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The Big-Name Conservatives Bankrolling This Far-Right Troll’s Run for Congress – VICE

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

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An LA-based music producer who discovered Lady Gaga. The billionaire co-founder of Home Depot. InfoWars founder Alex Jones.

These are just a few of the people who took a gamble on far-right troll Laura Loomers political aspirations by pouring thousands of dollars into her bid for Floridas 21st Congressional District which is home to Mar-a-Lago and where President Trump is registered to vote.

Loomer, who has described herself as a proud Islamophobe, landed a surprise upset in the GOP primary on Tuesday by beating out five other candidates. But winning in November will be a steep challenge. Hillary Clinton won that district by nearly 20% in 2016, and Loomer is facing Democrat Rep. Lois Frankel, who has won reelection twice.

Still, Loomer has so far managed to out-raise her Democratic opponent. Shes pulled in $1.6 million, compared to Frankels approximately $850,000, according to the most recently available FEC filings.

Loomer, who has worked as a correspondent for conspiracy website InfoWars, made a name for herself in far-right and MAGA circles through bizarre publicity stunts and extremely offensive statements. Shes called Islam a cancer on society and referred to Muslims as savages. Shes also spread baseless conspiracy theories about survivors of school shootings. And after a white supremacist killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand last year, Loomer wrote, Nobody cares about Christchurch. I especially dont. I care about my social media accounts.

She even chained herself to the outside of Twitters headquarters in New York wearing a T-shirt that said Stop the Bias when she lost her account after tweeting Islamophobic remarks at Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Loomers racism also got her permanently banned from Facebook, which branded her a dangerous individual. Shes also banned from PayPal, Venmo, and GoFundMe. Even Uber and Lyft banned Loomer, after she complained how difficult it was to find a non-Muslim driver.

Loomers unfiltered bigotry and the hurdles she faces to win in November would normally make her an odd choice for political donors looking to shape the future of the GOP. And yet shes managed to drum up attention among deep-pocketed financiers across the country.

Its just the latest evidence that the GOP is embracing fringe candidates and their ideologies. Loomer celebrated her victory on Tuesday night with the likes of Gavin McGinnes, who founded the Proud Boys, a far-right street-fighting gang, and far-right commentator Milo Yiannoupolous. Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene a QAnon believer who won the GOP nomination in Georgias 14th district took to social media to congratulate Loomer, whom she described as her great friend. Loomer also got a de-facto endorsement from President Trump himself, in the form of a tweet.

Among Loomers donors is Jolene Cherry, a top music industry executive based in Los Angeles who famously discovered Lady Gaga and has worked with Sony and Universal. Public records indicate that Cherry donated to Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee in 2008 and 2012. She didnt make another donation in her name again until last year, when she gave money to Trump, the Republican National Committee, Rep. Steve Scalise, and Rep. Devin Nunes.

But the biggest check she wrote was to Loomer, for the maximum single-donation amount of $2,800. (People, however, are allowed to donate to both the primary and general election campaigns.)

Loomer also received a total of $11,200 from recycling mogul Anthony Lomangino and his wife. The Lomanginos are members of Mar-a-Lago and stalwart supporters of the president. They even gave $150,000 to a legal defense fund for Trump associates who got caught up in Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into the campaigns possible ties to Russia, according to Politico.

One of Loomers biggest donors is Karen Giorno, former senior advisor and Florida chief strategist to Trumps 2016 campaign, and now working on Loomers campaign. Giorno is also a contributor to conservative news outlet Newsmax TV.

Loomer has also raked in maximum donations from ardent Trump supporter Bernie Marcus, the billionaire co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot.

But many of Loomers major donors also have ties to organizations and individuals that have been accused of peddling Islamophobia.

