Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

They say a rising tide lifts all boats.

Even as bitcoin surged above $1,500 late last night and crossed the $1,600 on several exchanges this afternoon the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies as listed by market capitalizationhave seen price increases of at least 8% today.

Ripple's XRP token is emerging as the early winner, rising more than 40%, with an average price of about $0.079 across exchanges. Likewise, litecoin which has already seen significant price rises in recent days ahead of an expected adoption of the scaling solution SegWit is up about 22% on the day.

And ether, the cryptocurrency underlying the ethereum network, is up about 14%, at an average price of roughly $89 to reach an all-time high.

As reported by CoinDesk, the development comes amid a larger shift in the cryptocurrency markets that has seen an increasing diversificationaway from bitcoin. At press time, the Bitcoin Dominance Index, a measurement of the percent of the total market cap invested in bitcoin, had fallen below 60% for the first time in its history.

Still, analysts were largely short on comment when reached.

While some pointed to the technical benefits of various platforms, others were at a loss for words, responding with simple statements such as "WTF" or crediting the increases to "pumping and FOMO".

Industry entrepreneur and analystPaul Buitink perhaps summed up the events the best, however, adding simply:

"Everything is going up."

Elevator imagevia Shutterstock

Pete Rizzo contributed reporting.

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Market Boom: The 10 Largest Cryptocurrencies Are All Up Today - CoinDesk

Hacked: Hacking Finance Posted by Mati Greenspan on May 4th, 2017. Mati Greenspan

Senior Market Analyst at Etoro.com.

Its been 10 days since the value of all cryptocurrencies crossed $30 Billion for the first time. Today that value stands at more than $41 Billion.

By value, we are referring to the market cap (price per coin times amount of coins in circulation) of more than 700 of the top cryptocurrencies, which are listed at: https://coinmarketcap.com

Not only is the overall value rising but the rate of growth is accelerating as well.

Bitcoin has crossed $1500 for the first time ever and Ethereum is now above $80 again as the tipping point seems only days away.

As these assets are moving rapidly, we at eToro have decided to trade them as a progressive market should be traded. From now on trading in cryptocurrencies will be open during the weekend on our platform.

I say we have a party when the market cap reaches $50 Billion. At the current pace, it should happen by next weekend. Anybody in?

The debate last night was quite a spectacle indeed as the top two candidates compete for 55% of the French population that didnt vote for them in the primaries.

Commentators are referring to this more as a no punches pulled exchange of insults.

You can see the full debate with English translation here:

A snap poll after the debate declared Emanuel Macron as the winner of the debate but as weve seen in the past this type of outcome is not necessarily indicative of how people will vote in the election.

Going into the weekend, we will need to consider not which portion of the population feels that each candidate will win but what percentage of voters from each side will be motivated enough to get off their couches on a rainy Sunday morning and get to the polls.

European stocks are looking rather chipper this morning, all opening with a green gap and breaking the stagnation seen in the US and Asian markets.

In their prepared statement the Fed delivered a substantial surprise to the markets. They dismissed the recent slump in economic growth calling it transitory. They figure that as the year progresses the economy will indeed pick up.

The markets took this as a signal that we are indeed in for two more rate hikes this year and that the next one will be next month.

Market expectations of an interest rate hike on June 14th have gone from under 60% yesterday to above 90% this morning

As interest rate expectations rise, so does the USDollar

As the US Dollar rises commodities fall. Here is gold

Crude oil fell as well, but in all fairness, it was probably reacting more to the inventories announcement than to the Fed. In any case, the technical support line that weve been tracking on the daily chart has been broken big time.

With the US Dollar rising and the commodities falling, the Australian Dollar took a massive blow and is now trading at its the lowest level since January.

Today the President of Australia Malcolm Turnbull will be meeting with President Trump in the United States. If all goes well for Turnbull, perhaps the Aussie will also turn bullish.

Some data coming from England this morning as well as a mysterious emergency announcement from the queen.

