Category Archives: Bitcoin
With Riots Erupting in US Cities, Using Tools of Peaceful Protest Can be More Meaningful – Bitcoin News
During the last six days, America has been feeling the wrath of a myriad of protests and riots in nearly every major city across the nation. The U.S. is experiencing an uprising like never before, but some of the protests and demonstrations could be more peaceful. Acts like not voting for the political class, and using alternative monies like bitcoin can go a long way when it comes to civil protest.
The protests have become unruly and that is because law enforcement has attacked crowds of innocent peaceful protesters, there are hired groups of inciters there to start violence, state provocateurs have been caught on camera inciting violence, and people are fed up with the decades of police brutality.
However, there are other ways people can protest the nation-states wrongdoings and immorality, by simply not participating in the corrupt system. By leveraging bitcoin and other means of counter-economics, by not voting for masters, and avoiding the status quo at all costs can be far more peaceful than any street demonstration.
Just recently a man named George Floyd was killed when an officer kneeled on his neck for close to ten minutes. There is video footage of the incident and three other officers watched their coworker cause harm to the unarmed man. Floyd is not the only individual that American police have killed and most of the time, U.S. officers never get in trouble for police brutality or killing an innocent.
Floyds death was followed by six days of demonstrations, protests, and riots. Cities like Boston, LA, Oakland, Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, San Jose, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, Lincoln, Des Moines, Austin, Louisville, Dallas, Atlanta, Richmond, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and many more saw major protests with tens of thousands of people.
We have to understand that people were locked down and told to stay-at-home for three straight months. They are forced into lines, plexiglass windows in their faces, and fined for not wearing masks. Three months later the data is very concrete And Covid19 wasnt as scary as everyone thought. The very best estimate was 0.4% by the CDC and a lot of people know its lower than that with antibody tests and the fudged death counts. People lost their jobs and they cant eat.
Some people live in the projects and inner cities with barely anything to their name. Paycheck to paycheck they live. More than 1/3 of the American nation is unemployed. Many are hungry. Cant pay the rent. Suicide and depression are rising super fast. Mortgages are not being paid. Rent cant be paid. People are still being harassed for social distancing, masks, and the lines and circles painted on the ground. The media hyped them up. The government and expert doctors lied and over-projected by 1000X or more. They scared people and caused trauma to their children and took them all out of school.
Then some officer kills a man for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill, after the Federal Reserve has been serving counterfeit money for decades. Police have done this so many times before. A mans neck was kneeled on for close to ten minutes straight. It took the police days to put this officer in cuffs. The three other officers have not been cuffed. Crimes like this have been committed so many times before, and officers are hardly ever held accountable.
In addition to the police brutality that is never really addressed, the U.S. government has been manipulating the populace and stealing from the people for years on end with austerity measures and heavy taxation on income and property. They inflate the dollar and never have jailed a banker except Bernie Madoff, because he stole from them. Wall Street, the banking cartel and Federal Reserve have destroyed the nations money system.
The elite in America and many other nation-states, has pushed and pulled people using division by leveraging democrat and republican parties, divided us by race, gender, and made us hate our brothers and sisters, family members. US healthcare sucks, the American education system is horrible, the monopoly of US law enforcement is more about revenue than protecting and serving.
There have been endless wars initiated by U.S. forces for 20 years straight. Multiple countries. Drones and bombs. Kids are taught violence on TV and they are taught to respect the militant officers. Salute them. Death by war is memorialized by the celebration of war. Kids from inner cities and kids who dont know what to do with their lives are recruited into this madness. Children are taught violence is good and to solve things with force.
The hierarchies and the system in America is wrong and immoral. And people should continue to peacefully assemble and protest if they want to because it is most definitely warranted. But they should refrain from violence, looting, and burning. Thats not the way to solve the issues at hand. We the people are made up of individuals and we need to evolve. Evolution, not Revolution. If we violently overthrow the system, then a violent regime will simply take over again.
The madness and insanity will never end, unless we remove the political class nonviolently. There are ways we can peacefully protest without madness. We can use the counter-economy and things like bitcoin to opt-out. We can walk away from the hierarchical systems of manipulation. Stop participating in the system. Dont vote. A new President will not fix a dysfunctional America. Avoid the political class at all costs. Remove yourself from the division.
Libertarians have been saying things like this for years. The system of law is unjust and the monetary system is fraudulent. They use censorship-resistant money in order to avoid the corrupt system and the more people that follow, the more power we the people have. Think about it, instead of taking a chance of getting arrested and hurt in a violent mob, you can use your money to circumvent the elite instead. Without the power of money, the immoral state is useless. They could not fund endless wars and create machines of destruction.
