Category Archives: Cryptocurrency
IMF Publishes Cryptocurrency Explainer, Saying It ‘Could Be the Next Step in the Evolution of Money’ | News – Bitcoin News
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a video explaining what cryptocurrency is. Besides suggesting that cryptocurrency could completely change the way we sell, buy, save, invest, and pay our bills, the video states that it could be the next step in the evolution of money.
The IMF tweeted a video explaining what cryptocurrency is on Sunday that instantly went viral. Referring to cryptocurrency as a special currency, the two-minute video attempts to outline its benefits in payments, such as by removing middlemen, lowering costs, and increasing transaction speed. It also warns of what it sees as risks, such as anonymity and volatility. The video has garnered more than 523K views at the time of writing; it has been retweeted 5.5K times, liked 8.2K times, and received 807 comments. The video ends with:
If we can counter the risks, then this new technology or some variation of it can completely change the way we sell, buy, save, invest, and pay our bills. And who knows, this could be the next step in the evolution of money.
The video references the IMFs F&D (Finance & Development) magazine, June 2018 edition, entitled Money, Transformed The future of currency in a digital world. When that magazine edition came out, the organization posted the above video on its Youtube channel, which received little interest at the time.
Many people in the crypto space view the IMFs video as bullish. Tweets such as IMF learning fast. Global adoption is on its way, This is a big deal, and They are finally understanding blockchain and cryptocurrency are not going away flooded Twitter. One user wrote: I still cant believe I see this. IMF shills cryptocurrencies, of course, not bitcoin yet, but that time will come too.
Since the IMFs crypto explainer video does not mention any specific cryptocurrency, many commenters took the opportunity to promote their favorite coins.
Some people, however, criticize the content of the IMF video, saying that the information is misleading and omits many important points, including mining. Many also believe that bitcoin should have been mentioned. Nothing about why people choose to store their wealth in a scarce currency like bitcoin instead of fiat currencies that are benign constantly debased by banksters and cantillionaires, one user tweeted. You forgot one fundamental difference between fiat and bitcoin. Fiat is printable by centralized entities like government & banks, whereas BTC is decentralized and has a limit cap to its supply where only 21 million will ever exist in this universe. All powered by blockchain, another wrote.
Some questioned who the bad guys in the video are supposed to be and frowned upon it referring to private keys as passwords. Some say the video gives the appearance that all cryptocurrencies share the properties of bitcoin, and some suspect that the IMF is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency. One user noted that this video is set up like a Prelude to their own crypto coin that will come out at some point fixing all the problems with crypto that the IMF has outlined in this video.
What do you think about this IMF video? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, IMF, Twitter
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Report finds $50 billion of cryptocurrency moved out of China hinting at capital flight against Beijing rules – CNBC
A photo illustration of the digital Cryptocurrency, Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) are seen on September 13 2018 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Yu Chun Christopher Wong | S3studio | Getty Images
Over $50 billion of cryptocurrency moved from China-based digital wallets to other parts of the world in the last year, pointing to possibilities that Chinese investors are transferring more money than allowed out of the country, a new report claims.
Chinese citizens are only allowed to buy up to $50,000 of foreign currency a year at a financial institution.In the past, wealthy citizens have circumvented the limit through foreign investments in real estate and other assets. But the government has cracked down on these methods, according toa report by Chainalysis, a blockchain forensics firm.
"Cryptocurrency could be picking up some of the slack though," the report said.
"Over the last twelve months, with China's economy suffering due to trade wars and devaluation of the yuan at different points, we've seen over $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency move from China-based addresses to overseas addresses," Chainalysis said.
Chainalysis sells compliance and investigation software to businesses and governments.
"Obviously, not all of this is capital flight, but we can think of $50 billion as the absolute ceiling for capital flight via cryptocurrency from East Asia to other regions," the report added.
Cryptocurrency holders are using controversial stablecoin Tether to move their money. A stablecoin is a digital currency that is usually backed by another asset or group of assets in efforts to stabilize its value and limit volatility. Tether claims to be pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Stablecoins are useful for transferring large amounts of cryptocurrency because, in theory, the value of the cryptocurrency a person is moving should not see wild swings.
"In total, over $18 billion worth of Tether has moved from East Asia addresses to those based in other regions over the last 12 months. Again, it's highly unlikely that all of this is capital flight," Chainalysis said in its report.