Later this evening well hear from Mario Draghi and Governor of the Bank of Canada Poloz, as well as a monetary policy statement from the RBA.

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If youve had your ear to the fintech streets over the last few years, youve probably heard the term Bitcoin tossed around as cashs digital counterpart. What you may not know is how Bitcoins emergence in 2009 has spawned a race across the globe to be part of the emerging trend.

What exactly is Bitcoin? Will it replace cash? What does it mean for your small business? Heres a quick rundown to get you up to speed.

What is it?

Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency, or a digital currency that uses encryption techniques to create units and secure the transaction. Whats unique about this invention is it decentralizes currency away from traditional banks, meaning people can complete financial transactions without any bank involvement or regulation. Bitcoin is the first form of cryptocurrency invented, and is still by far the largest within the market.

How do you use it?

To simplify it further, its basically a peer-to-peer sharing network. Members can initiate transactions through the network, however, no actual currency is created or transacted until both parties agree on the amount. Heres how it works:

1. Someone requests a transaction.

2. The request is broadcast to the P2P network composed of computers or nodes.

3. The network initiates a validation process to verify both users and the transaction amount.

4. Once the transaction is validated, the cryptocurrency is created in the amount that was agreed upon in the validation process. If the amounts or the network credentials dont add up, the transaction request is denied.

The cryptocurrency has no physical form and only exists within the network. Value is only assigned once the agreed terms are validated. Holders can then withdraw the value from a cryptocurrency ATM in exchange for the currency theyd like to use.

Is it legal?

The legality of cryptocurrency varies by country. Some have explicitly allowed it for trade, and others have totally banned it. For us, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that bitcoin will be treated as property for tax purposes as opposed to currency. So, its legal to own and use for trade internationally, however it will be subject to capital gains tax.

Are US shoppers using it?

Sure. Knowledge about Bitcoin has increased so significantly since 2014 that there are now 554 Bitcoin ATMs in the U.S. These are stations that Bitcoin owners can use to exchange for U.S. currency.

How will this impact my business?

While Bitcoin is gaining steam in the US and across the globe, it will likely be a few years before this impacts the small business sector. Since the IRS hasnt identified cryptocurrency as a legal tender, it likely wont surface as a mainstream payment option for another decade or so.

However, cryptocurrency has the legs to gain popularity within contract-based subsectors. If adopted at full-scale, organizations like banks and insurance companies could be replaced. Access, validation and other major functions can be performed by the technology itself, so bank and insurance underwriting would no longer be a limitation for people who are typically denied credit. Rules, contracts and processes can be programmed within the peer-to-peer network and therefore transformed into automated processes.

Insurance policies for flight delays will pay out immediately if an airlines flight data reports a delayed plane. For example, musicians royalties can be automatically paid via the blockchain when people listen to their songs, without a record company being involved. People will no longer have to waste time claiming compensation. The amount of self-generated solar power can be calculated without checks by a utility company and credited to the users account

Our advice

Stay informed about the trend. This has the potential to vastly change the financial industry, but it will take more time and validation to become mainstream. Dont invest in cryptocurrency acceptance just yet, but dont be surprised if you have more options to do so in the future.

VisitSage Payment Solutionssite to learn more.

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BrandPost: Cryptocurrency: Top 5 Things You Should Know About Digital Cash - PCWorld

Last month Russia held two important events dedicated to cryptocurrencies and related technologies: A national forum organized by the government, and the biggest cryptocurrency conference in the country Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Russia. I attended both events.

The conference attracted a record-breaking number of visitors (around 1000 guests and speakers altogether). In the course of these events numerous governmental officials shared their views on the possibility of regulation and legalization of cryptocurrencies on the national level. According to the numerous statements of the speakers in charge, Russia should expect a federal law, regulating the role of cryptocurrencies in national economics, by the end of the year and it certainly wont be prohibitive.

Last December, the president of the country Vladimir Putin decreed to develop a digital economy in the country and initiated the creation of a cross-disciplinary group to study the blockchain technologies and possible risks of their implementation.