If the people remove themselves from the fraudulent economy by leveraging barter and trade, hedging with precious metals, and leveraging digital assets, then theres a great chance of removing the states monetary power. If we stop voting and ignore the left and right parties, we can opt-out of the political system and move forward. If we continue to participate in the corrupt system, then people will never learn and fraud will continue with no end in sight. Bitcoin is peaceful protest. Not voting is a peaceful protest. These two acts alone, can help the country a great deal than any mass protest will ever do in a lifetime.
What do you think about peaceful acts of protest like leveraging bitcoin and the counter-economy? Let us know in the comments below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Twitter,
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
Read disclaimer
Read the rest here:
With Riots Erupting in US Cities, Using Tools of Peaceful Protest Can be More Meaningful - Bitcoin News
The Many Facts Pointing to Adam Back Being Satoshi | Featured Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News
During the last year, news.Bitcoin.com created a series that shows the many facts that point to certain individuals who might just be Satoshi Nakamoto and its been a popular run so far. Our series has covered nearly everyone, but there are still a few individuals that havent been covered. On May 11, 2020, the popular Youtube channel Barely Social published a video called Unmasking Satoshi Nakamoto, which claims that Blockstream CEO Adam Back could be Bitcoins mysterious inventor.
In mid-May, the Youtube channel Barely Social, a popular creator of analysis videos for odd corners of the internet, published a new video called Unmasking Satoshi Nakamoto. The video creator has 391,000 subscribers and the Unmasking Satoshi video has been watched over 290,000 times to-date. The video was also posted to the top three crypto-related Reddit forums r/cryptocurrency, r/bitcoin, and r/btc. Barely Socials film was immediately removed from the r/bitcoin forum, it was discussed in r/cryptocurrency but downvoted heavily, and it was flagged for vote-brigading on the forum r/btc. The video explains the massive disconnect between two large factions of big block supporters and small block supporters, and how they went certain bitcoin community members separate ways. It also leverages circumstantial evidence that illustrates how Adam Back, the Blockstream CEO could possibly be Satoshi Nakamoto.
It all started well before the Bitcoin white paper was published on Halloween 2008, as Adam Back described the technology on various occasions and as early as 1998. However, prior to the release of the cryptocurrency and white paper, Back seemingly removed himself from the public eye during the Satoshis development period between 2009 and 2010. Coincidently after Satoshi left, Back appeared on the bitcointalk.org forum acting as though hes been around for quite some time, explains the Barely Social video.
Barely Socials film also had a number of other forms of circumstantial evidence that point to Back possibly being the creator of cryptocurrency. For years, during the early days, many people assumed that Back ignored Bitcoin for a while, and then joined the community with great fervor toward the technology. Backs first posts and replies to other bitcoiners on the bitcointalk.org forum shows his technical understanding of the blockchain was more advanced than most. Barely Social also highlights that when Back joined the community after Satoshi left, he was bossing people around like he had always been around.
Additionally, the video compares Satoshis writing style with Backs style, as they both double space and spell their words in a British fashion. Barely Social also mentions the 2015 email that allegedly stemmed from Satoshi, which has also never been disputed. Further, the videos narrator talks about how Adam Back has told people that Satoshi has written to him, but unlike Mike Hearn, Back has never shared these corresponding emails.
Barley Socials film also delves deep into the 2015-2017 manipulation and propaganda that stemmed from the block size debate. Within this section of the video, it shows how the r/bitcoin owner, Theymos, censored thousands of people and thousands of posts and still does to this day. Theymos operates r/bitcoin, bitcointalk.org, the bitcoin wiki page, and also he also has some control over bitcoin.org too with an anonymous individual called Cobra Bitcoin. Barley Socials video shows evidence that Back and other members of the company Blockstream were complicit with Theymos and his censorship techniques.
The video further discusses Gavin Andresens role when Satoshi handed the project over to the former lead developer. Barley Socials video details how Andresen fought against the control specific Bitcoin Core developers had over the project and Blockstreams influence. The video showed little bias and explained that both sides of the argument sought control. Barely Social also published a debate between Andresen and core developers, and Adam Back joined in during the discussion. Other prominent members of the discussion included Rusty Russell, Greg Maxwell, Theymos, and many other Bitcoin Core developers.
When Back appeared in the discussion, he was anti-hard fork from the beginning, and said the Bitcoin community needs to foster collaboration and consensus to reduce the risks. Barley Social assumes that a lot of developers know that Back is Satoshi, and that its possible a number of people have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The video also says that even though Andresen named Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto in May 2016, it was done to be purposely misleading.
The film shows that Backs company Blockstream purposely stopped onchain scaling, so the company could provide relief to the community with the Liquid sidechain project. Essentially, the belief is the firm suppressed onchain scaling and hard forks, in order to claim revenue from transaction fees. This is probably why the Bitcoin Cash community and r/btc forum disliked Barely Socials theory, because they consider Back and Blockstream enemies of Bitcoin.