Take Myron Zimmerman, for example, a real estate mogul from San Francisco who contributed $2,800 to Loomers campaign. Through his MZ Foundation, Zimmerman has given tens of thousands of dollars to the David Horowitz Freedom Center and American Freedom Defense Initiative (also called Stop Islamization of America), both of which are designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Tech billionaire Robert Shillman and his wife June gave the maximum of $11,200 to Loomer. Shillman is a major donor to GOP organizations and candidates and also sits on the board of the David Horowitz Freedom Center. Shillman was part of a vast financial network supporting Tommy Robinson, a far-right anti-Islam activist in the U.K, according to a 2018 investigation by the Guardian. Shillman reportedly bankrolled a fellowship for Robinson with Rebel Media, a far-right Canadian media company, on a salary of about $6,700 per month. Shillman has also given money to Geert Wilders, a far-right Dutch politician who in 2016 was found guilty of inciting violence against Moroccans.

Some of Loomers supporters have stirred controversy and outrage over the years. For example, she received generous donations from Steven Alembik, a Republican activist in Boca Raton, Florida,who went on a racist tirade against Obama online and called him a FUCKING MUSLIM N-----.

Alembik, a data and email services provider, gave $20,000 to help get Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis elected in 2018 and even helped set up a speaking appearance for him at Mar-a-Lago. But DeSantis had to distance himself from Alembik after he went after Obama. Alembik, who is white, later complained about what he saw as a double standard when it came to using the n-word. So somebody like Chris Rock can get up onstage and use the word and theres no problem? But some white guy says it and hes a racist? Really? Alembik told Politico.

Connecticut-based Lydia Brimelow, who donated $2,800 to Loomers campaign, is listed as an advancement officer for VDARE, an anti-immigration blog founded by her husband, Peter. VDARE, which is permanently banned from YouTube for violating its policies on hate speech, has been accused of trafficking in anti-immigrant hate and publishing white nationalist writers.

Nobody understands censorship and deplatforming issues like Laura. Shes an immigration patriot, and I trust her passionate persistence. Her defiance of guilt-by-association is truly liberating, Brimelow told VICE News via email. She stands for what I care about and she treats me like a human being, unlike most public figures in America today.

When asked what they liked about Loomer or her views, none of the other people mentioned in this article responded.

Cover: Political activist Laura Loomer stands across from the Women's March 2019 in New York City on January 19, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)

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The Big-Name Conservatives Bankrolling This Far-Right Troll's Run for Congress - VICE

Experts at Quantzig Analyze the Correlations and Functionalities of Data Lakes, Analytics, and Machine Learning in Their Recent Article – Business…

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Given the hype around data management, it is close to impossible to dismiss the use of data lakes as a small step forward in an already accustomed technology realm. Notably, its not the implementation of new technology that matters now, as much as what it enables organizations to do using data. By making data easily accessible for everyone within an organization, data lakes are slowly turning out to be the fundamental driving forces behind innovation and disruption across industries.

To gain a competitive edge, organizations must act on data-driven insights. Book a FREE Demo to learn how we can help you leverage and act on these insights!

Moreover, as data grows and diversifies, many organizations are finding that traditional methods of data management are now becoming outdated. Quantzig, in its recent article, aims to understand the performance implications, common characteristics, and critical capabilities that need to be considered while building and maintaining data lakes as a common source for all business-critical data.

The ability of data lakes to uncover hidden data correlations in data sets can massively impact any part of the business. Request a FREE proposal to learn more about our ability to solve complex business problems, present analysis findings and communication of status, issues, and market risks in an easy to comprehend format.

Nows the time for companies to invest in data lakes and analytics to avoid being left behind in the race to success, says an analytics expert at Quantzig.

Why Quantzig?

120 +

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Global clients includingFortune 500 companies

Comprehensiveprojects

Data scientists andanalytics experts

Years ofexperience

Detailed information about Quantzigs data management capabilities can be accessed at https://bit.ly/2XWvzzp

As organizations are now actively building data lakes and investing in analytics platforms, they need to reconsider several critical capabilities, including:

Real-time Data Movement: Data lakes enable businesses to import and store data in different formats and from various sources in real-time. Adopting such a method for data storage and analysis enables businesses to scale to data of any size while saving time of defining data structures, schema, and transformations.

