Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin ATMs have been a valuable addition to the whole ecosystem. Even though they are still only found in specific locations, their presence is growing every single month. It also appears these ATMs are no longer being used to just buy and sell Bitcoin these days. Below are four altcoins which are supported by some Bitcoin ATMs around the world.

Although Dogecoin is often considered to be the meme of cryptocurrency, demand for this particular coin is a lot stronger than most people give it credit for. In fact, Dogecoin has seen its spurts of popularity over the past few years, which is now translating into some minor success in the cryptocurrency ATM market.

Even though there were far more Bitcoin ATMs installed by the end of June compared to the beginning of the month, additional machines provide Dogecoin support. Only five ATM support Dogecoin currently. But it is one of the only four altcoin found oncryptocurrency ATMs. This makes Dogecoin part of an elite club, in a way.

One would not expect Dash to be supported by so few cryptocurrency ATMs, but that is the case. Thereare now seven different ATMs around the world supporting DASH. That is still a relatively small number, but it is a 40% increase compared to June 1st. It is good to see altcoins gain some support from ATM manufacturers and operators.

Despite its popularity among traders, Ethereum is not thatpopular incryptocurrency ATMs. Even though there are now 13 machines supporting ETH -up from 9- there is still a very long way to go. It remains unclear how popular ETH is when it comes to cryptocurrency ATMs in general. With the number of cryptocurrency ATMs supporting Ether going up, interesting things are bound to happen.

Litecoin is the most commonly supported altcoin across cryptocurrency ATMs. Litecoin has always complemented Bitcoin, thus it makes sense it gets more support than all of the other currencies combined. With the number of LTC-capable ATMs going from 36 to 91 in June, good things are on the horizon.

It is possible this sudden spike in support has something to do with Litecoins price increase. Even though that rise is far less spectacular compared to Ethereum, it also seems to hold its own quite well. More attention for Litecoin is never a bad thing in anyones book andit is a very popular cryptocurrency these days. It will be interesting to see how these rankings look in a few months from now.

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Top 4 Altcoins Supported by Cryptocurrency ATMs - The Merkle

- Bitcoin stuck in a rut.

- Ethereum weekly losses exceed 20%

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After a tough week in the cryptocurrency space with all major digital currencies registering a negative performance, market heavyweight BTC has stabilized and may be looking to re-coup some of its losses.

A look at the daily chart shows a potential bullish pennant formation, although the lower-high/higher-low pattern normally seen is not quite so distinct.

Chart: Bitcoin Daily Timeframe (February - July 14, 2017)

Chart by IG

The four-hour chart however signals a potential for BTC to move even lower as the recent downturn has seen the currency move below its 20-, 50- and 100-day exponential moving averages (ema). The break lower was confirmed on July 9 with a bearish crossover with the 20- and 50-day ema below the 100-day ema. The momentum indicator also has moved from positive to neutral.

Chart: Bitcoin Four-Hour Timeframe (June 26 July 14, 2017)

The second-largest digital currency Ethereum (ETH) has also suffered heavy losses this week, falling by around 20%. With most explanations of this weeks fall based on personal opinion rather than market specifics or technical releases, ETC may be in for a continued rough ride in the weeks ahead.

Chart: Ethereum Five Day Chart (July 10-14, 2017)

Chart by TradingView.

Market Moves/Capitalizations July 14, 2017.

Cryptocurrency

Price/Change%

Market Cap

BITCOIN

$2360 -1.24%

$38.820bn

ETHEREUM

$206.1 -4.10%

$19.22bn

RIPPLE

$0.197 -2.84%

$7.558bn

LITECOIN

$46.18 -1.14%

$2.400bn

ETHEREUM CLASSIC

$18.48 +0.36%

$1.728bn

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--- Written by Nick Cawley, Analyst

To contact Nick, email him at nicholas.cawley@ig.com

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Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin Charts Show Conflicting Signals; Ethereum Falls - DailyFX

Navigating the treacherous cryptocurrency market is not for the faint of heart. While the gains over the past year have certainly been spectacular, the recent whipsaw reversal is a reminder of just how wrenching it can be.