The r/bitcoin censorship probably stemmed from the fact that the video does expose the mass censorship thats been plaguing that subreddit for years. Adam Back also denies being Satoshi Nakamoto and has recently rejected the theory publicly. Back told the publication Decrypt that he wasnt Satoshi and said: Just that people speculate, but Im not Satoshi. To cut short Google searches and digging. Back also spoke up on Twitter and stated:
Some claim to be Satoshi, days google research blogging stories, and in court, to widespread non-belief. Seems I need the opposite: I am not Satoshi despite [the] recent video / Reddit claiming so. Some factors & timing may look suspicious in hindsight; coincidence & facts are untidy.
Of course, Barely Social says during the beginning of the film that Back can always leverage plausible deniability. There was also a recent Youtube video, which has the crypto pundit, Tone Vays, doing a rebuttal against Barely Socials video. Even though Barely Social was there in the live stream chat, he wasnt allowed to debate Vays criticism, which was filled with insults, and common logical fallacies.
The Blockstream CEO and Barely Social have also debated the subject on Twitter at great length. Following the video and coincidentally, theres also been a number of spends and messages on the BTC blockchain that stem from early addresses from 2009 and 2010. One 50 BTC block from February 2009, one month after the Bitcoin network was launched, was just spent and sent to another address.
What do you think about Barely Socials video which claims Adam Back may be Satoshi Nakamoto? Let us know in the comments below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Youtube, Twitter, Reddit
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
Read disclaimer
Read more:
The Many Facts Pointing to Adam Back Being Satoshi | Featured Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News
$9M and Over 4,500 Fusions – Bitcoin Cash Supporters Anticipate the Cashfusion Audit | Technology Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News
Since November 28, 2019, the Cashfusion protocol has helped facilitate 4,583 fusions to-date with roughly 40,564 bitcoin cash ($9.1M). Cashfusion is an extension of the Cashshuffle platform and the protocol has been deemed far more practical than other coinjoin protocols. Bitcoin Cash proponents are now waiting for the completion of the codebase audit, as the protocol will undergo a security audit from the well known firm Kudelski Security.
Cashfusion is a popular privacy-enhancing platform that is used for obfuscating bitcoin cash (BCH) transactions. The protocol has become very popular after many BCH supporter leveraged the previous platform called Cashshuffle. Cashfusion is an extension of Cashshuffle and makes transaction privacy even more enhanced.
The protocol has been reviewed by a number of people including the data analyst James Waugh. The analyst tested thousands of BCH transactions and combed through a number of inputs and outputs. Waugh realized that its not possible to establish a concrete link between fused transactions and he explained that Cashfusion is far more practical than other coinjoin protocols. Since then a great number of BCH supporters have been utilizing the privacy-enhancing software.
Since the end of November last year, BCH supporters have fused $9.1M worth of BCH or 40,564 BCH total. The 40,000 BCH was fused in 4,583 fusions with 266,752 inputs and 260,385 outputs. Users can see Cashfusion stats by leveraging Acidsploits stats.devzero.be/#/fusion website but also the web portal stats.cash is recording fusions as well.
The previous platform Cashshuffle still gets a lot of use and traction and since March 27, 2019 theres been 52,123 shuffles. Approximately 247,387 bitcoin cash has been shuffled since then as well or $55.8 million at todays exchange rates. On Fridays BCH fans celebrate Fusion Friday, as they gather together that day to produce a number of fusions. This trend was taken from Shuffle Saturdays, which sees participants shuffle more BCH every weekend.
Right now, BCH proponents are waiting for the security audit from Kudelski Security who will review the Cashfusion codebase and operations. Bitcoin.com and the grassroots BCH community raised $50,000 for the Kudelski audit and $50,000 for Cashfusion developer expenses.
After the Kudelski review of Cashshuffle, the developers launched the official version of the protocol. The Cashshuffle Kudelski review was positive and many BCH supporters look forward to the outcome of Cashfusions audit. The conclusion of the Cashshuffle audit explained that the protocol showed no significant deviations.
We further believe that the Cashshuffle codebase that we reviewed is implementing the Coinshuffle protocol with no significant deviations, and we did not find any evidence of malicious intent, flawed logic, or potential backdoor in the codebase, the security researchers at Kudelski said.
As governments and law enforcement officials worldwide continue to wreak havoc on financial privacy, Cashfusion is anticipated immensely for that reason. Further, blockchain analysis and surveillance have grown very large since the early days, and a better privacy option for bitcoin cash transactions that surpasses traditional coinjoin techniques, would be welcomed by the community. Lately, a number of BCH fans using the Reddit forum r/btc have been showing off their successful fusions and inputs and outputs.