Data Storage: By storing data in data lakes, businesses gain the ability to crawl, process, and index the data to better understand the data being stored. Apart from real-time transactional data, it enables businesses to store relational data and data from line of business applications, and non-relational data like mobile apps, IoT devices, and social media.

At Quantzig, we have a cross-functional team that comprises of researchers, analytics experts, and data scientists who assist our clients in implementing solutions that help devise a digital strategy that can move the needle. Speak to our analytics experts right away!

Analytics Platforms: Data lakes empower data scientists, data developers, and business analysts to access data with their choice of analytic tools and frameworks. This also enables businesses to run analytics without the need to move your data to a separate analytics system.

Machine Learning: Data lakes enable organizations to generate reports and insights that aid decision making using historical data modeling and machine learning techniques to forecast outcomes and prescribe actions to achieve the desired result.

In the analytical process of decoding unstructured data to extract actionable insight, a well-defined data lake strategy is proven to produce relevant insights promptly. Also, when the movement of data is frictionless and trustworthy, companies can discover and act upon immediate opportunities for driving growth and efficiency.

About Quantzig

Quantzig is a global analytics and advisory firm with offices in the US, UK, Canada, China, and India. For more than 15 years, we have assisted our clients across the globe with end-to-end data modeling capabilities to leverage analytics for prudent decision making. Today, our firm consists of 120+ clients, including 55 Fortune 500 companies. For more information on our engagement policies and pricing plans, visit: https://www.quantzig.com/request-for-proposal

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Experts at Quantzig Analyze the Correlations and Functionalities of Data Lakes, Analytics, and Machine Learning in Their Recent Article - Business...

How Fidelis Leverages Machine Learning to Combat Threats Hiding in your Network – Security Boulevard

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

Many threats lurk in your network, hiding in external (north-south) or internal (east-west) traffic. So this is where we come in. We leverage machine learning capabilities and advanced analytics to detect the threats hiding in your network traffic.

To begin, threats hiding in external (north-south) traffic are attempting to do three things:

However, the malware activities that leave a footprint ininternal (east-west) network traffic are attempting:

To start, anomaly detection using network traffic has a long history.Traditionally, it has been done for network performance monitoring and diagnostics. There are three main challenges in adapting this approach for threat detection. First, building representative baseline models for normal or benign network activities. Second, preventing a deluge of false alarms. And third, interpreting anomalies as threat related activities to enable response.

The Fidelis Network Detection and Response (NDR) Anomaly Detection addresses the first two challenges using two strategies. Number one, it casts a wide net by analyzing network behavior using five different contexts. These are External, Internal, Application Protocols, Data Movement, and Events detected using rules and signatures.

To continue, for each context, it learns up to five different families of models to learn high fidelity baseline models. For example, for the External Traffic context, we have a family of models that focus on outbound geo-location. So within this family, we have individual baseline models for different countries or groups of countries.

Together, these five contexts and their model families capturewhat is normal baseline behavioron an enterprise network. Because of that, we are able to correlate anomalies from different models to identify high confidence detections. Then, we provide an interpretation of our anomaly detections for analysts. So, we map them to the MITRE ATT&CK TTPs to enable a response.

Inanexternal context, we focus on properties of external or north-south traffic that is independent of the application protocol. Using Unsupervised Machine Learning, statistical anomaly detection, and advanced analytics, we flag three types of suspicious activities that involve internal assets controlled by an enterprise:

With all of this, these models provide protection against threats mapped by the MITRE ATT&CK framework to the Initial Access tactics. In particular, Drive-by Compromise (T1189), and Data Exfiltration, plus the techniques related to Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol (T1048), Exfiltration Over Web Service (T1567), and Automated Exfiltration (T1020).

Many organizations also deploy external-facing services hosted in a demilitarized zone (DMZ) that is open to the Internet. Fidelis NDR has anomaly models targeted at DMZ services. This can detect an increase in traffic to DMZ servers or traffic originating from a new location. Such anomalies often indicate that an enterprise might be the target of a new threat vector, campaign, or adversary.