As you can see, bitcoins BTCUSD, -0.02% path to recent nosebleed levels has seen its share of sizable drawdowns, including the current one.

So whats a trader to do? And in this case, whats a 13-year-old whos already turned $2,200 in profits dabbling in the crypto market to do?

Thats the question Sam of the popular Financial Samurai blog tackled after one middle-schooler asked for some help plotting his financial future.

Heres the letter he received:

Im 13, live in an upper middle-class family, have good grades in school, and want to start planning out my future now. I want to learn the major mistakes other people have made before I can even grasp the chance to do the same.

I run an eBay .account where I make ~$400 gross a month buying and reselling high tier shoes and clothing. The money usually ends up in my desk drawer, but I have been dabbling in the investment of cryptocurrency and I have turned around a $2,200 profit so far.

I know that money comes with work and gambling for it is the worst thing you could do. I want to be able to live a happy and wealthy life and I know I have all the utilities but I dont know what to do. I am willing to work and take risks to sustain financial growth but I dont know where to start.

If anyone is willing to give me three pieces of advice for my future I will take them with full consideration. Thanks! Daniel

Wise beyond his years, clearly. But its just as clear that Daniel has a lot to learn, and quite likely, a lot of lumps to take in the coming years.

First off, Sam, who acknowledges that he was much more interested in girls, skateboards and beer at that age, told Daniel to go ahead and be a kid while he can. Dont get too bogged down in real life just yet. Enjoy middle school while it lasts, then hit the books hard when high school rolls around.

People today who complain about life not being fair more often than not didnt take school extremely seriously. Education is what will set you free, he said. Get the best grades and test scores possible to give yourself as many options as possible.

His second piece of advice is to learn from the inevitable mistakes. At this age, Daniel can recover from any sort of hits he takes.

Investing in cryptocurrencies sounds like a great way to make and lose everything, Sam said. If you end up losing your $2,200 profit by not at least taking some profits, youll always be reminded about this loss before making more significant investments.

He explained that people who only started investing after 2009 are in for a rude awakening.

Never ever confuse brains with a bull market, he said. Study the previous bubble implosions to better prepare yourself for the next one.

Lastly, Sam tells Daniel to always focus on building his personal brand, and take care in crafting an online image that wont backfire. The internet never forgets.

Dont post compromising pictures of yourself that might come back to haunt you. Dont write hateful commentary, only love or nothing at all, he said. Focus on helping someone first before asking for help. Be resilient. And never fail due to a lack of effort. If you can consistently tilt towards the positive, you will surround yourself with other positive people in return.

And, of course, listen to mom and dad.

Any more advice for Daniel? Share in the comments section.

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3 life pro tips for the teen cryptocurrency trader who's already made thousands - MarketWatch

On July 11, 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Goldman Sachs a patent for a Cryptographic currency for securities settlement. The patent, which was originally filed in October 2014, includes a cryptographic protocol and a supporting virtual wallet that, in various embodiments, is a security and cash account for storing and managing the cryptographic currency.According to the document, the virtual multi-asset wallet possesses the ability to generate, manipulate, and store SETLcoins, a new cryptocurrency for exchanging assets, like securities, cash, and cash equivalents, through a peer-to-peer network.

For example, a virtual wallet can exchange (e.g., via a transaction method described below, such as a two-phase transaction) one or more SETLcoins for, e.g., U.S. dollars and/or other currency at a brokerage account, deposit account, bank account or other financial storage entity. Alternative or additionally, U.S. dollars and/or other currency at a brokerage account, deposit account, bank account or other financial storage entity can be exchanged for one or more SETLcoins in virtual wallet on the peer-to-peer network.

SETLcoins can house one or more securities. Using the wallet, traders can immediately exchange stocks in companies like IBM and Google for cryptocurrenciesby sending transaction messages. Each transaction message includes a transaction and digital signature. And once a message is broadcasted to the network, settlement is immediately processed by a two-phase commitment protocol and/or trusted node that both traders mutually agree to have act as coordinator (including each other).