What do you think about the $9.1 million worth of bitcoin cash fused so far? Let us know in the comments below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Go here to see the original:
$9M and Over 4,500 Fusions - Bitcoin Cash Supporters Anticipate the Cashfusion Audit | Technology Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News
South Korea to Start Taxing Bitcoin Profits in 2021 | Taxes Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News
South Korea will start taxing profits from bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies next year, according to local media reports.
The taxation will also apply to bitcoin mining operations and income from initial coin offerings, should it be approved by Parliament.
South Koreas Ministry of Economy and Finance proposed the amendments to the existing tax law to include the cryptocurrency industry, with backing from the Ministry of Information and Technology.
In September, the Ministry will table the amendments before Parliament. Once approved, the law will enter into force in 2021, allowing authorities to tax profits generated from the sale of digital assets for cash. Trades between cryptocurrencies will remain tax-free, and similarly those sold at a loss.
We are reviewing capital gains tax or other income tax on profits gained by domestic and foreign investors in the transfer of virtual assets, an official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance was quoted as saying.
The proposed tax amendment will be announced in July and submitted to the regular assembly in September, the official added. The planned changes have been prompted by the idea of applying tax where income is located, officials said.
The Korean government has attempted to tax bitcoin in the past, most recently in January, but failed to enforce the regulations, reportedly because different government ministries could not agree whether bitcoin was an asset or not. Local crypto experts believe the proposed amendments will suffer the same fate.
Seung Seung-young, a researcher with the Korea Regional Tax Institute, told local newspaper E Daily that the planned law is not watertight in its current format, opening it to exploitation by investors. He opined:
If you do business through a peer-to-peer transaction without going through an exchange, there is a possibility of avoiding taxation. Even with IP tracking, if there are a large number of targets, administrative costs will increase and it will be difficult to track each day.
Kim Yong-min, chairman of the Korea Blockchain Association, notes that it will take three to four years before the government can set up infrastructure that truly understands cryptocurrency.
What do you think about South Koreas proposed tax on Bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
Read disclaimer
More here:
South Korea to Start Taxing Bitcoin Profits in 2021 | Taxes Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News
Spiritual Reflections on the Bitcoin Halving – CoinDesk – CoinDesk
Allen Farrington writes at Quillette, Areo and Merion West, as well as extensively on Medium, where he has several much longer essays on Bitcoin, finance, economics and related topics. His collected writings can be found here. He lives in Edinburgh.
At approximately 8:23 p.m. GMT on Monday, May 11, the 630,000th Bitcoin block was mined, the first to offer the reward to its successful miner of 6.25 bitcoin rather than 12.5, as has been the case for the past four years. You may have caught wind of this, what with #BitcoinHalving briefly trending on Twitter, an uptick in coverage of Bitcoin in the media over the past few days, or for some other reason.
There are good ways and bad ways to describe the halving. Or rather, there are ways that are factually true and then there are ways that are spiritually true. Whatever mainstream coverage you read on this if you found any at all I would bet took the factually true route. They will have told you something like the following:
Miners secure the network by wasting electricity solving useless mathematical puzzles. Whoever solves the puzzle first gets a reward and all the pending transactions get logged. The reward just halved, meaning the supply to the market will likely contract, leading many to suspect the price will go up, while others disagree. So far markets have done
Then whatever markets did in the following hours, which I really dont think is important at all. It is factually important, for sure. But it is not spiritually important. And to ignore the spiritual importance is to misunderstand the halving entirely, just as it is to misunderstand Bitcoin. It is only spiritually important what happens to the price of Bitcoin over years, decades, and centuries.
The halving was not just the mining of the 630,000th block. It was a social event perhaps unlike any other in history, and perhaps even never to be repeated. Previous halvings (this was the third) were celebrated in bars, beaches, and barbecues, as I am sure this one would have been in normal times. But given the lockdown, the celebrations were migrated to Zoom, YouTube and Twitter, for the most part.
Many thought this a shame, reminisced spending previous halvings or previous get-togethers of any kind in person, and looked forward to being able to do so once again whenever normality returns. But I think the circumstances forced their own beauty, their own poignancy. Not everybody can afford to go to New York on a random Monday in May, but everybody can afford to turn on YouTube. The lockdown meant everybody in the world celebrated the halving in the same place: on the internet. In Bitcoins home.
And so rather than take planes, trains, and automobiles to the bars, beaches, and barbecues, tens of thousands of individuals tuned in live from all over the world for what factually was little more than a countdown. Many likened it to New Years Eve, but it was different for at least two reasons, one factual and one spiritual.