The head of cross-disciplinary governmental group Elina Sidorenko, in the course of the plenary forum of the Bitcoin&Blockchain conference, said that the group is going to suggest a draft of the law, regulating the cryptocurrencies, by July. That wont be the first draft of a cryptocurrency law in the country, but according to the speaker, the general rhetorics of the government has drastically changed. During the previous years, the country saw some restrictive initiatives from the authorities: in 2014 the General Prosecutors office suggested to introduce criminal sanctions for those responsible for emission and exchange of cryptocurrencies.

Speaking at the national forum Pavel Livadny, head of Finance Monitoring Governmental Agency, highlighted that the governmental structure overcame the rejection phase and moved on to the constructive dialog. He added that cryptocurrencies have to be regulated, and only few countries want to ban their circulation.

According to the head of the department of financial technologies of the central bank, the bank never aimed to ban cryptocurrencies, which need legal status and the clarity in the sphere of taxation.

The question of legal status of cryptocurrency in the country is still raising many debates and misunderstandings. The last official document on the matter, an informational letter from the Federal Tax Service issued in the end of 2016, noted that cryptocurrencies are valuable. The very form of the notice was rather inspiring due to its recommendatory nature.

It appears that Russia came a long way from objecting to the new phenomenon to the first trials to understand it. There is also a chance that the government started seeing an opportunity in the ground-breaking crypto technology. The federal deputy Boris Titov, while speaking on the national forum, suggested to establish a crypto valley in Crimea, similar to the crypto valley in Switzerland.

Titov noted the potential of blockchain technology for government services, especially regarding the fight against corruption. The main risk, mentioned by most of the speakers, is the anonymity of transactions.

Despite the possible risks, according to Alexander Ivanov, the founder of the Russian blockchain platform Waves, the whole trend is already too big and now the government can only admit it.

Most speakers expressed the opinion that it is very important to develop an attractive legislative base for cryptotechnologies to welcome investors and businesses communities into the country.

This is just the beginning. Elina Sidorenko, head of the cross-disciplinary group and Professor of Law at Moscow Governmental Institute of International Affairs, said that the university is already developing a special educational program targeted to prepare lawyers for working in the cryptoworld. According to Sidorenko, the legal ecosystem is not ready for the era of smart-contracts. By her suggestion, the country should start with raising professional lawyers who could handle the subject.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

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Russia Is Close to Legalization of Cryptocurrencies - Crypto Insider (press release) (blog)

Japan is one these countries where Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are quickly taking off, by the look of things. It is not entirely surprising to learn there are quite a few cryptocurrency exchanges available in the region. Some of the names on the list below will be well known to bitcoin users, although there are some surprising names on there as well.

This is perhaps one of those exchange platforms very few people have heard of. That would not be entirely surprising either as SBI Virtual Currencies has not been around for all that long. What makes this particular exchange so remarkable is how it is Japans first bank-backed exchange, which goes to show there is quite a growing demand for access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other currencies. The launch of this exchange was first announced in October of 2016.

Zaif is one of the oldest Japanese Bitcoin exchanges in existence right now. The company has made quite a name for itself in recent years, even when the regulatory landscape was not overly kind to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the country. Then again, Zaif stuck with their business model and slowly started to gain more traction in the country.

Among the supported currencies on the Zaif exchange are Bitcoin and Monacoin, as well as BitCrystals, Counterparty, and NEM. It is interesting to note this exchange does not support Ethereum trading at this stage, even though that market may be added to the platform in the future. Zaif also provides an opportunity to buy cryptocurrency with a credit card.

Everyone in the cryptocurrency world will have heard of the bitFlyer exchange by now, as it is one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the country. Not only does bitFlyer provide exchange services, but they were also the first to support cryptocurrency-related auctions through their built-in marketplace. The company mainly focuses on providing fiat-to-Bitcoin services to residents in Japan and other countries.