Part of this activity can be explained by China-based miners converting their newly-minted coins into Tether and sending them to exchanges abroad, Chainalysis said.Miners are people with specialized computers solving complex math problems to mint new cryptocurrency. When they solve this complex problem, miners are rewarded in cryptocurrency.
But the report also found significant spikes in Tether movement on certain news events. Firstly, in October, Chinese President Xi Jinping threw his backing behind blockchain, the technology that underpins many digital coins.
Secondly, after a massive sell-off in mid-March, the price of bitcoin began to recover.
"Equities in both the U.S. and China were still losing value at this time, as was the yuan itself. It's possible that the economic tumult may have prompted some capital flight from China, though much of the Tether movement could have been East Asia-based cryptocurrency traders moving their holdings to international exchanges in order to trade at a time when cryptocurrency price volatility was high," Chainalysis said.
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Report finds $50 billion of cryptocurrency moved out of China hinting at capital flight against Beijing rules - CNBC
Leading Cryptocurrency Exchange PayBito to Add More Altcoins to the Platform – AiThority
Global cryptocurrency exchange PayBito is expanding its portfolio of crypto assets by planning to add more prominent altcoins to the platform to offer diversification of trading options for the users.
Leading cryptocurrency exchange PayBito has revealed its plans to add more prominent crypto assets and altcoins to its coin portfolio by the end of 2020. The platform is globally recognized for its extensive coin listing, which comprises major cryptocurrencies from around the world. Its been a while since the crypto exchange has been on expansion mode. It was fast to launch the trading platform in India, which got its ban on crypto trading lifted a few months ago. PayBito is the only among cryptocurrency exchanges in India to offer such adiverse portfolio of crypto assets.
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PayBitokeeps novelty as a constant within the platform through the inclusion of new assets or advanced features to offer the best trading experience to the users. Expansion of the coin listing is our strategic move to diversify the trading options, especially in emerging markets like India and enable the users to profit more from the trading activities, commentedRaj Chowdhury, Managing Director of PayBito.
At the beginning of the year, PayBitoadded several prominent crypto assetsto the platform, to diversify the trading options for its global users. This time the exchange also wants to focus on the emerging assets that have shown promising growth in the industry. Overall the expansion of the crypto portfolio will offer varied trading prospects to PayBitos global user base.
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PayBito follows a rigorous protocol for its coin listing process. The exchange has a panel of experienced and knowledgeable professionals who assess each crypto asset thoroughly before adding it to the trading platform to ensure that the users have safe and fulfilling trading experience. At present, their coin portfolio comprises of Bitcoin (BTC), HCX, Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), EOS, Basic Attention Token (BAT), Ethereum Classic (ECH), Bitcoin SV, Ripple (XRP) and many more.
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Leading Cryptocurrency Exchange PayBito to Add More Altcoins to the Platform - AiThority
Crypto: Why investors are rushing to DeFi assets – Nairametrics
It seems large entities or better still whales are showing renewed interest lately by moving the second most valuable crypto asset more frequently as DeFi tokens gain traction.
Data from an advanced crypto tracker, Whales Alert, showed two unknown ETH whales separately moved 53,455 Ethereum coins worth about $20.921 million transferred from Kraken (a crypto exchange) to an unknown wallet and vice versa, several hours ago.
Nairametrics believes that the recent whale movements are triggered by the DeFi token phenomenon which uses the ERC-20 protocol for facilitating transactions. Ethereum 2.0, the long-term protocol upgrade of Ethers parent network, is set to launch its final testnet this month.
READ: Bitcoin could potentially become superior to cash
Defi, in short, is the use of blockchain technologies (including smart contracts, decentralized asset custody, etc.) to replace all intermediaries with program codes, therefore maximizing the efficiency of financial services and minimizing costs.
These digital assets are designed on Ethereum codes, and usually exhibit characteristics that include having protocols and financial smart contracts.
READ: Unknown ETH Whale moves $35 million dollars worth of Ethereum
In the Ethereum world, traders or investors who own a large number of Ethereum are typically called whales. This means an Ethereum whale would be a single Ethereum address owning around 1,000 Ethereum or more.
Ethereum is a cryptocurrency designed for decentralized applications and deployment of smart contracts, which are created and operated without any fraud, interruption, control or interference from a third party.