Factually, the event itself can only be said to exist on the Internet. It was not in a place, except insofar as it was in every place. Unlike New Years, therefore, it happened for everybody at the same time.
But spiritually, the importance of this universality really cannot be overstated. The Bitcoin halving happened at the same time for everybody because the Bitcoin protocol is the same thing for everybody. It knows no borders and no nationalities. It knows no time zones. One might say it is its own reference time. The halving didnt happen at 8:23 p.m. GMT 8:23 p.m. GMT happened at block 630,000.
Similarly, the halving didnt happen at ~$8,500 BTC:USD, it happened at 1 BTC:BTC. There will be a time when no exchange rates matter or are even meaningful. In anticipation of this, I would encourage the adoption of a different, more consistent metric perhaps Bitcoins share of the aggregate global capitalization of currency? Bitcoin is its own reference value.
Bitcoins reference time is the same for everybody, as is its reference value, as is its reference software, as indeed are its engendered social celebrations. Provided you have an internet connection you can use Bitcoin to tell the time, to transfer value, to inspect its code, and to join the party.
Moreover, these must be the same for everybody, because they exist as references in the first place because Bitcoin, the ecosystem, strongly encourages nonviolent agreement. Bitcoin has elevated the importance of the word consensus in the English language, and its translations in every language, for that matter. Bitcoin is written in C++. This is the factual reason that everybody can read it. The spiritual reason is that it is open source, and that it must be open source for consensus to form and be maintained.
Every block has a field called coinbase, which the lucky miner may fill with a limited string of text that has no strictly functional purpose in terms of the code, but, due to the open source nature of the blockchain, anybody can read, and hence can be used as a kind of meta-tool for signaling purposes. The very first block ever mined by Satoshi Nakamoto was given the following text as its coinbase:
The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks
Factually, this served as a timestamp. Spiritually, it served as a statement of purpose: a call to arms that cheekily elucidated why this radical experiment was even being attempted. It was soon discovered after the halving that the coinbase of the 629,999th block, the last to reward 12.5 BTC, was filled by mining pool f2pool with the text:
NYTimes 09/Apr/2020 With $2.3T Injection, Feds Plan Far Exceeds 2008 Rescue
I wont insult this astonishing gesture by explaining its content. I wish merely to draw attention to its beautiful duality; factually, this achieves nothing. It is a throwback: an impressively well-executed meme.
But spiritually, this is a battle cry. Because here we are again, twelve years and goodness knows however many trillions of unbounded dollars later. Bitcoin is no longer an experiment. It is a nonviolent revolution against financial tyranny, led by nobody, fought by anybody and everybody. And it is literally trolling its way to victory.
A version of this post originally appeared on Medium.
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
Go here to read the rest:
Spiritual Reflections on the Bitcoin Halving - CoinDesk - CoinDesk
Covid-19 Economy Fuels Faith in Crypto: Trust In Bitcoin Over Banks Increased 3X Since 2017 – Bitcoin News
The market research organization, The Tokenist, recently published a report called Comparing Public Bitcoin Adoption Rates in 2020 vs 2017. The studys findings give a comprehensive look at the cryptocurrency ecosystem between 2017 and now. The researchers survey shows that since the post-Covid-19 economy is setting in, trust in bitcoin has grown 29% in the past three years.
A recently published study from the crypto think tank, The Tokenist, details that there is a growing trust in bitcoin over traditional investments like gold, stocks, and real estate. The market researchers leveraged a survey that was taken in April 2020 (5,421 participants in 24 countries) and collated several surveys from 2017 as well. The Tokenist utilized these polls to see how attitudes and perceptions have changed since the price fluctuations and the impact of Covid-19.
Faith in large financial institutions has been steadily waning for more than a decade and the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this process, the report highlights. Bitcoin, itself developed in the years after the 2008 market crash as an alternative to traditional assets, stands to be a major beneficiary of this trend.
The Tokenist also leveraged surveys from the companys mailing list and another that saw 4,852 participants in 17 countries. According to the studys findings, The Tokenist researchers have found that there is a trend of individuals with positive sentiment regarding BTC as a long term store of value.
The findings note that over 45% of respondents preferred Bitcoin rather than stocks, real estate, and gold, and 61% of the total respondents (and 78% of millennials) are now somewhat familiar with BTC, and 14% of millennials have owned the asset. The report continued:
47% of respondents trust Bitcoin over big banks, an increase of 29% in the past three years. 43% of respondents, and 59% of millennials, feel that most people will be using Bitcoin within the next decade. In 2020, 44% of millennials report that they are likely to buy BTC in the next five years. More than one in three millennials would hold onto Bitcoin they are given, while a slightly smaller number (27%) would immediately sell it. 39% of male millennials now have no problem with the intangible nature of BTC, and a quarter of millennials as a whole report the same attitude.
