Chamath Palihapitiya, former Facebook executive and Chairman of Virgin Galactic, says that everyone should have 1% of their net worth invested in Bitcoin. He cited Bitcoins quality as a totally uncorrelated asset class, and the overuse of leverage in traditional finance as reasons to hedge with BTC.

Chamath Palihapitiya has been saying since 2013, that he believes that every investor, institutional or retail should make space in their portfolio for the #1 cryptocurrency.

Everyone should have a 1% allocation of their assets in Bitcoin.

The seasoned VC investor pointed out that Bitcoin is a new kind of asset class that is uncorrelated from traditional commodities, stocks and other investment assets. He went on to say that investing in Bitcoin is valuable because it is uncorrelated to other asset classes. He did point out however, that with BTCs volatility, using it as a safe haven could be disastrous.

these are not event driven strategies, when you see a Coronavirus scare you should not be buying Bitcoin, that is an idiotic strategy.

Palihapitiya says that an allocation in Bitcoin should be seen as insurance for a rainy day, and hopefully youll never need to use it. You should invest 1% and never look at it again until you need it for a crisis.

Every investor, including retail investors should view an investment in Bitcoin as a sort of crisis insurance, which they keep under the mattress and hope they never need. But if you do, then it will protect you, because it will have a value of hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars per coin.

Palihapitiya also added that every other financial investment product is correlated to each other.

Bitcoin is uncorrelated to the rest of the world and the way the world works

This is a very good point, especially considering the economic uncertainty we are facing, currently, worldwide, with negative IR, Corona Virus supply chain shocks, etc.The everyday retail investor will benefit much more from a small allocation in Bitcoin in the case of systemic collapse than well diversified wealthy investors.

Palihapitiya continued, saying that it is great that anybody in the world has access to an uncorrelated hedge asset.

an average citizen of any country in the world, can have a totally uncorrelated hedge.

Bitcoin has had a tumultuous week, giving up much of the gains it made since the first of the year, and retracing to $8675 at time of press. Even with this volatility, the halving has investors still bullish, overall.

Bitcoin is still up 20.45% this year even with the fall to $8675, and it rose above $10,000 for the first time since September, earlier this month. Has the cryptocurrencys narrative as a safe haven investment similar to gold stayed intact?

Palihapitiya thinks so, and he even called Warren Buffet, an exceptional investor, but that he is outdated and wrong about Bitcoin.

He is 100% wrong and outdated about Bitcoin

Palihapitiya isnt the only investor who believes that Bitcoin could be an excellent hedge against volatility and risk in the traditional markets. Financial TV host, Max Keiser, also has made comments lauding Bitcoins narrative as a store of value and as digital gold.

Palihapitiya did draw a line, and says he never called Bitcoin digital gold, and that he sees it more as insurance for an economic crisis or hedge against systemic collapse.

Do you agree with the Virgin Galactic Chairmans views on Bitcoin? Add your thoughts below!

Images via Shutterstock, Youtube @CNBCTV

Read more:
Everyone Should Have 1% of Their Assets in Bitcoin: Virgin Galactic Chair - Bitcoinist

What happens to your bitcoin after you die?

This is more than just a philosophical question: It could involve a substantial amount of currency.

The question of crypto and the Great Beyond is what prompted about 20 or so developers to get together in London recently to experiment with repurposing the current lightning protocol to send private messages as a dead man's button, a system that can't be censored and would keep your crypto safe for your heirs.

Lightning Labs infrastructure engineer Joost Jager has been exploring using lightning for messaging over the past year. At the Advancing Bitcoin conference in London, Jager hosted a workshop to explore building a dead man's button with lightning. The mission was to show that lightning can be used as messaging system as well as a payment network.

These buttons are not new. At the workshop, Jager noted Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency whistleblower, used one in case he died before journalists could reveal the contents of the documents he wanted to make public.

The goal of the workshop was to explore one of lightnings relatively new features, "keysend" (formerly known as spontaneous payments). Its so experimental it isn't even described in the lightning specifications yet. But it does offer a way to send data (called "custom records" in LND, the lightning implementation Jager works on) along with a transaction.

