Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

As most cryptocurrency enthusiasts are well aware of, there are different groups of currencies to take into account. The major cryptocurrencies are all offering something seemingly different, whereas the rest are mostly copy-and-paste clones. However, there are some big differences between the major cryptocurrencies, otherwise there would be very little point in distinguishing between them.

One of the main thing that Dash does well is providing its users with additional privacy when completing transactions. The network of Dash Masternodes provides these services, while also incentivizing users to not spend their wallet balance. Additionally, Dash is making quite an impact in the point-of-sale industry, through strategic partnerships. All things considered, Dash provides a valuable service to people looking for those specific traits.

When it comes to finding anonymous cryptocurrencies, one has to look well beyond bitcoin and others. Monero is leading the charge in the anonymity race due to some innovative concepts. Monero has also been embraced by darknet markets because it provides privacy and anonymity one cannot find in bitcoin. Other use cases for Monero are somewhat limited, though.

Although many have quite contrasting opinions regarding Ripple, one cannot ignore the benefits it brings to the table. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ripple is not about speculation, but strongly focuses on transactional utility. Dozens of banks around the world are looking at Ripple to improve their transactions and other day-to-day operations moving forward. Over the past few days, Ripples XRP token saw its price increase significantly due to a new banking partnership.

Over the past year or so, many people have compared Ethereum to bitcoin. That is like comparing apples and oranges, since both ecosystems are nothing alike. Ethereum focuses on the technical side of blockchain development, including native tokens, smart contracts, and decentralized applications. It is possible all of these features will come to bitcoin in the future, but it is good to have some competition among cryptocurrency ecosystems.

To a lot of people, litecoin is either a bitcoin cloneor one of the first original outcomes to gain traction. Litecoin offers a different mining algorithm and faster transactions. Interestingly enough, there are some development similarities between bitcoin and litecoin. Segregated Witness, for example, may very well activate on the litecoin network first before it will go into effect among bitcoin users. Litecoin is accepted as a payment solution in various places, although it is nowhere near bitcoins level of acceptance.

It is impossible to deny the success bitcoin has had. Even though bitcoin has some problems that need addressing, such as scalability and privacy, it has become the worlds leading cryptocurrency with relative ease. Bitcoin is designed to make global transactions possible and boost financial inclusion. Moreover, thousand of merchants all over the world have started accepting bitcoin payments, both in the online and offline world.

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Top 6 Major Cryptocurrencies and the Differences Between Them ... - The Merkle

It is unclear how much money people lost due to these issues, though.

Plenty of cryptocurrency traders are not too amused with Poloniex right now. The popular altcoin exchange suffered from several brief outages yesterday. During the panic, the Ripple price crashed hard and Ethereum lost US$1bn in market cap. It is unclear what occurred exactly, but we do know traders lost a lot of money in the process. It is unclear what will happen to the people who lost money, though.

Trading cryptocurrencies is always a risky business. Money can be earned and lost in a matter of mere seconds. However, if a popular exchange goes down and traders cant execute orders, something is definitely amiss. Poloniex had a lot of issues last night after Ripple reached a new all-time high. Shortly after this happened, the platform became unresponsive.

It was not just the web frontend suffering from these problems. The Poloniex API, used in tools such as TabTrader, became unresponsive as well. The company acknowledged the outage and trading resumed back to normal relatively quickly. However, a lot of users have suffered from spotty accessibility for several hours. During that time, trading just continued as normal, allowing some people to take advantage of the situation.

To be more specific, Ethereum lost close to US$1bn of its market cap during the trading frenzy. Events like these should not occur in the first place. Moreover, some people feel Poloniex should have halted all trading until the platform was operational again. This goes to show the platform cannot handle increased trading volume for an extended period of time. That is quite disconcerting, to say the least, given Poloniexs position in the market.

One thing is certain: a lot of people have lost faith in Poloniex for the time being. One Reddit user even calls it an organized scam crime website, although that may be a too strong sentiment. It is true this is not the first time the exchange suffers from such outages, though. If these problems continue, Poloniex will quickly lose its market position. After all, the company has to provide exchange services around the clock, yet appears incapable of doing so.