In an internal context, we focus on internal traffic patterns along three dimensions. This includes who is talking to whom (I.e. connection patterns between assets), remote access and login behavior patterns, and volume of traffic exchanged between assets. Specifically, we flag five different types of suspicious activities.

Lateral Movement (TA0008)

Fidelis Network Detection and Response (NDR)uses a combination of these machine learning capabilities and advanced analytics to detect suspicious activities on an enterprise network. In a previous blog on Using Machine Learning for Threat Detection, our CTO Anubhav Arora talked about the advantages of using Machine Learning to detect patterns of cyber-attacks hiding in large amount of network traffic data. He defined the different approaches based on Supervised and Unsupervised Machine Learning algorithms. We also released a webinarhosted by SANS where we discuss this topic in more detail.

The Fidelis NDR Anomaly Detection framework involves five contexts. They include External, Internal, Application Protocol, Data Movement, and Events detected using rules and signatures. As mentioned earlier, these contexts capture what is normal baseline behavior on the network, which then helps detect any anomalies.

You can subscribe to our Threat Geek blog to receive the upcoming blogs in this series on Unsupervised Machine Learning to detect network activities. Our Data Science Manager will delve into Application Protocol and Data Movement contexts, the models and threats associated with them, and more. Contact usif you have any questions and want to learn more about our NDR solution.

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How Fidelis Leverages Machine Learning to Combat Threats Hiding in your Network - Security Boulevard

mHealth app using machine learning to increase physical activity in diabetes and depression: clinical trial protocol for the DIAMANTE Study – DocWire…

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

This article was originally published here

BMJ Open. 2020 Aug 20;10(8):e034723. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034723.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Depression and diabetes are highly disabling diseases with a high prevalence and high rate of comorbidity, particularly in low-income ethnic minority patients. Though comorbidity increases the risk of adverse outcomes and mortality, most clinical interventions target these diseases separately. Increasing physical activity might be effective to simultaneously lower depressive symptoms and improve glycaemic control. Self-management apps are a cost-effective, scalable and easy access treatment to increase physical activity. However, cutting-edge technological applications often do not reach vulnerable populations and are not tailored to an individuals behaviour and characteristics. Tailoring of interventions using machine learning methods likely increases the effectiveness of the intervention.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In a three-arm randomised controlled trial, we will examine the effect of a text-messaging smartphone application to encourage physical activity in low-income ethnic minority patients with comorbid diabetes and depression. The adaptive intervention group receives messages chosen from different messaging banks by a reinforcement learning algorithm. The uniform random intervention group receives the same messages, but chosen from the messaging banks with equal probabilities. The control group receives a weekly mood message. We aim to recruit 276 adults from primary care clinics aged 18-75 years who have been diagnosed with current diabetes and show elevated depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale-8 (PHQ-8) >5). We will compare passively collected daily step counts, self-report PHQ-8 and most recent haemoglobin A1c from medical records at baseline and at intervention completion at 6-month follow-up.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Institutional Review Board at the University of California San Francisco approved this study (IRB: 17-22608). We plan to submit manuscripts describing our user-designed methods and testing of the adaptive learning algorithm and will submit the results of the trial for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at (inter)-national scientific meetings.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03490253; pre-results.

PMID:32819981 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034723

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mHealth app using machine learning to increase physical activity in diabetes and depression: clinical trial protocol for the DIAMANTE Study - DocWire...

Zurich-based medtech startup Bloom Diagnostics wants to make blood testing easier and affordable – Silicon Canals

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

Based out of Zurich, Bloom Diagnostics develop devices that help users to keep a track, maintain, and improve their health. Recently, the company launched its testing device Blood System, post-closing funding of 10 million Series B round back this May.

The company is on a mission to receive and secure personal medical data in a fast, affordable, and understandable way. The Bloom System is designed specifically for patient use. The Bloom Test strips (pin-prick blood samples) are captured in a test strip and analysed in Bloom Lab. As per the company claims, it is maintenance-free by design and can be easily cleaned and updated when necessary.