The report finds that the attitude toward BTC, in general, is more positive and optimism has increased by 27% during the last three years. 60% of respondents felt that Bitcoin is a positive innovation in financial technology, The Tokenists report concludes. Increased familiarity with Bitcoin has convinced many that it is a positive force, the papers authors added.
What do you think about The Tokenists researchers surveys and findings? Let us know in the comments below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, The Tokenist
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
Read disclaimer
Go here to read the rest:
Covid-19 Economy Fuels Faith in Crypto: Trust In Bitcoin Over Banks Increased 3X Since 2017 - Bitcoin News
8 Reasons Why This Could Be the Time to Take Bitcoin Seriously – Entrepreneur
May22, 20206 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Despite recent price volatilityand global macroeconomic uncertainty, 2020 is a big year for Bitcoin. Although a large number of businesses and private individuals are still apprehensive about adopting cryptocurrencies, the number of blockchain-dependent businesses and Bitcoin users is steadily rising having more than quadrupled over the past three years.
There are several very good reasons why its fair to assume Bitcoin is not only here to staybut about to positively flourish.
Related: Is Cryptocurrency Coming Back or Going Away for Good? 6 Experts Weigh In.
Bitcoin, due to blockchain technology, is decentralized. This means that there is no central authority like a bank or state apparatus in charge of the currency. Some argue that there are pros and cons to this, but one thing is certain decentralization provides a higher level of security for the currency. The fact that Bitcoin is not centralized makes it less vulnerable to security threats and more resilient and efficient.
Additionally, while Bitcoin is more pseudonymous than anonymous,transactions are completed under a pseudonymbut can still be linked to a physical user. Many users are uncomfortable entering their banking and personal details online, so Bitcoin offers an alternative that, at the very least, appears safer.
All thats required to perform transactions with Bitcoin is a smartphone with internet access. Sinceno physical banking institutions areinvolved,cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have an advantage, particularly in developing countries where traditional banking is lacking or underdeveloped, like in some areas of Africa. Since its easier to set up an internet connection than it is to create a physical banking network, Bitcoin is likely the currency of the future for many areas of the world.
As we become increasingly used to apps and software solutions for everyday tasks and problems, were beginning to expect that "theres an app for that."
If theres an easier, more efficient way to conduct business or complete service through the use of technology, most people will take advantage of it. And Bitcoin although its underlying technology is highly complex is incredibly easy to use.
Anyone whos ever completed an international bank transfer through traditional means can tell you that its not the easiest process and certainly not the cheapest. Online platforms such as PayPal or TransferWise have made it both easier and cheaper than standard bank operations, but there are still fees and configuration issues involved.
Related: 4 Ways to Smartly Invest in Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin, meanwhile, makes it possible to complete international transfers instantly and,most importantly,without third-party fees. This is particularly important for business owners. As markets become increasingly globalized, more and more customers are takingadvantage of services and products provided by companies from abroad.
Let's consider basic economics. Part of the design of Bitcoin involves a limit as to how many coins will ever exist setting the cap at around 21 million. This was a conscious decision on the part of Satoshi Nakamoto,the entity behind the invention and deployment of Bitcoin.
This limit effectively makes Bitcoin inflation-resistant, giving it a major advantage over traditional currencies, all of which are subject to losing value at certain times. The anti-inflationary measures mean that Bitcoin will always retain its value, and also make it a viable alternative to traditional currencies in countries where hyperinflation is rampant, such as Venezuela.
In addition, the halving will occur this year, which will slow the rate of introduction of new Bitcoin into the ecosystem as the total supply marches ever closer to 21 million.
Using Bitcoin including its implementation in everyday businesses -doesnt require any specific alterations or complex systems to be put into place. The cryptocurrencys accompanying apps and software are compatible with existing technology smartphones and computers meaning that no additional investment is necessary to start using Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is valued not only as a currency but also as an investment not unlike gold or other precious metals. Since Bitcoin appeared on the market, investors have expressed widely different opinions on the cryptocurrency as a potential investment. Some found it to be an ideal opportunity, many believed it too short-lived and/or volatile, and most knew too little about it to have an opinion.
A 2019 survey by Grayscale is highly illuminating on the subject. A sizeable portion of investors 36 percent stated that they would consider an investment in Bitcoin. Crucially, though, of the remaining 64 percent those who wouldnt consider investing in Bitcoin a huge 89 percentsaid their lack of interest stems from having insufficient knowledge about cryptocurrencies.
Its a logical prediction, therefore, that as the use of Bitcoin as a currency becomes more widespread and understanding of the nature of cryptocurrency more common, investors will be increasingly comfortable with considering it a worthy investment over the coming years.