It is unclear how much money people lost due to these issues, though. Ethereums market crashing and the unexpected Ripple dump raise a lot more questions than answers right now. Poloniex has some explaining to do, albeit it is safe to assume no one will be reimbursed for their losses. Centralized exchanges continue to pose a problem for traders. No exchange is always reliable or accessible, that much is certain.

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Poloniex Issues Caused Significant Panic and Losses For Cryptocurrency Traders - newsBTC

The past few days have been quite interesting for the cryptocurrency sector as a whole. Various currencies have seen their value increase over the weekend, which is far more uncommon than most people give it credit for. As a whole, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization has increased as well, which is a positive development.

Based on the statistics provided by Coinmarketcap, it is good to see so many cryptocurrencies gain value over the weekend. For the longest time, bitcoin and altcoin gains seemed to be mutually exclusive, yet that no longer appears to be the case as of late. It also goes to show the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to mature and traders are diversifying their portfolios.

In fact, the current total cryptocurrency market capitalization sits at US$27.544 billion. That is quite an increase compared to the same period last year, when the market cap sat at just over US$8.197bn. It is evident in the past twelve months have been critical for cryptocurrency, although it is not just bitcoin appreciating in value. In fact, bitcoins market cap only represents 67.1% of the total market cap right now, which is far lower than most people would expect.

Particularly the past 24 hours have been quite interesting for a few different currencies. Significant gains have been recorded for Ripple, as XRP gained 104.07% in value all of a sudden. The total gains would have been much higher if the Poloniex exchange had not encountered unexpected issues during the best period of XRP trading. At one point, XRP was trading well above the 7,000 Satoshi mark, before plummeting back to 4,100 once Poloniex slowly resumed their services again.

Other currencies saw intriguing gains as well. Ethereum and Monero held up quite well, with Litecoin even slowly gaining value once again. The big loser of the weekend was Dash, as the current crashed down to the US$57 mark, down from its previous high of over US$100. Then again, this situation may recover moving forward, as it seems all currencies are going full steam ahead once again. In the end, the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to grow, and more money has poured in by the look of things.

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About JP Buntinx

JP is a freelance copywriter and SEO writer who is passionate about various topics. The majority of his work focuses on Bitcoin, blockchain, and financial technology. He is contributing to major news sites all over the world, including NewsBTC, The Merkle, Samsung Insights, and TransferGo.

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Overall Cryptocurrency Market Cap Surpasses US$27.5 billion ... - Live Bitcoin News

Bitcoin prices have surged following Japans decision to allow the cryptocurrency as a legal method of payment, marking a major step in its adoption.

The price of a bitcoin rose above $1,140 (909) according to Coindesks price index. Just over a week ago one bitcoin was trading below $1,000.

Japan's new law will mean bitcoin exchanges have to comply with anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer regulations. The cryptocurrency was drawn to Japanese regulators' attention by the spectacular collapse of the Tokyo-based Mt Gox exchange in February 2014.

Read more: Three predictions for the future of bitcoin

The push to institutionalise bitcoin had been dealt a blow by the failure of a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the currency to gain regulatory approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC had been concerned by the lack of regulatory oversight in the bitcoin spot exchange market, which would allow market manipulation and fraud.

Yet the move by Japan recognises bitcoin as a valid part of the financial infrastructure, setting an example which other governments will watch closely.

Pavel Matveev, co-founder at bitcoin platform Wirex, said: Japan has fired a starting pistol in terms of cryptocurrency adoption.

Japans recognition of consumers appetite for cryptocurrency payments is an important development and provides other governments with food for thought if they wish to compete in an increasingly globalised and digital world."

Read more: Bitcoin slumps as fears of a "hard fork" deepen

Bitcoins adoption has slowly moved from the more arcane, even anarchic, corners of the libertarian internet towards being increasingly accepted in the mainstream.

However, the cryptocurrency still faces barriers to institutional take-up, with massive volatility in prices and scepticism from regulators stemming from bitcoins central role behind online black market payments.

Read more: Winklevoss bitcoin fund rejected by SEC over fraud concerns

There are also concerns within the developer community around bitcoins architecture. It is based on distributed ledger technology which means every user has an identical record of payments, stored in the blockchain.