Another major exchange in Japan goes by the name of Coincheck. This particular platform has the largest offering of available cryptocurrencies as of right now. In fact, the list of supported coins includes some of the usual suspects, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Dash, and Ripple. However, the platform also supports Ethereum Classic, Lisk, Factom, Augur, ZCash, NEM, Litecoin, and Dash. All things considered, this is a very solid list of supported currencies.

The primary purpose of Coincheck is to provide a gateway between these cryptocurrencies and the Japanese Yen. Moreover, there is an option for leveraged trading, as well as spot trading. It is good to see Japanese exchanges warm up to the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole, especially now that the new regulation has gone into effect a few weeks ago.

If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and technology news.

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Top 4 Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchanges - The Merkle

Forbes

OneGram & Dubai Trading Platform In $0.5Bn 'Gold-Backed' Cryptocurrency Venture Forbes Islamic financial services and technology company OneGram is partnering with GoldGuard, a Dubai-based online gold trading platform, that is building one of world's largest gold vaults inside the Dubai Airport Free Zone, to create the first completely ... and more »

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OneGram & Dubai Trading Platform In $0.5Bn 'Gold-Backed' Cryptocurrency Venture - Forbes

Long viewed as the anonymous, digital currency used by those in the illicit drug trade, the technology that makes Bitcoin secure (known as blockchain) is about to radically change how we identify ourselves. More fundamentally, the very concept of what identity means will be altered over the next five to ten years. This paradigm shift will have widespread implications for developed and developing countries, where the lack of trusted institutions has led to large numbers of people being effectively unbanked. Yet, this should not be surprising given that Bitcoin is not actually anonymousto the contrary, it is very transparentnor is it a driver of the illicit drug trade. If every bitcoin in existence was used during this year to buy illicit drugs, it would only account for approximately four percent (4%) of the global drug trade. Based on its universal acceptance and truly anonymous nature, the number one currency of choice for drug traffickers around the World is the United States Dollar.

When applied to identity or information about ourselves, blockchain shows promise of providing a means for people to store that data using public key encryptionan asymmetrical form of encryption impervious to brute force attack. While there are several blockchain-based identity platforms that rely solely on this aspect of the technology, several researchers are leveraging the power of data analytics and machine learning to further enhance the identity security provided by blockchain. Traditional anti-fraud software was good at identifying the occasional transaction that was determined to be suspiciousbut in practice, its effectiveness was limited. Because of advances in artificial intelligence, especially in the areas of deep learning and pattern identifying models, analytics are becoming predictive in nature, which is incredibly more powerful than prior generations of technology. When these advances in artificial intelligence are combined with the secure, tamper proof nature of a blockchain, we are once again able to engage in commerce with significantly less concern about our identity being destroyed by another.

We are also able to move through our economic activities with far less friction. For instance, if you obtain a bank account at Bank #1, then from an AML/BSA perspective, there should be no reason for Bank #2 to request anything beyond what is necessary to determine you are the same person that opened the account at Bank #1. Its important to note that control over the private key associated with a persons identity should not necessarily result in a stolen identity. This is where the advances in AI add an additional layer of value, all made possible by its decentralized form.

Storing data, however, is not in and of itself a panacea, the real paradigm shift lies in the ability of individuals to have granular control over what they share with others. For example, if a person has an account with Bank #1and wants to open an account with Bank #2, then that individual may choose not to tell Bank #1 and provide more documents to Book #2. Its this granular control over data and its dissemination that will ultimately unseat todays incumbent technology giants from their near monopoly over the data we generate from our day-to-day activities, and finally return to each person what rightfully belongs to themtheir identity. A fairly dramatic sea change is possibleall from a not so anonymous cryptocurrency.

Find additional resources and insights regarding digital identity on Secondary Sources on Westlaw. Youll find that weve introduced several new enhancements that will make your research experience easy, intuitive and efficient. See the new Secondary Sources experience and access the largest collection of leading and premier analytical materials on Westlaw (Westlaw log-in required).