Heres how it might work: Imagine a user who wants to pass on a bitcoin (BTC) inheritance. That user would communicate with a "service," pushing a "button" that would send a message every week or so to signify that the user is still alive.

If the button isn't pressed one week, it is assumed the bitcoin user is dead or incapacitated and it's time for the bitcoin to be passed on, at which point the service automatically dispenses a "secret," which can be used to retrieve the crypto.

Beyond that, Jager thought some additional features should be added, even if they could make the program trickier to implement. The program should maintain the privacy of the sender and the receiver, he said, and should allow the sender to get proof the service still has the secret.

Developers split into small groups to think about how to build a service that would meet all of these and other goals. The workshop developers came up with some ideas, which Jager published to GitHub. He included a rough implementation, which puts several of the ideas into practice, though he said the code "is extremely limited and does not implement everything described."

This design isn't necessarily the best way forward, Jager said, but it's a proof of concept he hopes can inspire other implementations.

Imagination versus loss

Jager told CoinDesk the "primary" reason he chose the dead man's button for the workshop was it is complex enough of a use case that it can show off what lightning can do as a messaging system.

But he also thinks a dead man's button could be a real use case for lightning down the road.

"Many people try to arrange their crypto inheritance and need to make up their minds about who they trust. This could be an alternative, assuming that wrinkles are ironed out and the whole process is hidden underneath a user-friendly shell," he said. This is "unlikely to happen short term, but I hope people see the possibilities."

Lawyer Pamela Morgan, an expert on crypto inheritance and author of a book dedicated to helping people develop a plan to pass on their crypto, agrees with Jager the technology is far from ready. But she said she would not encourage users to put any money into any experimental dead man's button systems just yet.

"Dead man's switches are fun projects that excite our imaginations but fail to solve the complex and multidisciplinary challenges of crypto asset inheritance distribution. Relying on such solutions for something as important as inheritance is likely to cause catastrophic loss," she told CoinDesk.

However, she said the technology has promise. Since few crypto enthusiasts have any sort of a plan for what to do with their currencies after they are gone, she's happy to see people exploring ways to make crypto inheritance a more common practice.

"If adding a dead man's switch makes more people actually do inheritance planning for their bitcoin, then I'm all for it because so few people actually do anything," she told CoinDesk.

In the meantime, Jager is pressing on with beefing up lightning's messaging system to make it easier to send messages across the network.

Correction (Feb. 24, 22:52 UTC): This article has been updated to clarify the intent of the workshop.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Continued here:
How to Protect Bitcoin for Your Heirs With the Push of a 'Dead Man's Button' - CoinDesk - Coindesk

Bitcoin looks set to test the daily 200 moving average at $8,770 after sliding down towards the crucial $9,000 level of support.

It is now 15% down from its four-month high of $10,500 with the sell-off being reflected across all cryptocurrency markets.

The next logical stopping point for Bitcoin if $9,000 is to break with conviction is the region between $8,830 and $8,870 where the often-visited $8,450 line could be on the cards.

The ongoing correction will be painful to take for Bitcoin bulls who were of the belief that it would surge to a new all-time high in light of Mays block reward halving and the global coronavirus crisis.

Trillions of dollars have been wiped from global markets as the coronavirus begins to spread across mainland Europe.

Many thought that this would have a positive effect on the price of Bitcoin as it is often considered as a safe haven asset like gold.

However, the sell-off for Bitcoin has been more severe than expected, which could indicate the start of a short-term downtrend.

There is also a diagonal line of support that could be relevant over the coming months as it propped price up throughout the start and end of 2019.

The trendline is currently at around $7,860, which could be a key area for Bitcoin to bounce back towards the $8,400 level.

For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here.

Current live BTC pricing information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest Bitcoin price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents:

US Dollar BTCtoUSD

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In August 2008, the domain name bitcoin.orgwas registered. On 31st October 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 P2P network for electronic transactions without relying on trust. On January 3 2009, the Bitcoin network came into existence. Nakamoto mined block number 0 (or the genesis block), which had a reward of 50 Bitcoins.