However, the rapid expansion in bitcoin activity has led to debates about increasing the size of the blocks. Some in the bitcoin community fear a hard fork in which two competing versions of the crytocurrency exist, fragmenting a market with little central control.

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Bitcoin prices jump as Japan makes the cryptocurrency legal - City A.M.

Cryptocurrency Certification Consortium has recently released Cryptocurrency Standard Security guidelines for the entire crypto-industry. Read more...

The number of hacking incidents involving cryptocurrency exchanges until now shows that the security features implemented by many platforms arent enough and are in need of an overhaul. If it is indeed true, then the recent initiative of the Cryptocurrency Certification Consortium is a welcome development for many community members.

The consortium has recently introduced a security guidance Cryptocurrency Security Standard, suggesting the implementation of best security practices by Bitcoin and other crypto-exchange platforms across the world. The guidance draft is designed to introduce new security features while augmenting the existing standards adopted by many exchanges and trading platforms. Some of the features presented by the Cryptocurrency Certification Consortium includes advanced authentication procedures, multiple signature techniques, and decentralized storage methods.

The proposed Cryptocurrency Security Standard will be a one-size-fits-all solution that can be followed by any digital currency platform to secure user funds irrespective of the business nature. Many cryptocurrency platforms have already adopted multi-factor authentication systems for additional security, and few make it compulsory for the users to enable 2FA to operate their accounts.

Also, the multi-signature feature, which requires two or more users/devices to confirm transactions is offered by many wallet service providers. While multi-signature wallets are prevalent, it is yet to be implemented by a majority of Bitcoin exchanges and trade platforms. The draft also suggests wallets on cryptocurrency platforms to be encrypted and frequently backed up to ensure that the access to cryptocurrency deposits is not lost in the case of hardware or software failure.

Since the hacking incidents, cryptocurrency platforms are increasingly using cold storage/wallets to store a majority of the user funds, while maintaining a minimum required liquidity in hot wallets. The adoption of such practices has limited the risk of exposure to external attacks, cutting down losses in the event of hacking incidents.

The security standard also makes allowance for certain procedures to be invoked in the instance where the keys are compromised or lost. The consortium has also given consideration to policies for access control involving cryptographic keys. These policies are put in place to help organizations in the eventuality of the security compromised by either an insider or a hacker who might have gained access to the keys.

A combination of security features, contingencies and regular security audits makes the new Cryptocurrency Security Standard useful for crypto-platforms. The wider adoption of these security practices will help exchange platforms, both big and small to operate without compromising the safety of both users and platforms cryptocurrency deposits.

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Cryptocurrency Certification Consortium to Standardize Security across Crypto-Platforms - newsBTC

The Indian cryptocurrency ecosystem recently woke up to a shocking news on leading media outlets. It was reported that the use of Bitcoin in the country is illegal and could attract penalties under anti-money laundering laws. However, the report was not entirely accurate, and the news platforms were quoting a Member of Parliament seeking the implementation of cryptocurrency regulations by calling Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme.

While the confusion was eventually cleared, the incident has sown the seeds of mistrust about the governments stance on the digital currency. Going by the example of few drastic decisions taken by the government in the past, they have come together to demand some clarity from the government regarding its stance on cryptocurrency. They have started an online signature campaign, petitioning the government to award a legal status for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the country.

The petition is probably the first strong public campaign organized by the recently formed Digital Asset and Blockchain Foundation of India. Addressed to Arun Jaitley Indias Finance Minister, Urjit Patel Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and S Selvakumar the Joint Secretary of the Department of Economics Affairs Room, the petition makes a mention of various benefits offered by Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and how it can be used for the betterment of the country. Also, it asks the government to take steps towards stopping bad actors who misuse the cryptocurrency than banning the technology and its use.

The petition on Change.org also says,

Cryptocurrencies will be available irrespective and the illegal users do not care about its legal status. Please do not take hasty steps and prevent innovation, economic activity and jobs. This will only stop good uses of cryptocurrencies.

In a country which has a considerable percentage of the unbanked population and ranks at the top for receiving the highest remittance, Bitcoin can offer an efficient and inexpensive solution. The use of cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology will not only speed up the financial services sector but also a range of other industries. With the adoption of distributed ledger technology, the government can also combat rampant corruption and red tape. But strict cryptocurrency regulations will stifle progress in this regard, preventing the country from keeping up with the global trend.