SETLcoins are exchangeable for, e.g., other SETLcoins and/or other cryptographic currencies (e.g., peercoins). For example, a single IBM-S SETLcoin may be exchangeable for one or more "GOOG" SETLcoins (i.e., Google shares), for 13,000 USD SETLcoins, 100 litecoins, and/or for 5 bitcoins.

Since the introduction of bitcoin in 2008, the popularity of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology has increased tremendously in the financial service industry. Due to a sizeable market cap and wide array of sought-after options like Ethereum, Litecoin, NEM, and Ripple, the cryptocurrency market is becoming more attractive as an investment opportunity for financial magnates. This has led banking giants like Goldman Sachs to begin analyzing the market for clients and concentrating investments in technologies, like SETLcoins, that bridge cryptocurrency and blockchain technology with the financial sector.

Dan is a US Army veteran and Los Angeles-based writer passionate about science and technology, current events, human rights, economic impacts, and strategic calculus. Dan is a full time staff writer for ETHNews and holds value in Ether.

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Goldman Sachs Awarded Cryptocurrency Patent - ETHNews

Tezos, a new cryptocurrency network that could compete with Ethereum, raised a record-breaking $232 million in a nearly two-week-long token sale that closed on Thursday.

Although the first version of its network has yet to launch, Tezos has piqued the interest of major investors and cryptocurrency experts. It promises to support smart contracts and offer innovations in governance for decentralized systems that could prevent the sort of infighting that has consumed the bitcoin community for more than a year.

Among those who see value in it are venture capitalist Tim Draper and Olaf Carlson-Wee, formerly the first employee at Coinbase and now the founder and CEO of Polychain Capital, a San Francisco hedge fund that focuses exclusively on blockchain assets. Zooko Wilcox, the founder and CEO of privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash, serves as a Tezos adviser.

Tezos's founders, the husband-and-wife team Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, have been developing the technology since mid-2014, when they published the white paper describing what they hoped to accomplish. Between them, they have backgrounds at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and R3, a blockchain consortium of which dozens of banks are members.

When Tezos's token salea special kind of crowdfunding campaign also known as an "initial coin offering," or ICOfinally launched on July 1, it inspired a mad dash among investors. The project ultimately took in 65,627 bitcoins and 361,122 ether, according to its website.

The value of both cryptocurrencies has fallen sharply in recent days, but, even at relatively low current prices, Tezos raked in enough digital money to smash the previous ICO record of about $150 million set by another blockchain project, Bancor, in June.

Thanks in large part to Bancor and Tezos, the amount of money raised by blockchain startups through ICOs has far surpassed the amount raised through traditional venture capital in 2017. Because of the extreme volatility of the cryptocurrencies used to fund ICOs, it is tough to pin down a round number for the total amount raised so far this year, but it appears to be more than $700 million at then-current prices.

Most of the projects that have raised funds through token sales are built on top of an existing blockchain, usually Ethereum's. But Tezos will be an entirely new protocol with its own rules.

Tezos is also one of the few token projects that has gained support from traditional investors. Tim Draper participated in the ICO and also invested an undisclosed sum in Dynamic Ledger Solutions, the Breitmans' startup that is behind Tezos.

Participants in the crowdsale will be given Tezos network tokens, known as "tezzies," in exchange for their investment, but not until the network launches. That is expected to happen in four months or so. Investors are betting that as the network grows and proves its worth, the exchange value of their tokens will riseperhaps exponentially.

Ethereum's own crowdsale raised about $18 million in 2014. The total market capitalization of ether is now more than $19 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, which tracks the fluctuating value of blockchain assets.

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Tezos raises $232 million for new cryptocurrency project - American Banker

It comes with the territory that digital currency will be susceptible to digital threats. Hacking and theft have almost grown up side by side with things like Bitcoin, and, as the popularity and value of the digital currency rises, its attraction to thieves also grows.

The most recent major hack has seen one of the top five biggest Bitcoin and Ethereum exchanges, Bithumb in South Korea, fall prey to hackers. The hack was confirmed July 5 when information, as well as hundreds of millions of South Korean won, were been made off with in an attack with a difference.