If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin orcryptocurrenciesin general, then use the search box at the top of this page.Heres an article to get you started.

As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice.

See original here:
Bitcoin set to test 200 MA as it breaks below $9,000 - Coin Rivet

The issue of race when it comes to cryptocurrency is a sensitive one, and not without reason. The African-American community is largely born at an economic disadvantage, with a legacy financial system fueled by unethical practices like redlining, among many others. However, cryptocurrencies may give them the opportunity to eventually level the playing field.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, is no stranger to controversy himself. His platform currently hosts 330 million people around the world, and his individual followers currently number just over 4.3 million. On Sunday, he used that influence to promote a new book discussing Bitcoins potential benefits to the African-American community.

Bitcoin & Black America, written by Isaiah Jackson, offers an analysis of the role cryptocurrency can play with African-Americans, a group historically underserved by major financial institutions. Yet, the author notes, black people in the U.S. have largely not utilized cryptocurrency to try and achieve financial autonomy.

One of the problems, according to Jackson, is the perception of cryptocurrency among the African-American community. They are not the only ones to see Bitcoin as a scam, with new schemes continuing to exploit lack of regulatory oversight popping up in the news. Misinformation coupled with a lack of banking access has made investing in cryptocurrency a challenge among black people in the United States. Jackson says this must change going forward.

Originally published in July 2019, Bitcoin & Black America received a boost from the recent resurgence of the crypto market. Dorseys endorsement this week may do likewise.

Original post:
Bitcoins Potential to Benefit the African-American Community - Cointelegraph

Bitcoin is the future method of payment that will be accepted by most consumers, due to its ease of use, and prices will likely skyrocket said Robert Herjavec, founder and CEO of Herjavec Group.

Im a big believer in bitcoin, electronic payments in the future but I think were a long way away from that, Herjavec told Kitco News.

Herjavec noted that $100,000 a coin for bitcoin is not impossible.

Consumers, over the long run, always go to convenience, and bitcoin is just convenient, he said.

Stocks tumbled on Monday and Tuesday on the back of coronavirus fears, and Herjavec said that markets are starting to take note of how the global trading ecosystem could be negatively affected.

What I think we all learned yesterday is how truly interconnected the world is in ways that we dont even think. The coronavirus breaks out in South Korea, [so] why does this affect the global economy? South Korea is the number one shipping point for most goods out of Asia. So anything out of Asia is going through South Korea and if they shut down, how do we get goods? he said.

The S&P 500 closed 3% lower on Tuesday, following a 3% drop on Monday as well.

Catch up on the Latest Videos on TheStreet!

View post:
The Future Lies in Bitcoin Says Shark Tanks Robert Herjavec - TheStreet

Despite the short-term volatility Bitcoin has faced, the cryptocurrency has held up surprisingly well, holding the crucial $9,500 support on a daily and weekly basis as if its life depended on it.

A number of prominent analysts, such as Filb Filb, have argued that BTCs ability to maintain a price above $9,500 is a clear-as-day sign the cryptocurrency will continue higher in the coming weeks.

Though the next leg higher that investors across the board are waiting for may not happen, a top analyst with a quite accurate track record has recently warned.

In an analysis published Feb. 23, amid Sundays brief market recovery that took Bitcoin above $10,000, analyst Smart Contracter warned of impending market weakness.

He noted that Litecoins recovery on the weekend felt like a wave B to me, which per Elliot Wave theory, should be followed by a wave C retracement that is likely to bring the cryptocurrency to $59 20 percent lower than the current price of Bitcoin, and around 25 percent lower than the asset was trading when Smart Contracter published the below analysis.

This is relevant for Bitcoin because LTC has long acted as a pseudo-bellwether for the rest of the cryptocurrency market.

The most memorable case of this was in the first half of 2019, which is when LTC started rallying dozens of percent higher week over week while Bitcoin flatlined around $4,000. For around two months, the asset rallied on its own, then was followed by BTC and the rest of this nascent asset class.