Related: Bitcoin Ultimatum: A New Fork to Solve Old Problems
Superior is the keyword here because Bitcoin is no longer the only cryptocurrency around. Ethereum, for instance, was one of the first competitors to emerge, imitating the technology behind Bitcoin. However, for the competition to be a threat to Bitcoin, it would need to have some specific and tangible advantages.
Fiat currencies have failedbecause humans cant help but print more money. There has never been a time where a deflationary alternative built on code and mathematics is needed. Bitcoin has a compelling use-case as a store of value, particularly in countries experiencing hyperinflation such as Iran, Turkeyand Venezuela. Bitcoin also has a compelling use case in remittances, and greater adoption by financial institutions will help provide these services at more competitive rates.
One thing is certain: Bitcoin and digital currencies are here to stay.
Originally posted here:
8 Reasons Why This Could Be the Time to Take Bitcoin Seriously - Entrepreneur
Market Wrap: Traders ‘Buy the Dip’ as Bitcoin Hovers at $9,000 – CoinDesk – CoinDesk
Bitcoin fell for a second day, extending a downdraft triggered by Wednesdays revelation that a member of the cryptocurrency community from the blockchains earliest days in 2009 had moved a long-dormant cache of coins.
As of 20:30 UTC (4:30 p.m. ET), bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $9,044, a loss of 5.6% over 24 hours.
Bitcoin remains well below its 10-day and 50-day technical indicator moving averages a signal of bearish sentiment.
At 14:00 UTC (10 a.m. ET) the worlds oldest cryptocurrency began experiencing high selling volume on exchanges including Coinbase, dropping bitcoin below $9,000 for the first time since May 13.
While the market appears to have turned bearish, Rupert Douglas, head of institutional sales at asset management firm Koine, said he planned to buy the dip a popular phrase for accumulating an asset when prices drop in the belief that theyll soon start going up again.
In a way I was hoping for this, Douglas said in an email. Im a buyer at $9,000, as this is shaking out the weak longs before taking it higher.
Volatility in the notoriously fickle bitcoin market has declined since collapsing in March, when the devastating economic toll from the coronavirus started to become clear.
I wouldnt call this a dump, Darius Sit, managing partner at crypto quantitative fund QCP Capital, told CoinDesk via a Telegram message. Its nowhere near statistically significant.
The price drop could take a toll on the profitability of bitcoin miners, already hurting from a revenue cut following last weeks rewards halving. The miners have had to rely more on transaction fees to maintain revenue.
Fortunately, fees are up post-halving, said Marc Fleury, CEO of digital asset brokerage Two Prime.
Transaction fees associated with moving bitcoin around have increased from 60 cents to upwards of $5, providing some income for the miners, he said.
Fleury said many bitcoin miners are counting on a price increase to stay profitable.This has historically happened in the past two halvings, within a span of 18 months, said Fluery. It will take some time for the market to adjust.
Digital assets on CoinDesks big board are in the red Thursday. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether (ETH), lost 5.6% in 24 hours as of 20:30 UTC (4:30 p.m. ET).
The biggest losers in 24-hour trading were cardano (ADA) slipping 7.6%, iota (IOTA) losing 6.5% and neo (NEO) down by 6.1%. All price changes were as of 20:30 UTC (4:30 p.m. ET) Thursday.
In the commodities sector, oil is trading up 1.4%, with the price of a barrel of crude at $33 at press time.Oil has experienced a wild ride in 2020, up 101% the past month yet still down 44% for the year to date.
Gold is in the red today, with the yellow metal falling 1.2% to $1,725 at the close of New York trading.
In the U.S. the S&P 500 fell less than 1% on the day, but still up over 2% since Monday despite U.S. jobless claims coming in at over 2.4 million for the past week, the seventh weekly increase.
U.S. Treasury bonds slipped Thursday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were down most on the two-year bond, falling 5.6%.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index ended its trading day down less than a percentage point on losses in the real estate and transportation sectors. Trading of Europes largest public companies by market cap on the FTSE Eurotop 100 index was also down less than a percent, dragged down due to continued coronavirus uncertainty.
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
Originally posted here:
Market Wrap: Traders 'Buy the Dip' as Bitcoin Hovers at $9,000 - CoinDesk - CoinDesk
RenBTC Quietly Goes Live in Latest Bid to Bring Bitcoin Into Ethereum – CoinDesk – CoinDesk
The latest implementation of bitcoin (BTC) on the Ethereum blockchain quietly went live this week.
There are 1.24 renBTC live on the Ethereum mainnet now, according to Etherscan. Three sources with knowledge of the project have confirmed this is the Ren smart contract, live ahead of its launch announcement.