Most exchanges know they are susceptible to network intrusion via their internal systems, but the entry point in this instance was through the personal computer of one of the exchange's employees. Thus it was not the standard network compromise, rather a more sophisticated phishing attack that led to the information heist.

It was personal information, such as names, email address and phone numbers of clients that were predominantly taken luckily no passwords but this was enough for the hackers to target customers and drain their accounts of their cryptocurrency.

Since the highly publicized Mt. Gox hack in 2014, in which 800,000 bitcoins were stolen, exchanges have boosted their security astronomically. Mt. Gox almost spelled the end of Bitcoin as people lost a lot of faith as well as a lot of money in the security systems of cryptocurrencies.

While security has been boosted in recent times, and thievery and hacking is far less common, it is still a threat that is ongoing and sometimes hidden.

In fact, Bithumb customers had forwarded complaints on a Korean social media site about threats of attacks, yet not much extra was done on the part of the exchange to try and quell these worries or protect clients.

The exact figure stolen is still unknown as Bithumb is trying to play it off as less of a hack and more of a phishing attack for information. However, despite what they are trying to convey, Bithumb has to admit that the 30,000 customers whose information was compromised were victims of a dangerous cryptocurrency attack.

The Korean exchange has come forward and said it will be compensating those whose data was compromised. Even those customers who would have lost nothing other than data will be getting paid 100,000 Korean Won, which is equivalent to around $86.50 USD for the inconvenience. The hope for Bithumb is that they will be able to retain some of these clients who surely will be feeling much more vulnerable and less trusting.

Bithumb's transactions with bitcoin make up almost 3 percent of the entire market, but it is its share of ether transactions thats its major claim to fame: 13.5 percent of the total ether market goes through Bithumbs exchange.

It is a major blow for a big player in the exchange game, and it is a blow that will be felt in the global digital currency sphere. Trust has slowly been rebuilt for those who have lived through the teething stages of Bitcoin security, and, as the door opens on new and mainstream markets, hacks like this can cause adopters to have second thoughts.

However, one aspect of digital security that has changed since bitcoin has been accepted by a much wider audience is that governmental agencies are taking it under their wing.

There are differing stages of regulation for digital currencies, but these arguably bring with them added security. In the case of Bithumb, Koreas Internet and Security Agency has plans to initiate a probe into this cyber attack with a full investigation to follow.

Continued here:
Latest Cryptocurrency Exchange Hack Highlights Need for Better Security Protocols - Bitcoin Magazine

News wallets and exchanges

In anticipation of the upcoming user-activated soft fork on the Bitcoin blockchain, Japans Cryptocurrency Business Association is creating guidelines for virtual currency exchanges to protect customer investments.

According to a report by Nikkei Asian Review, Japans Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA) has begun preparing for the looming bitcoin fork that is expected on August 1. The association brings together leaders from banks, securities firms, exchanges, and other virtual currency businesses in Japan. It counts board members from Kraken, Coincheck, and Money Partners among its ranks. The association is chaired by director Tadayoshi Okuyama (Japanese: ).

Ahead of the user activated soft fork on the Bitcoin blockchain, the JCBA has issued guidance to key stakeholders and association members. Through a freeze, the association hopes to protect customer assets. The halt in trading may last anywhere from one day to a full week.

However, the report by Nikkei attests that some exchange operators (including Bitbank and Tech Bureau) will allow trading to continue, simply suspending deposits and withdrawals until the dust has settled from the fork. As of this publication, the countrys largest bitcoin exchange, BitFlyer, has not chosen a course of action.

As demonstrated by the GDAX flash crash, thin trading books could threaten investors. With this in mind, its vital for bitcoin exchanges (in Japan and worldwide) to plan for a few contingencies.

First, companies ought to keep their customers apprised of the forks implementation and the timeline for exchange freezes, if applicable. Next, the exchanges should provide customers with sufficient time to withdraw their investments if desired. After the fork, companies ought to provide a roadmap for which chain (or chains) they will support. This will help restore investor confidence and ensure that customers receive exactly what they are due. Coordinating disbursement of fork funds may prove challenging initially, so its crucial to keep customers in the loop.