Litecoins ability to precede the rest of the market is important because it suggests that should LTC start crash here, so too should Bitcoin.

While many crypto investors are skeptical of the validity of Elliot Wave analysis, Smart Contracter has a strong track record in analyzing the ever-volatile cryptocurrency markets, giving credence to his commentary.

In the middle of 2018, when Bitcoin was in the midst of a bear market, Smart Contracter revealed at which point he expects BTC to bottom, writing:

Im calling a bottom at exactly 3.2k with a 200 dollar leeway either side.

By the middle of December, his forecast was proven to be right when Bitcoin plunged from $6,000 to a low of $3,150 over the span of a few weeks, then established a macro bottom at that level.

While Smart Contracter is warning of blood in the streets in the short term, he is bullish on Bitcoin (and presumably other cryptocurrencies) from a longer-term perspective.

Late January, he posted the below chart, remarking that Bitcoin is in the midst of a five-wave rise from the $6,000s.

His Elliot Wave analysis suggests that Bitcoin has a high likelihood of breaking $14,000 45 percent above the current price point of $9,600 by the middle of 2020, likely around or just after the time of the block reward reduction in May 2020.

Read the original:
Why the analyst who called Bitcoins crash to $3,000 believes market could crater - CryptoSlate

Bitcoin failed to stay above the $9,500 support and declined more than 5% against the US Dollar. BTC price is now trading in a negative territory and it could slide below $9,000.

Yesterday, we discussed high chances of a big downside correction in bitcoin below $9,500 against the US Dollar. BTC did break the $9,500 support area and extended its decline.

Moreover, there was a close below the $9,350 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. During the decline, there was a break below a bearish continuation pattern with support at $9,225.

It opened the doors for more losses below $9,200. Finally, the price traded below $9,100 and formed a new weekly low at $9,087. It is currently consolidating losses, with an immediate resistance near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $9,679 high to $9,087 low.

On the upside, there are many resistances forming near the $9,350 and $9,400 levels. Additionally, there is a major bearish trend line forming with resistance near $9,420 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

Bitcoin Price

The 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $9,679 high to $9,087 low is also near the $9,380 level to act as hurdle for bitcoin bulls.

Therefore, the price must climb above the $9,380 and $9,400 levels to start a fresh increase. Still, the main resistance is near $9,500, above which the bulls are likely to take over.

On the downside, there are a couple of key supports near the $9,000 area. If bitcoin fails to stay above the $9,000 handle, there is a risk of another 5% decline.

In the mentioned case, the price is likely to test the $8,500 support area in the coming sessions. Overall, there are many bearish signs emerging and the price could dive further below $9,000.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD The MACD is now gaining strength in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BTC/USD is currently near the oversold levels.

Major Support Levels $9,000 followed by $8,500.

Major Resistance Levels $9,280, $9,380 and $9,400.

Read more here:
Bitcoin Just Saw A Key Technical Breakdown: Here's Why BTC Could Dive Below $9K - newsBTC

Over the past several years, many entities have submitted proposals for regulated Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds, or ETFs in the United States. So far, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has not approved any official Bitcoin ETF product for the mainstream public.

As crypto gains increased trust in the public eye, entities look for opportunities to bring digital assets into the traditional financial world as part of a more formal and regulated approach. As its first major step into crypto, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, or CBOE, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, launched cash-backed Bitcoin futures trading in 2017.

In an effort to offer further crypto-related products, mainstream entities look toward ETFs as a potential option. ETFs are products traded on exchanges that follow the price action of an underlying asset or basket of assets. Some ETFs are backed by cash, and some are backed by the physical assets themselves. Essentially, a crypto ETF would allow people to trade crypto products on traditional stock exchanges.

The situation becomes complicated with regulators, however, as they must ensure safe storage of the assets behind physically-backed ETFs. Asset validity and manipulation also factor into the equation as regulators do not want illegitimate assets and market manipulation controlling the prices on which these ETFs are based.