The Bloom App explains the meaning of test results in a personalised, detailed report with actionable information. When a user performs a measurement, Bloom Analytics calibrates the raw measurement data on production-based calibration curves to deliver maximum accuracy. It then connects the results with self-reported symptoms to generate the medical analysis, which the Bloom App presents to the user, fully anonymously.

Its worth mentioning that Bloom Analytics is Bloom Diagnostics custom cloud solution developed over many years in close co-operation between medical experts, biotech specialists, cryptography enthusiasts, and production professionals.

There is a need for a tertiary layer of diagnostic devices between individuals and the traditional healthcare system. This layer has seen its inception with products like the first LFA-based pregnancy tests in the 1970s, explains co-founder and Chief Product Officer Thomas Kupper. We think its overdue that this layer develops into something much more elaborate, helping individuals gain insights into their health in a wide range of situations. Combining those insights, globally, anonymized and in real time, will generate improvements that benefit the public.

Dr. Angelica Kohlmann and Thomas Kupper founded Bloom Diagnostics with its headquarters in Zurich in Switzerland and offices in Vienna and New York.

Main image credits: Bloom Diagnostics

Check out the innovations that took home the Blue Tulip Awards this 2020

Portnoy and the complaints of the Australian censors – Sydney Morning Herald

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

Yet so many of these witnesses did like and admire Roths extraordinary ode to masturbation. Then editor of The Age, Graham Perkin, the pioneer of Australian journalistic pluralism, says Portnoys Complaint is a quite rare combination of high tragedy and high comedy. On the other hand, the historian Manning Clark describes the book as a complaint against God.

Book censorship trials are sometimes about great works of literature such as Flauberts Madame Bovary and Joyces Ulysses, and sometimes they are about minor works by great writers as with D.H. Lawrences Lady Chatterleys Lover. The Portnoy case is in the latter category.

Credit:

Sometimes the defenders of Roths epical saga of onanism are very high and mighty, as when the critic and subdean of arts at Melbourne University, Dinny OHearn, says to the prosecutor with a fierceness that does not hide his disdain, We dont use terms like plot. McPhee is full of recollected admiration for Patrick Whites very measured testimony, where he speaks with such gravity about the ordinariness of obscenity.

And we get Peter Bennie, the warden of St Pauls College at Sydney University, citing The Kinsey Report and explaining that the practice [of masturbation] is almost universal in the career of males and therefore quite a normal one in discussing the career of an adolescent.

You have to pinch yourself at the thought that this is Australia in 1970 free love, hippiedom, sexual experimentation yet here are barristers talking about do-it-yourself sex as if it were one of the horrors of the earth.

The law does come across as a bit of an ass, whereas both Michie and the assembled literary world are impressive. Michie had 75,000 copies of Portnoys Complaint just begging to be sold. He cleverly turned the book into an instant bestseller, while provoking Chipp so that he would have been happy to see him in jail.

There are brilliant, brutal ploys by prosecutors, who effectively block expert evidence and make it difficult for the literati to celebrate Roths book without defining it. The University of Western Australia librarian, Leonard Jolley, husband of Elizabeth, is a persuasive voice for sanity: When I got the book, I thought I was justified in getting it.

In the end everything is confounded by paradox. Judges conclude the book is obscene but does have literary merit. The juries are incapable of reaching a verdict. There seems to be nothing to do with Portnoys Complaint but sell it and read it. Patrick Mullins has told this story as well as you could hope it would be told.

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Portnoy and the complaints of the Australian censors - Sydney Morning Herald

Jessie and Austins aunt vs TikTok the debate around censorship of Bodies in the Suitcase video – HITC

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

Back in June, two bodies were found in suitcases by teenagers on a Seattle beach and now the victims aunt wants the viral TikTok video removed.

Gina Jaschke has done an exclusive interview with the BBC in which she speaks about her niece, and argues that the video must be removed from the app. However, TikTok disagrees, claiming that it does not violate their guidelines.

Seattle Police have opened a murder investigation on the case and are appealing for information.