The US-based GDAX has already taken that step, posting on its blog about the companys intentions to implement safeguards for addressing the fork.

Fortunately, for the most part, Japanese exchanges also appear to be proactive in their preparation. At this point, its virtually impossible to determine which Bitcoin blockchain will become dominant or how market share will be impacted. Still, investor protection should remain a priority for all.

Matthew is a writer with a passion for emerging technology. Prior to joining ETHNews, he interned for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the OECD. He graduated cum laude from Georgetown University where he studied international economics. In his spare time, Matthew loves playing basketball and listening to podcasts. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

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Freeze! Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association Prepares For Bitcoin Fork - ETHNews

Less than a year ago the average human did not know what Cryptocurrency was. The market was limited mostly to a techy crowd of developers and very early adopters, considering Bitcoin was the only major currency on the block back then. But thanks to a number of really smart entrepreneurs, rising prices, and a powerful community, everything is changing and crypto is going mainstream.

Ethereum, Stratis, Sia, AntShares/NEO, TenX and others are leading the charge of the technological revolution that is blockchain. Cryptocurrency based crowdfunding know as Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are also a major player in the revolution. Blockchain startups like TenX have raised $80 million dollars in a matter of literal minutes to solve a big challenge for Cryptocurrency holders, actually spending the currency in the real world.

Entire governments like China are considering utilizing a national digital currency. Even the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, met with the founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin. All of this good press and positive outlook has caused many billions of dollars to be added to the market in the last 7 months.

The excitement about the Cryptocurrency market has attracted a lot of entrepreneurs that are looking to disrupt big industries through Blockchain technology.

I think of Blockchain disruption as creating disrupters to the disrupters. This new wave of Blockchain startups, such as Sia, are looking to disrupt companies like Dropbox and Amazon AWS. If they are even remotely successful we are looking at many 10s if not 100s of billions of dollars being added to the overall Cryptocurrency market as they continue to grow.

Another example of entrepreneurship at its finest is TenX. They are literally solving the biggest spending issue in Cryptocurrency, actually making the tokens spendable in the real world. They are using debit/credit cards that physically store Cryptocurrency then instantly convert them into Fiat (USD, EUR, YEN, etc.)

Stratis is considered a sleeper Cryptocurrency because of its relative low price compared to its technological advancement. It's a BaaS (Blockchain as a Service) platform that aims to provide enterprise level Blockchains and services to companies like Microsoft. AntShares/NEO is also considered a sleeper Cryptocurrency by many.

Entrepreneurs are making Cryptocurrency mainstream by solving problems ranging from making Cryptocurrency spendable in the real world all the way up to disrupting the largest companies on the planet and offering Blockchain services to the Microsoft's of the world.

The Cryptocurrency market can seem volatile compared to traditional markets. There is more up and down movement, but the general trend line is a strong uptrend. A lot of people believe Ethereum alone will be worth $1,000+ a token in the next year or two. That will drive the prices of many other currency up a lot.

Bitcoin, the oldest of popular Cryptocurrencies and current market leader in terms of market cap but not technology, is facing a potential split on or around August 1st. There are a number of possible scenarios, including breaking Bitcoin into two separate coins. This could cause what is referred to as The Flippening to occur and for Ethereum to rapidly gain in price and for Bitcoin to fall off it's 1st place market share.

If (and most likely when) this event does happen, Ethereum could be more of the market indicator than Bitcoin currently is. Meaning, if Ethereum goes up everything else tends to go up which is moreso the case for Bitcoin recently as it tends to control the market.

The market as a whole though has shown particularly strong in recent weeks. Ethereum was worth as much as $420 a token and as little as the $180 range in the last few weeks. But, the strength of the market really shined when the $180 "drop" happened and it quickly re-tested $200 multiple times and showed that $200 was the current floor price. This creates a sense of security in the market and helps people believe in it more long term when they see these quick rebounds from "drops" in price.