There are multiple aspects and factors in getting an ETF approved to be traded on a US Based Stock Exchange, Kryptoin CEO Donnie Kim told Cointelegraph. Asset management company Kryptoin filed its Bitcoin ETF proposal with the SEC in October 2019. The firm aims to see its Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF Trust listed on the New York Stock Exchange Arca, or NYSE Arca.

At this moment in time the commission is listening and learning about this new asset class and they are in a holding pattern, partly to understand the consequences of the existing products on the market and partly to look for further guidance under the current political landscape, Kim said.

Since 2018, the SEC has received a bevy of applications for various crypto-related ETFs. At least nine different entities have filed crypto ETF proposals with the commission, including Bitwise Asset Management, VanEck/SolidX and Direxion.

Several proposals have seen delays from the commission. The CBOEs VanEck/SolidX ETF rule change bid faced multiple delays before the exchange pulled the application in January 2019, only to refile again several days later. The exchange once again pulled the proposal in September of the same year.

Other companies have seen their requests denied, as was the case with Bitwises Bitcoin ETF, which faced denial from the governing body in October 2019. More than a year earlier, the SEC also denied several cash-backed crypto ETFs from Direxion, ProShares and Graniteshares.

At the time of their comments to Cointelegraph, Kryptoin, Crescent Crypto and Wilshire Phoenix all still had crypto ETF proposals in play, pending decisions from the SEC. At press time, it still appears as though all three outfits still await SEC decisions.

Our registration statement is still in the review process until such time that the commission chooses to negotiate their way to a solution, Kim said on Jan. 23 regarding Kryptoins single Bitcoin ETF proposal sitting with the SEC. Until then we are simply in the queue.

Crescent Crypto awaits an answer on its initial F-1 form submission with the U.S. regulatory body for its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF.

Crescent collaborated with USCF to file a registration statement (S-1) for a 33 Act Bitcoin and Ether ETP called the USCF Crescent Crypto Index Fund (NYSE Arca: XBET), Matta detailed on Jan. 27. The filing remains under review and we are evaluating the best course forward.

Wilshire Phoenix also still waits on the commission for a ruling on the institutions crypto ETF. The SEC has indicated a decision will be made by February 26, 2020, Herrmann said.

One of the hurdles facing the SECs approval of a Bitcoin ETF lies within the current regulatory framework around exchanges.

Over the past two years, the SEC has received multiple proposals from the CBOE regarding a rule change that would allow trading of a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF from VanEck/SolidX. VanEck, an investment management company, and SolidX, a software and financial services outfit, collaboratively backed the now-abandoned product.

In his comments to Cointelegraph, Kim noted that U.S. exchanges are the ones that require SEC approval for Bitcoin ETF listing and trading. Once this approval is given, (even though that does not seem likely at this time as the commission is being quite mum about their requirements), the ETF product then needs to be analyzed and discussed to provide a mechanism suitable enough to satisfy another division of the commission, Kim explained.

Kim added:

If one division of the commission is not readily engaging in conversations or not willing to allow the rule change at the exchange level it is ineffective to push forward any application until such clarity arises. Basically, the SEC is a 2-3 headed dragon that needs the cooperation of all heads.

Asset manipulation is another aspect the SEC sees as a potential issue, the governing bodys chairman Jay Clayton expressed in June 2019.

The SEC has made it well known that their primary remaining concern is the manipulation of the bitcoin markets, Crescent Crypto Asset Management co-founder Christopher Matta told Cointelegraph.

Crescent Crypto filed an application with the SEC in May 2019 for an ETF that includes both Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company, in partnership with asset management firm USCF, looks tolist its USCF Crescent Crypto Index Fund (XBET) on the NYSE Arca.

In their denial of other ETPs, the SEC has consistently highlighted their desire to see a regulated market of significant size that includes surveillance sharing agreements to monitor manipulative activities, he added, referring to exchange-traded products.

Matta noted that the governing body sees the crypto scene as lacking the right ingredients in the right proportions. In the SECs view, current crypto exchanges do not satisfy the regulated requirement, while the regulated futures markets do not currently satisfy the significant requirement, he said.