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Indian Bitcoin Community Signs Petition Demanding Legal Status for Cryptocurrencies - newsBTC

Published time: 1 Apr, 2017 21:17Edited time: 1 Apr, 2017 21:18

New legislation authorizing digital currency as a legal payment method has come into force in Japan.

The text of the law was releasedby Japans Financial Services Agency on March, 24.

Read more

Earlier this week, the Accounting Standards Board of Japan said that it would begin work on the creation of a framework to help understand how digital currency would be dealt with in the accounting sector. The process is expected to take six months, according to Nikkei.

Big business is especially concerned; since the country has failed to provide guidelines regarding the accounting process when dealing with cryptocurrencies.

There is a risk that companies that hold virtual currency could turn out to have distorted valuations or that huge losses surface suddenly, Chikako Suzuki, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata, told Nikkei Asian Review.

Around $1.7 billion of cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin and others, was in circulation across Japan two years ago. The 2020 projection is set to be at $9 billion, according to a Fuji Chimera Research Institute study.

Read more

The set of measures, that now has come into force, was drafted as far back as 2015 and passed in 2016 after a year of negotiations. Uncertainty over the legal status of virtual currency was stirred after a multi-million dollar embezzlement scandal and the collapse of the Tokyo-based Mt.Gox Bitcoin exchange.

Mt.Gox, once largest exchange service for the cryptocurrency, collapsed in 2014 when 850,000 coins ($480 million at the time) went off its digital vaults.

The company, which dealt with around 80 percent of global bitcoin transactions, admitted that there was a bug in their system that allowed hackers to steal the coins.

The new law outlines that all virtual currency exchanges are to be regulated by the Japanese Financial Services Agency. They must be registered with the financial watchdog and verify the identity of customers opening accounts.

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Bill making cryptocurrencies legal way of payment comes into force ... - RT

CoinTelegraph

Can Cryptocurrency Be Stable Without Inflation? CoinTelegraph There are strong reasons for why cryptocurrencies haven't tried tackling the problem of stability, mainly because it is not only difficult, it takes a really long time. This gets in the way of speculators who seek immediate gratification by selling ...

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Can Cryptocurrency Be Stable Without Inflation? - CoinTelegraph

Ethbits.com is raising funds to develop a platform designed to take LocalBitcoins style trading to the next level. The UK registered company has already developed a platform called Ethbits Local, which facilitates peer to peer online trades as well as face to face trades for a range of Cryptocurrencies.

LocalBitcoins was founded in June 2012 by Jeremias Kangas. The platform connects bitcoin buyers and sellers in an over-the-counter trading environment. Users request or offer the cryptocurrency for a fixed amount, and settle trades in person for cash, or online with bank transfers. By August 2016, LocalBitcoins had 1.35 million people from 249 countries using the platform, and trading in excess of US$14 million per week.

- Pravjit Singh, Ethbits.com Director, Founder & CEO

Ethbits Local will launch immediately after a Token Crowd Sale running from April 15th through to May 13th. The platforms token will be used by customers to pay site fees, while a planned integration with the payment cards like mycelium will allow the tokens to be spent around the world. The funds will help Ethbits.com enter the second phase of development, a trading exchange called iTrade.

Ethbits iTrade will launch in 2018, covering the top 15 cryptocurrencies. The trading platform revolves around a system known as copy trading, which enables traders in the financial markets to automatically copy positions opened and managed by a selected investor.

New traders benefit from the expertise and knowledge of experienced market gamers, who can amplify their profits based on their number of followers. Traders who work in our platform have the opportunity of earning a percentage of their followers profit and obtain power-ups to gain certain privileges, such as reduced fees, explains Ethbit.com Director, Founder & CEO Pravjit Singh.

ETHBITS iTrade will provide new users with all the information needed to decide whom to follow, including a full profile outlining profit and loss in different time frames and historical graphs of performance. Users can choose to be notified every time they copy a trade and can check the overall profit ratio for a certain period.