Back in June, three teenagers were making TikTok videos on a beach in Seattle when they made a shocking discovery.

Whilst socialising on the beach, they saw that there were a pair of suitcases that had washed up onto the shore. Upon opening the cases, they found two dead bodies.

The teens uploaded the video to TikTok, which quickly went viral, and the news rapidly spread around the world. The video has now has now had a huge 5.5 million likes.

It does not contain any graphic scenes, but does show the teens opening the suitcase. Watch the TikTok video at your own discretion here.

The bodies were later revealed to belong to Jessica (Jessie) Lewis, 35, and her partner Austin (Cash) Wenner, 27.

Jessica was a mother to four children, and their families are offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who can provide information, reports The Metro.

Both were revealed to have gunshot wounds, and Seattle Police opened an ongoing murder investigation on June 19th. They are currently appealing for information.

A new BBC interview with Jessicas aunt reveals that she desperately wants the TikTok video to be removed.

Gina Jaschke said: That video went viral and theres nothing we can do to change that.

She then goes on to say that she wants to thank the kids who found the bodies, because wihtout them they may have never found out what happend to Jessica and Austin.

However, she then addresses the fact that she thinks the video should be removed:

I wouldve thought by then that they would know better to put it down. That these bodies that were found in these bags, in these suitcases, that smelt awful, that they have faces now that they could see. And they were people. And I thought that they would have known too that they were people. And they would have taken it down of of respect for that.

However, the video still remains on TikTok, and the social media site argued it does not violate their guidelines as it did not include any visuals of the remains.

Watch the full BBC interview here.

In other news, Twitter: Fans ask 'Does Bryce Hall have Covid' following huge LA birthday party!

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Jessie and Austins aunt vs TikTok the debate around censorship of Bodies in the Suitcase video - HITC

Report finds $50 billion of cryptocurrency moved out of China hinting at capital flight against Beijing rules – CNBC

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

A photo illustration of the digital Cryptocurrency, Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) are seen on September 13 2018 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Yu Chun Christopher Wong | S3studio | Getty Images

Over $50 billion of cryptocurrency moved from China-based digital wallets to other parts of the world in the last year, pointing to possibilities that Chinese investors are transferring more money than allowed out of the country, a new report claims.

Chinese citizens are only allowed to buy up to $50,000 of foreign currency a year at a financial institution.In the past, wealthy citizens have circumvented the limit through foreign investments in real estate and other assets. But the government has cracked down on these methods, according toa report by Chainalysis, a blockchain forensics firm.

"Cryptocurrency could be picking up some of the slack though," the report said.

"Over the last twelve months, with China's economy suffering due to trade wars and devaluation of the yuan at different points, we've seen over $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency move from China-based addresses to overseas addresses," Chainalysis said.

Chainalysis sells compliance and investigation software to businesses and governments.

"Obviously, not all of this is capital flight, but we can think of $50 billion as the absolute ceiling for capital flight via cryptocurrency from East Asia to other regions," the report added.

Cryptocurrency holders are using controversial stablecoin Tether to move their money. A stablecoin is a digital currency that is usually backed by another asset or group of assets in efforts to stabilize its value and limit volatility. Tether claims to be pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Stablecoins are useful for transferring large amounts of cryptocurrency because, in theory, the value of the cryptocurrency a person is moving should not see wild swings.

"In total, over $18 billion worth of Tether has moved from East Asia addresses to those based in other regions over the last 12 months. Again, it's highly unlikely that all of this is capital flight," Chainalysis said in its report.

Part of this activity can be explained by China-based miners converting their newly-minted coins into Tether and sending them to exchanges abroad, Chainalysis said.Miners are people with specialized computers solving complex math problems to mint new cryptocurrency. When they solve this complex problem, miners are rewarded in cryptocurrency.

But the report also found significant spikes in Tether movement on certain news events. Firstly, in October, Chinese President Xi Jinping threw his backing behind blockchain, the technology that underpins many digital coins.

Secondly, after a massive sell-off in mid-March, the price of bitcoin began to recover.