Speaking only about its own crypto ETF, investment banking alternative Wilshire Phoenix said it has not had difficulties with its digital asset ETF proposal.

We have not seen any obstacles in connections to our application, Wilshire Phoenix founder Bill Herrmann told Cointelegraph. We continue to have thoughtful and meaningful discussions with the commission, he added.

Wilshire Phoenix submitted a proposal for a combination Bitcoin and U.S. T-Bill ETF, on July 1, 2019. The firm, in collaboration with the NYSE Arca, then updated the filing in October 2019, tapping Coinbase as the custodian for the product. Wilshire Phoenix aims to see its U.S. Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust listed for trading on the NYSE Arca.

Wilshire Phoenix currently waits for the SECs ruling on its crypto ETF, which is slated to occur on Wednesday. Given the massive number of delays and denials the SEC has dished out in recent days, odds would indicate an approval from the commission is not likely just yet.

As the crypto space continues to mature, the SEC likely will approve new products based on digital assets. For the time being though, the commission is up to its ears in applications and information.

If that was not enough to keep the SEC busy, at the end of 2019, the commission also announced an endeavor to research a new format for the age-old U.S. accredited investor rule, which has historically barred many U.S. participants from various activities.

View original post here:
No Bitcoin ETF Yet: A Deep Dive Into the Situation in the US - Cointelegraph

A California judge has given the go-ahead for a $240m lawsuit against AT&T for porting a subscriber's phone number to a hacker, allowing the criminal to steal $24m in cryptocurrency.

Michael Terpin sued the mobile operator back in August 2018, revising his legal challenge a year later to make more specific allegations. This week, a judge dismissed AT&Ts effort to dismiss the case, noting that Terpin had provided sufficient proof that the US telco giant should defend its position in front of a jury.

At the heart of the matter is Terpins phone number. In June 2017, miscreants successfully managed, after no fewer than 11 attempts in AT&T retail stores, to transfer his number to a smartphone controlled by the criminals a so-called SIM jacking attack. The phone was then used to gain access to cryptocurrency accounts, linked to his phone number, to steal an unspecified amount of Bitcoin, and impersonate him on Skype.

Terpin complained to AT&T, and the carrier agreed to put a special system in place where any future changes would require someone to not only provide ID but also supply a special six-digit code that only he and his wife knew.

Despite those additional measures, however, in January 2018, fraudsters were again able to hijack his phone number and, once again, broke into his cryptocurrency accounts, ultimately stealing $24m worth of Bitcoin, he alleged. Terpin is suing AT&T for not following its own agreed security protocol, and he wants punitive damages. AT&T denies it is responsible for any loss.

What was unclear in the original lawsuit was exactly how the hackers had used his hijacked phone number to gain access to his accounts, and thus whether AT&T should be held liable for the theft. AT&T argued the cryptocurrency accounts he used did not have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled, and so it could not be held responsible.

In his revised complaint, Terpin claimed hackers used his phone number to request a password change and 2FA token to a particular online account, which the thieves then entered and discovered a file that contained login details for his cryptocurrency wallets.

A password reset request to [Mr. Terpins password protected] program or programs which then sent a 2FA message to Mr Terpins telephone number, which was by virtue of the SIM swap in the hackers possession, the complaint reads [PDF].

The judge in his judgment this week noted that: Mr Terpin further alleges that the hackers created new passwords, which allowed them to locate a file with confidential information to access Mr Terpins [cryptocurrency] wallets and/or accounts. Mr Terpin alleges that, as a result, between January 7 and 8, 2018, the hackers stole nearly $24m worth of cryptocurrency from him.

Its not clear what that account was possibly a password manager or a cloud storage archive and Terpins representatives refused our request for more information, though the judge was clear it didnt matter precisely what account was involved, only that AT&Ts actions led directly to the theft.

At this stage, Mr Terpin is not required to reconstruct the precise sequence of the hack, but rather, merely establish a natural and continuous sequence of plausible events connecting the hackers access to his phone number to the theft of his cryptocurrency, the judge ruled.