- Ethbits.com

Copy trading has led to the development of a new type of investment portfolio, which some industry insiders call "people-based" portfolios. People-based portfolios differ from traditional investment portfolios in that funds are invested in other traders, rather than traditional market-based instruments. The system has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Prominent copy trading providers include eToro, ZuluTrade, Cmstrader, and many more. eToro was founded in 2007, and is domiciled in Limassol, Cyprus. The platform is currently used by more than 5,000,000 traders. It is regulated by NFA, CySEC, ASIC, CFTC, MiFID, FCA and has been the recipient of several awards.

ZuluTrade was also founded in 2007, enables traders to share their knowledge with people interested in their strategies. In the strictest sense, ZuluTrade is considered a Forex autotrading platform, as it allows traders to automatically copy the trades of others into their own trading platform. Many also consider it a social trading platform, however, because traders can leave comments and feedback and see live feeds of other traders' activities.

Cmstrader is a relative newcomer to the Forex scene. Since opening its doors in 2013, it has won several international awards including one for being the leading Forex broker and for having best customer service in 2013. Cmstrader is headquartered in the UK and has service offices in Cyprus, Hong Kong, France and the Kingdom of Bahrain. It offers a host of features but most outstanding is its customer support which is provided in a number of ways including by remote control through team viewer, a high tech and timely system not offered by any other broker.

While there are many more platforms offering copy trade style trading, very few offer a variety of cryptocurrencies. Zulutrade and eToro offer trades on bitcoin, eToro recently added Ethereum. Ethbits aims to launch with the top 15 cryptocurrencies.

There will also be the option to Auto Trade, a feature that automatically follows the top traders based on their performance. Auto Trade will be implemented alongside a separate feature, the Ehtbits Investment Fund, which is managed by the company and will invest in leading cryptocurrencies.

While developers get to work, the CEO plans to move headquarters to Gibraltar, with a services office in the UK. Ethbits.com also has agreements to open offices in UK, France, Spain, China, USA and Australia. A full legal team will be hired to assist with expansion and legal compliance. The end goal is 20 offices across the globe.

- Ethbits.com

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Ethbits.com developing 'Alternative Exchange' for cryptocurrencies - Brave New Coin

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Founded in 2016 in Switzerland, the Gira Financial Group AG is striving for a revolution in global currency and merchandise trading. With Giracoin, we have launched a new cryptocurrency on the market, that is accessible for every person in the world through its innovative mining process.

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In our FAQ section, you will find a good deal of useful information on the Giracoin at a glance. In case your question remains unanswered, you can always feel free to contact [emailprotected] or go on our live-chat.

Cryptocurrencies are virtual financial goods or digital cash and is based, as the name suggests, on the principles of cryptography. The general objective of cryptocurrencies is to realize an alternative, decentralized and secure payment system.

The new cryptocurrency from Switzerland. A pioneering Coin thats conquering the world. Using Giracoins, we want to create a nationwide distribution and acceptance of our cryptocurrency that enables people around the world to benefit from its advantages.

While the time of great earning potentials with exchange rate profits cost-effective mining has long since passed for Bitcoin and was really only reserved for financially strong technology experts anyhow, with Giracoin, you now have the opportunity to be involved right from the start in the development of a brand new cryptocurrency.

Through its fully automated mining process, Giracoin provides each person the opportunity to acquire Giracoin dashboard tokens. Afterward, simply enter your tokens, regardless of your technical knowledge, into mining with a simply mouse click.

This is where you as a user have all the features and information at your fingertips for generating and managing your Coins, simply at a glance. An additional live chat feature ensures that any emerging issues can be answered immediately and competently. For further information, also contact our Help Center.

The Giracoin News provides you with the latest news from the world of finance. Always stay informed and subscribe to our Giracoin Newsletter.

The possibilities of application of the block chain technology for industry and business are diverse. An overview of the revolutionary technology.

As the first operator of a cryptocurrency, the Gira Financial Group AG is certified by the competent self-regulatory organization.

In our four-part blog series, we'll introduce you to the different sources of income with Giracoin. In our final blog post in this series we'll get you closer to the Ambassador Bonus.

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Our support team is looking forward to advising you comprehensively and personally on our entire product portfolio. Contact us anytime via email or turn to our Live Chat directly right now. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Giracoin The new cryptocurrency from Switzerland.