Weve done that as well. This year, were fortunate to be able to unveil the CNP Awardsthe standard by which companies in this industry are recognized and judgedvirtually for the first time. We congratulate all the winners and hope to see them and the rest of our community in person next year.

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In selecting BitPay, CNP said that BitPay was one of the first platforms widely adopted for processing cryptocurrency and blockchain-based payments and has become one of the largest and most well-known in the space. It is one of eight first-time winners in this years CNP Awards, nabbing the Judges Choice award in the Best Alternative Payment Solution category. The company has traced the evolution of digital currency, starting by enabling mostly small businesses to leverage a new way to pay online and growing to service enterprises as cryptocurrency gained legitimacy. One of the reasons cryptocurrency continues to gain the confidence of merchants of all sizes is they are protected from chargebacks.

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In 2011, BitPay saw the potential to make it easy for businesses to accept blockchain payments and revolutionize the financial industry, said Bill Zielke, Chief Marketing Officer with BitPay. The CNP Award highlights this recognition and supports our goal to move cryptocurrency payments mainstream.

BitPay is a pioneer and leader in global blockchain payments. The Companys suite of products enable businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments globally for ecommerce goods and services or cross border transactions while receiving settlements in fiat currency. In addition, BitPay powers a secure wallet that can be used to store cryptocurrency, make payments or liquidate cryptocurrency to fund a Visa prepaid debit card or dozens of retail gift cards.

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5 Industries that are going to be dominated by cryptocurrency and blockchain technology – Crypto News Flash

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

There is no doubt about the fact that cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology are a disruptive and revolutionary force. Ever since Satoshi Nakamoto first created Bitcoin in 2008, it has redefined the way we look at our financial systems, transaction technologies and governmental control over economy.

In the last ten years, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have established themselves as a real alternative financial asset system to traditional fiat currencies. Likewise, Blockchain technology has also proven itself an incorruptible, fast and efficient mechanism of doing transactions.

In this article, we are going to focus on five industries that are seeing increased exposure from cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology.

Online gaming is a huge multi-billion dollar industry that is experiencing double-digit year-on-year growth for the last five odd years. Experts predict that this industry is going to see an exponential rise not only in the number of players, but also revenues and profits.

Tencent, a leading China based financial investment corporation has bought controlling rights in some of the most famous games ever, including Clash of Clans. Gaming companies are already experimenting with crypto payments and Blockchain technology on a massive level.

One industry, which has faced the brunt of the Coronavirus pandemic, has been the financial investment sector. With markets crashing all over the world, investors have lost trillions of dollars worth of investments in a very short span of time.

The option is either to go back to investing in precious metals like gold and silver (which are hedges against rising inflation) or look towards the future. The future is investing in cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology and getting trustpedia.io. The stability and security of investments has been on display even during the Coronavirus lockdown.

The Coronavirus pandemic saw the worlds worst oil crisis ever. With zero demand for oil globally, the oil and energy sector saw its sharpest fall in recent times. On the other hand, industries, which are powering alternative energy solutions, saw their stocks rise.

Many industries who are innovating on new technology favour cryptocurrencies as the future of financial systems. They are also actively working with Blockchain technology as a fast, safe and efficient model of transaction. This association is expected to get strengthened further in the coming years.

United Nations along with other global organizations like the Red Cross are engaging with cryptocurrencies as a fast model of reaching currency to the most underprivileged parts of the world. During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Italian Red Cross also started accepting donations and emergency funds from donors in Bitcoins.

NGOs all over the world have explored the immediacy, which is associated with crypto and Blockchain technology. This becomes very critical especially when it comes to transferring relief materials and funds to the people most affected by natural calamities, wars, insurgency, etc.

Last but definitely not the least, the IT industry and SaaS service providers are exploring and dealing with cryptocurrencies from a number of clients. They are also reworking their systems and processes at the behest of clients who want to shift to Blockchain technology.

Over the past few years, more and more clients, especially in the Supply and Logistics services like billion dollar fashion brands and huge FMCG manufacturers are experimenting with Blockchain technology on an unprecedented scale. It is expected that this collaboration is going to rise incrementally in the coming years.

While everyone believes in the meritorious nature of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology, brands and industries are still a bit sceptical owing to legal issues and regulations. However, experts feel that the more powerful industries get into the game, the more will be the lobbying effect they will start having on governments and policy makers.

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5 Industries that are going to be dominated by cryptocurrency and blockchain technology - Crypto News Flash

Irvingteen Teen Faces Civil Suit Over Alleged Theft of Cryptocurrency – River Journal Staff

Posted on May 29, 2020 by admin

(Photo by David McBee on Pexel.com)

A lawsuit alleging the theft of cryptocurrency in the millions of dollars has been brought against Irvington teen Ellis Pinsky, 18, by Michael Terpin, a marketer and advisor to cryptocurrency and technology companies and an investor in cryptocurrency.

The lawsuit, filed in May in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, names Pinsky and other defendants as being a gang of cybercriminals who used SIM-swapping to steal the Altcoin held in Terpins native wallet. At the time of the crime Terpin alleges Pinsky committed, Pinsky was 15, and according to Terpin the crypto stolen was worth $24 million.

By filing the lawsuit now, Terpin hopes federal criminal charges can be brought to bear against the defendants who, like Pinsky, are now adults.

Elliss attorney, Noam Biale of the firm Sher Tremonte, gave the following statement to the River Journal.

This case is about a grown man using his wealth to bully a defenseless teenager. Ellis should be focused on finishing high school but instead he has no choice but to fight this effort to destroy his life and future. We look forward to helping Ellis stand up to these abusive tactics in court.

Terpin, who grew up in Buffalo NY and attended Syracuse University before moving to the West Coast, seeks monetary damages triple the amount he alleges was stolen from him and is also hoping the lawsuit deters Pinsky and others seeking to engage in this sort of cybercrime in the future. Terpin recently received a judgment against Nick Truglia who also stole crypto from him by SIM-swap and he stands aggrieved by Truglias cavalier attitude about his crime and the punishment he received.

Thats how these kids are thinking, theyre like twenty years old and theyll just have to lay low for a little while and then theyll be able to live like kings. So, this is all about making that not too easy to do.

Biale is going to be responding to the complaint on or before July 31. So far, no criminal charges have been filed against Pinsky or the other defendants and whether this case will affect Pinskys college prospects cannot be determined at this time.

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Irvingteen Teen Faces Civil Suit Over Alleged Theft of Cryptocurrency - River Journal Staff