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Ethereum is a decentralized system, fully independent, and is not under anybodys authority. It has no pivotal point, and its platform is connected to thousands of its users through their computing system around the world, which means its almost impossible for Ethereum to go offline.
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Crypto: Why investors are rushing to DeFi assets - Nairametrics
Hackers Intercept Cryptocurrency Payments on the Tor Network Through SSL Stripping – CPO Magazine
Hackers intercepted the Tor network by attaching malicious servers to perform SSL stripping attacks on cryptocurrency payments, an independent security researcher has revealed. The attacks targeted cryptocurrency-related traffic passing through the network.
The report by Nusenu says that Tor network users had a one in four chance of sending traffic through the compromised servers. At their peak operation around May 2020, the malicious group controlled about 380 Tors network exit relays. Tor responded by removing a huge chunk of the malicious servers from its network, but the full extent of the malicious operation remains unknown.
The attackers were performing person-in-the-middle attacks on Tor users by manipulating traffic as it flows through their exit relays, the report says. Profit was the primary motive for the Tor network takeover by the attackers who carefully targeted users accessing cryptocurrency-related websites through the Tor Browser or related software.
To execute the attack, the cybercriminals downgraded users requests from HTTPs to HTTP traffic which allowed them access to unencrypted cryptocurrency payments without triggering TLS certificate warnings. The malicious entities then replaced Bitcoin addresses with their destinations. The affected cryptocurrency payments took place through Bitcoin mixing services. Such transactions involve breaking cryptocurrency payments into small sums before sending them through different addresses. On reaching the destination, the funds are consolidated into a single amount. However, the Bitcoin address rewriting attacks allowed the hackers to intercept the small cryptocurrency payments and to reroute the payments to their wallets, thus stealing bitcoins without the users or the mixers knowledge.
Tor project team is facing verification challenges because of the current COVID-19 crisis which has affected the companys resources due to worker layoffs. The low staff levels had affected the teams ability to verify all relay operators on the Tor network, creating an opportunity for abuse.
The Tor network team has not been able to track trusted relay operators throughout their presence on the Tor network. Consequently, malicious operators could register as genuine providers before executing attacks.
The threat actors relied on users weaknesses in distinguishing between https:// and http:// on the Tor browsers address bar. Additionally, most users rarely type the full address, hence exposing their requests to unsafe redirects. Website owners also fail to enforce HTTPS redirects, thus opening their websites to both encrypted and unencrypted access.
The Tor network team has advised webmasters to enable the HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) functionality. Additionally, the group advised owners of unencrypted websites to install various free SSL certificates, such as the Lets Encrypt certificate, to protect their customers from similar exploits.
While the current exploit targeted cryptocurrency payments only, criminals could use similar tactics to target any traffic passing through the Tor network.
Similarly, the Tor network team has failed to remove the malicious servers entirely. Experts claim that up to 10% of the malicious relays remain within the Tor network. The independent researcher also believes that the malicious entities have adopted other tactics to target cryptocurrency payments within the Tor network while evading detection.
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Hackers Intercept Cryptocurrency Payments on the Tor Network Through SSL Stripping - CPO Magazine
Cryptocurrency from Coincheck cyberattack to be confiscated – The Japan Times
Tokyo District Court has issued a protective order in anticipation of the confiscation of cryptocurrency assets believed to have been stolen in a cyberattack on Coincheck Inc., a Tokyo-based virtual currency exchange operator, it was learned Wednesday.
The court ordered a company set up by Takayoshi Doi, who was indicted over allegedly obtaining the leaked cryptocurrency NEM, to protect the assets for future confiscation based on the organized crimes punishment law, according to investigative sources.
It is believed to be the first such order issued for cryptocurrency assets in Japan.
Doi, a 30-year-old doctor from the city of Obihiro in Hokkaido, was arrested in March for allegedly obtaining NEM while knowing it had been stolen in the 2018 cyberattack. Some 58 million worth of NEM in total was stolen in the hack.
The sources said that Tokyos Metropolitan Police Department had requested the district courts issuance of the protective order. The court accepted the request on March 30.
The order covers NEM owned under the name of Dois company in domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. If the suspect is found guilty and the verdict is finalized, the NEM will be confiscated.
On Jan. 26, 2018, almost all NEM owned by Coinchecks clients was fraudulently accessed and stolen. The perpetrator of the hack has not been identified, but the MPD is continuing its investigation.