"Equities in both the U.S. and China were still losing value at this time, as was the yuan itself. It's possible that the economic tumult may have prompted some capital flight from China, though much of the Tether movement could have been East Asia-based cryptocurrency traders moving their holdings to international exchanges in order to trade at a time when cryptocurrency price volatility was high," Chainalysis said.

Tether itself has been mired in controversy. In April 2019,the New York attorney generalaccusedbitcoin exchange operator Bitfinex and tether issuer Tether Limited of hiding an $850 million loss. Both companies have denied wrongdoing.

China has previously taken a hard stance on cryptocurrencies. In 2017, Beijing banned fundraising via cryptocurrencies known as initial coin offerings or ICOs and local exchanges.

However, Xi has backed the underlying technology known as blockchain. Meanwhile, China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, is developing its own digital currency.

Akon Is Ready To Build A $6 Billion Cryptocurrency City – Forbes

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 15: Akon attends the Akon Lighting LA - Disclosure Festival at ... [+] 3BLACKDOT on November 15, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images)

Akon City, a futuristic cryptocurrency themed city founded by music mogul Akon, is ready to begin construction in Senegal, after securing $4 billion from investors. The city will exclusively use the Akoin digital currency and plans to have parks, universities, schools, a stadium, hotels, and more. It will be the de facto currency in a Senegalese city hes constructing on land donated by the government. Will cryptocurrencies become the tool that puts African nations on the path to overcoming their economic challenges?

The Breakdown You Need To Know:

Akoin, is now part of the nearly 1,600 cryptocurrencies trading around the world in an industry with a market capitalization of more than $267 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The digital currency was originally announced in 2018 and CultureBanx reported that along with his team they plan to build a whole ecosystem around Akoin, including construction of the city and initiatives to support young entrepreneurs.

Akoin is a cryptocurrency powered by a marketplace of tools and services fueling the dreams of entrepreneurs, business owners, and social activists as they connect and engage across the rising economies of Africa and beyond, according to the projects website.

More than 60% of people in Africa are under 25 years old, unbanked, and heavily rely on mobile phones to do everything. This means Akoin could really take off across the continent, since 6 of the 10 fastest-growing economies are in Africa. In 2034, Africa is expected to have the worlds largest working-age population of 1.1 billion, according to the World Economic Forum Forum, which also projects that the continents consumers will spend $2 trillion by 2025.

Crypto City Concerns:

Many African governments have expressed skepticism about the viability of cryptocurrencies. Zimbabwes Reserve Bank banned banks from processing digital currency payments only for the countrys High Court to reverse the order. South Africas Revenue Service recently published guidance on how it would tax cryptocurrencies sparking debate about their classification. Kenyas Central Bank has slow-walked issuing regulations on cryptocurrencies.

All of this skepticism relates to concerns these countries have about the riskiness of digital currencies and the potential for people in these countries to lose money. While it may seem far-fetched to some people, integrating blockchain technology into city building has been gaining traction in recent years. Though none of the projects have been successfully realized yet.Time will tell whether cryptocurrencies like Akoin will bring stability to African economies or leave consumers wishing they had kept their money in traditional currencies.

Whats Next:

Akon joins a host of other celebrities involved in cryptocurrencies. For example, Nas is an investor in cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase. The Game is on the advisory board at Paragon, a cryptocurrency startup tailored to the marijuana industry.

Akon Citys phase 1 is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. It will include road construction, a Hamptons Hospital campus, a Hamptons Mall, residences, hotels, a police station, a school, a waste facility and a solar power plant. Phase 2 will run from 2024 to 2029, will you be visiting?

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Akon Is Ready To Build A $6 Billion Cryptocurrency City - Forbes

OKEx Claims that Bitcoin (BTC) Dominated Cryptocurrency Market Rally is Being Driven by Ethereum 2.0, DeFi – Crowdfund Insider

Posted on August 21, 2020 by admin

Crypto exchange OKEx notes that the recent surge in the digital asset market, which is being led by Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency, has been driven by the explosive growth of the decentralized finance or DeFI ecosystem.