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Digital Identity: How a Cryptocurrency Could Lead to the Most Fundamental Change in Identity in Centuries - Westlaw Insider (blog)

Ronny Boesing, Founder of OpenLedger ApS, presented The Beginners Guide to Blockchain, Bitcoin, BitShares and OpenLedger to the students of University College of Northern Denmark (UCN) on April 28, 2017.

Based in Pandrup, Denmark, the OpenLedger Decentralized Conglomerate (DC) is the worlds first blockchain powered conglomerate, based on BitShares technology, supporting an ecosystem, which includes the OpenLedger Decentralized Exchange (DEX) and OpenLedgers Crowdfunding (ITO) Services.

Students attending the lecture learned about Blockchain, Bitcoin (BTC), BitShares (BTS) and the OpenLedger DC and how these terms and systems are the future systems for investment, trade, and financial growth.

Ronny Boesing, CEO of OpenLedger ApS, said:

Most of the workshops and lectures I have been asked to give, recently, are on Blockchain, Bitcoin, BitShares, and a general introduction to the world of crypto. This whole landscape is still a mystery to many students. It is already proof-positive that the future is based on the Blockchain, which just like FIAT, is built on a system of trust.

The OpenLedger DC is a dynamic platform with many facets, and a great starting point for the students of UCN to learn about the future of contracts, data transfer, information distribution, money and investing. Knowledge is power. There is no better way to understand something than to start using it.

A copy of the presentation can be seen below:

As an added incentive to the students of UCN, OpenLedger is giving each student 10 free OBITS, the cryptocurrency of OpenLedger, which is tradable on the OpenLedger DEX.

Students of UCN can receive 10 free OBITS by opening an OpenLedger account and then emailing [emailprotected] from an official university email address with your account name and OpenLedger user ID. Students will then receive 10 OBITS dropped into their accounts where they can start trading, free.

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Danish blockchain company OpenLedger gives students free cryptocurrency - CryptoNinjas

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Bank-friendly Ripple (XRP) still exists, to the surprise of many, the author included. Not only that, but it has continued its apparent strategic partnership initiative, partnering with Asian and Australian banks in conjunction with its stated goal of acting as a sort of Paypal mechanism for large interbank transfers.

Four short weeks ago, the coin was sitting around a penny a pop. But with more enthusiasm building among traders, it has steadily risen, and today saw a spike of over 30%, rounding out just under 5 cents each.

Ripple has been getting a ton of attention as of late, and not the negative kind like it once received for managing to get a $700,000 fine from the federal government and thereby underscoring the risk of having a known entity backing a cryptocurrency. Just a couple of examples of this are this recent video in Bloomberg News and inclusion in a Bank of England program.

Skepticism among more traditional cryptocurrency people still thrives. The centralization aspect and the inherent issue of being able to identify coin users as well as reverse transactions certainly is a specter of wrongdoing for many of us. But as one writer put it, one mans sh**coin is another mans treasure.

The fact that the Ripple project has continued to develop its platform and strategic partnerships, continued to bring on talent, and continued to grow its community means that they are at least serious, not scammers looking for a quick buck. The Paypal of banks aspect is important, and paralysis in the Bitcoin community over a simple issue certainly gives any bank pause when it comes to partnering with cryptocurrencies. A recent report from IBM shows that over 90% of banks are investing in some form of blockchain technology.

Another factor of improvement for Ripple is the unofficial Swiss sector of its network. Something called PathShuffle has been introduced which aims to anonymize transactions in the same way that they are on the likes of the DASH network.

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are both very young technologies, and the future is wide open. The first mover, Bitcoin, continues to have its share of problems, and as its drama continues it becomes easier and easier to envision a future where alternatives actually stand a fighting chance. The recent, impressive success of Ethereum is one example, along with DASH, and perhaps Ripple will be up there with them, centralized though it is, serving its own corner of the market.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Ripple Rising: Centralized Cryptocurrency Sees 30% Gain in One Day - CryptoCoinsNews