Kain Warwick of Synthetix tweeted Wednesday that he was the first person to hold a full bitcoin in renBTC.
However, theres no way yet for members of the public to mint additional renBTC, the CEO of the company behind the project told CoinDesk in an email.
While the smart contracts have been deployed on Ethereum, RenVM itself is not actually on mainnet. This is because RenVM is a distinct network separate to Ethereum. The final mainnet subzero version of RenVM wont be deployed until later, Taiyang Zhang wrote. The minted renBTC so far has been from our own internal testing [and] Kain from Synthetix testing the system. The public hasnt been able to mint renBTC thus far.
RenBTC becomes the latest in a rash of products built to expose bitcoin-backed assets to the benefits of Ethereums various decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.
Heres a succinct description of the system from a Medium post by the companys CTO, Loong Wang:
"Any asset minted on Ethereum by RenVM is a 1:1 backed ERC-20. This means that if you have 1 renBTC (an ERC-20), you can always redeem it for 1 BTC. It's a direct supply peg. renBTC isn't a synthetic, it doesn't rely on a liquidation mechanism, and it's not the price of Bitcoin on Ethereum. It is a one to one representation of Bitcoin on Ethereum that can be redeemed for BTC at any time, in any amount."
Ren is a project that grew out of the $30 million initial coin offering (ICO) for the Republic Protocol, originally envisioned as a way to run dark pools privacy-preserving trading venues where the order book is kept secret. According to Crunchbase, its backers included Polychain Capital and FBG Capital.
But, in a recent issue of The Defiant newsletter, Wang explained his firms pivot away from dark pools.
The big trades were on chains that werent Ethereum, he said. ETH had a lot of liquidity, but it was predominantly Bitcoin and USDT. So we would had to leverage things like atomic swaps, and theyre just too painful, Wang told The Defiants Cami Russo. And so we kind of turned around to say, well, we need to solve this interoperability problem before large liquidity is actually truly accessible in this space.
The RenVM is a way to hold a cryptocurrency in a multi-signature wallet controlled by nodes in the RenVM and mint a representation of that asset as an ERC-20 token for use on Ethereum. Unlike other projects, RenVM is bringing more than bitcoin to Ethereum (see bitcoin cash (BCH) and zcach (ZEC) above), with other assets to follow.
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
Excerpt from:
RenBTC Quietly Goes Live in Latest Bid to Bring Bitcoin Into Ethereum - CoinDesk - CoinDesk
Bitcoin Could Be More Resilient to Global Electric Failure Than Banks – Cointelegraph
What if the world was hit with another major disaster, but this time, it included global electrical failure? Would Bitcoin (BTC) survive, would it thrive, what about the banks? We have the answers.
Bitcoin consumes massive amounts of electricity and with the constant growth of the network, this number will only increase. The Bitcoin protocol relies on the internet for communication. Thus, if all of a sudden, if there was a disruption to the worlds electric grids, one might conclude that this would doom the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin Energy Consumption Relative to Countries. Source: Digiconomist.
However, Andreas Antonopoulos disagrees. He believes that the decentralized nature of Bitcoin in combination with its ability to rely on alternative communication modes, would prove it much more resilient than the traditional banking system:
In fact, I would predict that if we did have a massive electric failure or natural disaster that damaged infrastructure such as the Internet or the electric grid, Bitcoin would be one of the first things to come back. And the reason for that is because not only is Bitcoin a self funding system, but also because of the decentralization of users, node operators and miners who would have many, many incentives to rebuild local infrastructure in a very decentralized way. Remember, Bitcoin doesn't need the Internet in order to exchange transactions and blocks.
Furthermore, Antonopoulos points out that Bitcoin could rely on satellites, radio, or telephone lines for communication, instead. In his opinion, Bitcoin would be the first one to rebound. Whereas for the global financial system to bootstrap itself from the ground up in a world without reliable electric grids, that would likely take months, if not years.
Antonopoulos believes that political attacks present a much more imminent danger to Bitcoin, especially the sneaky ones:
I am worried about political attacks, especially sneaky political attacks, like changing the tax status of cryptocurrency in order to drive it underground. And I do think that such a tax could alienate a big chunk of the middle class and speculative investors who will not take the risk to oppose the government in order to use Bitcoin.
However, he concludes that although this would affect the price and hamper adoption, it would not destroy the system:
The price can be attacked in many different ways. And those attacks can drive the price down quite dramatically and perhaps, even for extended periods of time. But they will not change either the monetary fundamentals or the technical operation of the network.
Bitcoin has long since proven that its system is robust. In 11 years of operation, the network has seen zero downtime.
Visit link:
Bitcoin Could Be More Resilient to Global Electric Failure Than Banks - Cointelegraph