The OKEx team confirms that Ethereum (ETH) experienced significant growth this past month. As reported, Ethereum is the biggest gainer out of all crypto-assets including Bitcoin (BTC). OKEx notes that the ETH spot price surpassed the $400 mark on August 1, 2020.

The leading crypto exchange adds:

After trading sideways, the price of ETH on OKEx was roughly 10% higher by the middle of the month. On OKEx, the top two ETH trading pairs i.e., ETH/BTC and ETH/USDT have increased their trading volume to over $160 million.

OKEx CEO Jay Hao thinks that the upcoming and highly-anticipated Ethereum 2.0 upgrade might be a major factor in the dramatic surge in the Ethereum price.

Hao points out that Ethereums main challenge is its inability to scale to handle a large number of transactions. Other blockchain networks like EOS and Telos are able to handle significantly more transactions, however, they dont have nearly as large of a developer community or ecosystem participants. Thats why Ethereum should remain the dominant platform for developing DeFi apps or any other type of distributed application, according to most objective crypto industry analysts.

Hao states:

[A] positive market sentiment has increased in the lead up to Ethereum 2.0. The upgrade will allow Ethereum to implement sharding and scale, which will subsequently promote the growth of decentralized applications as well as the DeFi space.

The Eth 2.0 system-wide upgrade will involve a transition from the platforms proof of work based consensus to a proof of stake consensus mechanism. This type of update has never been attempted on a blockchain network as large as Ethereum.

Even though it could take several years before the transition to proof of stake is finally completed (if it is), Hao claims:

Holders of ETH on OKEx will be in a prime position to stake ETH, which will not only help maintain the network, vastly reduce energy output and help to preserve the environment, but will also earn them real ETH rewards.

OKEx is notably the operator of the fifth-largest mining pool in the blockchain industry. The exchange has been working cooperatively with Prysmatic Labs and has reportedly committed to the growth of the Ethereum 2.0 ecosystem by serving a (transaction) validator on Ethereums Topaz testnet (for Eth 2.0).

Hao further notes:

By managing to scale with partnerships and integration, decentralized oracles such as Chainlink and OKEx Oracle, which works with Compounds open price feed, have provided data for (decentralized applications) dApps to handle more users and increase their consumer viability.

The price of Chainlinks LINK token has surged more than 1,000% this year. In August 2020, LINK went from only $6 to over $16 in mid-August 2020. OKEx reports that on its exchange, the LINK/USDT trading pair had a 24-hour volume of about $25 million.

Chainlink has become increasingly popular because it aims to provide decentralized price oracles and a secure way for blockchain based smart contracts to communicate or interact with external data sources. The security of distributed ledger tech (DLT) networks remains a key priority, because theyve been exploited numerous times (due to poorly written code). The hackers who exploit vulnerabilities in smart contracts are often able to steal large amounts of funds.

Despite these issues, OKEx confirms:

Much of the DeFi market sentiment is similarly bullish, as the price of Aave (LEND), another major token, has increased from $0.30 to $0.50 from early to mid-August, which is also a gain of over 165%.

Just like other major exchanges such as Binance and Huobi, OKEx is aggressively listing DeFi tokens.

They OKEx team notes:

In addition to already listing the major DeFi tokens LINK, Maker (MKR) and Compound (COMP), OKEx has listed Aave (LEND), Curve (CRV), Aragon (ANT), Serum (SRM), Decentralised Information Asset (DIA) and Kleros (PNK) in August alone. With 19 DeFi tokens in total, the growth of its decentralized public chain, OKChain, and its own secure price feed in OKEx Oracle, OKEx is strengthening its commitment to the ongoing development of the DeFi space.

Its worth noting that many of these so-called decentralized platforms are really just centralized solutions. This becomes evident when theres a hack, and a projects team members have to step in to pause the network, in order to fix things.

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OKEx Claims that Bitcoin (BTC) Dominated Cryptocurrency Market Rally is Being Driven by Ethereum 2.0, DeFi - Crowdfund Insider

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