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Here's How Entrepreneurs Are Making Cryptocurrency Mainstream And Starting A Revolution - Inc.com

Hong Kong based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has added support for tradingSantiments token SAN against BTC, ETH, and USD. This comes very soon after thecrypto-market information networkraised over $10 million in a crowdfund.

Learn how to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum safely with our simple guide!

Santiment founder Maksim Balashevich said: Santiment is delighted to be trading on Bitfinex, the largest digital asset exchange. The launch of SAN trading marks a significant milestone in achieving Santiments mission to build the future datafeeds for the crypto-markets.

Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters serve a critical role in traditional financial markets but the cryptocurrency and blockchain space has lacked a viable counterpart. As Santiment begins trading on Bitfinex, with strong support from the community and Cofound.it behind us, we are perfectly positioned to be the financial market data and content platform of choice for the crypto market.

The developers say that data vending channels, including Bitfinex, eToro, and Bittrex, and asset management platforms like ICONOMI and Melonport, will also benefit from Santiments data solutions.

Bitfinex CSO Phil Potter: Santiments impressive development and partnerships as well as its highly successful crowdsale highlights the companys dedication to innovation and growing the cryptocurrency trading space with unprecedented data access. Bitfinex is proud to partner with Santiment and support our mutual goal to mature and grow faster the nascent crypto data industry.

Bitfinex will also enable margin trading for SAN pairs whenthe order book develops appropriate liquidity, letting users trade with leverage via funding from the peer-to-peer margin funding platform.

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Bitfinex Cryptocurrency Exchange Adds Santiment's SAN Tokens for Trading - Finance Magnates

News cryptocurrencies and tokens

In early June, the Chamber of Digital Commerce submitted a letter to request that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) consider a project to address digital currencies. The FASB will conduct preliminary research and discuss digital currency at a public board meeting.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) will perform pre-agenda research on accounting standards for digital currency, and plans to discuss the topic at a public board meeting, on a date to be announced.Based on the presented research, the Board will decide whether to add digital currency accounting to its technical agenda and create an official project. The open meeting will be available on the FASBs YouTube channel.

The FASB is the primary organization that establishes and improves generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States. The private, non-profit organizations input on digital currency accounting standards could help shape cryptocurrencys nebulous regulatory environment.

In early June, the Chamber of Digital Commerce petitioned the FASB, appealing for a project to address the accounting for digital currencies. Perianne Boring, president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, authored the letter.

There is currently no authoritative literature under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP), which specifically addresses the accounting for digital assets, including digital currencies. Although use and acceptance of digital currencies as a method of payment are not yet widespread, the increasing volume of transactions using digital currencies indicates the current need to develop accounting guidance addressing the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of digital currencies and related transactions.

Boring notedfour potential methods for cryptocurrency accounting: Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 305 Cash and Cash Equivalents, ASC 825 Financial Instruments, ASC 350 Intangibles Goodwill and Other, and ASC 330 Inventory. For a myriad of reasons, she explainedthat digital currency does not fit neatly into any one of these existing classifications. Instead, Boring suggestedthe creation of a new-subtopic altogether.

Digital currencies are unique and unlike any other asset currently addressed in U.S. GAAP. Developing a new sub-topic would allow the standard setter to provide guidance that best represents the economic characteristics of digital currencies.

Authoritative accounting guidance should promote greater investor confidence as well as cryptocurrency research & development. At present, the FASB is also assessing whether to overhaul accounting standards for intangible assets. Its possible that cryptocurrency could receive some attention under this consideration.

For now, the Chamber of Digital Commerce has highlighted a mission critical issue while continuing to raise awareness about blockchain technology.

Matthew is a writer with a passion for emerging technology. Prior to joining ETHNews, he interned for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the OECD. He graduated cum laude from Georgetown University where he studied international economics. In his spare time, Matthew loves playing basketball and listening to podcasts. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

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Chamber Of Digital Commerce Implores FASB To Examine GAAP Standards For Cryptocurrency - ETHNews