Critically, the judge decided Terpin had proved his case that there was a special relationship between himself and AT&T necessary for his claim of economic loss to be accepted legally. Terpin pointed to his contract with AT&T, the fact that AT&T had promised to keep his information confidential through the special six-digit PIN, and that by holding AT&T accountable it will require the telco to provide reasonable, reliable, and industry-standard security measures.

Not all his claims were accepted, however: the small print in his AT&T contract that it cannot guarantee that your Personal Information will never be disclosed in a manner inconsistent with Policy helped the company escape a Deceit by Concealment claim. And another was also dismissed with prejudice.

Crucially, however, the size of the possible future reward is up for debate. For punitive damages to be applied taking the case from the $24m he lost to the $240m he is claiming he has to allege that an officer, director, or managing agent of AT&T knew about or ratified the alleged wrongful conduct of which he complains.

Even though Terpin names a specific AT&T employee, Jahmil Smith, and alleges he was bribed by a criminal gang to fabricate information indicating that Mr Terpin visited [an AT&T] store and showed identification, he still has to connect someone higher up to the theft and the failure to use the six-digit code in order to specifically sue for corporate misconduct.

In other words, if it was just one rogue employee, you cant sue the entire organization for additional damages beyond what was lost. The judge has, however, given him 21 days to revise the complaint, and allege a large failure by AT&T to enforce agreed security policies.

Taken overall, the decision to allow the case to move forward is an important one. The judge accepted that AT&T may well be responsible for the money lost by Terpin as a result of it handing over control of his phone number to someone who didnt have the necessary proof of identification.

It will still be a long and difficult route to resolution, however. It remains unclear how exactly the phone number allowed the hackers to get into his accounts and so it is currently impossible to say whether AT&T should bear some responsibility for what subsequently happened.

The case will be worth watching however for several reasons. For one, the use of mobile phones to confirm someones bona fides is increasingly common, and is an area of law that has no clear precedents. And secondly, it could result in significant changes for how mobile networks deal with customer requests and their account security.

With our phones increasingly gateways to so much of our lives, the big question is: are we solely responsible for making sure they are secure, or do the companies that make money from the sale of phones and related data plans also share a degree of responsibility?

Sponsored: Detecting cyber attacks as a small to medium business

Original post:
It's Terpin time: Bloke who was SIM jacked twice by Bitcoin thieves gets green light to sue telco for millions - The Register

The Bitcoin bull run to come with the upcoming halving is likely to be the last one that cab be clearly predicted, said crypto mining pool BTC.Tops founder Jiang Zhuoer. The mining pool is the second largest in China.

The Bitcoin tycoon recently took to Weibo (Twitter's equivalent in China) to opine about his prediction of Bitcoins next halving. As the date of the third bitcoin halving draws near, debates regarding when the halving effects kick in and how it will influence price have been intensifying.

Since Bitcoins creation in 2009, its block reward is designed to be halved every 4 years. There have been two halvings, with the first happening on November 28, 2012, and the second on July 9, 2016. The next halving event is estimated to fall on May 12 this year, when mining rewards will get cut in half, to 6.25 BTC per block.

In terms of Bitcoin price performance, the two previous halvings have projected bullish momentum a year before and after the event. Bitcoin bulls strongly believe that bitcoin would also see great gains in price this time, while some others say that history may not predict the future.

In Jiangs view, Bitcoin halving this time will definitely bring in a bull market and it is likely to be the last bull run that can be clearly foreseen on the grounds that:

Some have argued that when there are legal and convenient channels for regular people, Bitcoin will have a huge potential investor base. But there's still a long way for Bitcoin to go to get close to the acceptance of traditional assets such as stocks. So it's hard to predict what will happen.

[This story was originally published in 8BTC.com, and is shared by arrangement with that site. It has been edited to conform with Decrypt's style.]

Original post:
Upcoming Bitcoin bull will be the last one we can predict, claims China mining tycoon - Decrypt