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Cryptocurrency from Coincheck cyberattack to be confiscated - The Japan Times
Bitcoin price is surging as investors turn back to cryptocurrency – Metro.co.uk
Bitcoin is on the up right now (Photo by Omar Marques / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
Bitcoin, the digital cryptocurrency, appears to be rising in value again right as the UK enters a deep recession.
The value of bitcoin increased 3% over the last 24 hours, taking its value up to $12,000 for the first time in over a year. It has fallen briefly again to under that amount at time of writing but followers seem bullish.
The virtual currency is a long way off the $20,000 high it hit in 2017 but it nevertheless is continuing to grow in value.
The origins of bitcoin mean theres a finite supply so, similar to gold, it cant be changed by inflationary measures like quantitative easing. Whats more, because bitcoin is decentralised, it doesnt come under the control of any one government or entity.
Its quite possible that investors are seeing the cryptocurrency (along with other such digital currencies) as a kind of safe haven in turbulent times created by coronavirus.
Inflation is currently low but real yields are across the board negative negative real yields and the monetary stimulus/spending has driven investors to seek out inflation hedges such as gold, Seamus Donoghue, vice president of sales and business development at METACO, told Bloomberg.
Given its limited supply and growing institutional acceptance, Bitcoin will also likely benefit from the market seeking inflation hedges.
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Bitcoin price is surging as investors turn back to cryptocurrency - Metro.co.uk
Bitcoin price hits 2020 record as investors turn to cryptocurrency during pandemic – The Independent
Bitcoins value has risen by 3 per cent over the last 24 hours, taking the cryptocurrency above $12,000 for the first time in over a year.
The latest gains mean the price of bitcoin has nearly trebled since March, despite a global economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Other cryptocurrencies have mirrored bitcoins fortunes, with ether (ethereum) rising from just above $100 in March to todays price of $430.
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
Bitcoin remains a long way off its record high of $20,000, which it reached in late 2017, but the recovery is a sign that cryptocurrency is increasingly being viewed as a safe haven asset.
During times of economic uncertainty, investors tend to turn to assets with a fixed supply, such as gold, as they are not subject to inflationary measures like quantitative easing.
The finite supply of bitcoin there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins in circulation means it shares similar properties and is sometimes referred to as digital gold.
Earlier this month, business analytics firm MicroStrategy announced that it had become the first Nasdaq-listed company to adopt bitcoin as a primary treasury reserve asset - using as much as $250 million of its cash pile to invest in bitcoin.
"This investment reflects our belief that bitcoin, as the world's most widely adopted cryptocurrency, is a dependable store of value and an attractive investment asset with more long-term appreciation potential than holding cash," MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor said in a statement.
MicroStrategy's stock has since surged over 20 per cent following the announcement.
On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System'
Reuters
On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices
Lazlo Hanyecz
Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin
On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash
REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis
The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed
Getty Images
In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim
Getty Images
On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash
REUTERS
Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year
Reuters
On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System'
Reuters
On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices
Lazlo Hanyecz
Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin
On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash
REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis
The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed
Getty Images
In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim
Getty Images
On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash
REUTERS
Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year
Reuters
Such investment may have contributed to the recent gains but could ultimately cause the price to stall, market analysts have warned.
As bitcoins steady push higher continues, it is worth bearing in mind that a high bitcoin price can sometimes create a psychological barrier for the retail investor, Simon Peters, from the online investment platform eToro, told The Independent.
Just like investors can get fractional shares, cryptocurrency investors can hold fractions of bitcoins. Yet the fact remains that many retail investors will want whole bitcoins and the price of attaining them is moving further out of reach.
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Bitcoin price hits 2020 record as investors turn to cryptocurrency during pandemic - The Independent
Tether retakes top 3 cryptocurrency spot over XRP – Decrypt
Tether (USDT) has become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization today, pushing Ripples XRP down to the fourth place, according to crypto analytics platforms Messari and Coin Metrics.
If you multiple the number of coins in a cryptocurrency by its current price, you get its market capitalization. Its a way of comparing assets that have wildly different supplies. Since Tether is a stablecoin and its price doesnt really movethe price of a single USDT is designed to be mostly equal to $1the only way to increase its market cap is to mint new coins.
As Decrypt reported, Tethers market capitalization exceeded $12 billion just recently after increasing by $1 billion in one week. Today, it has already reached $13.14 billion, noted Coin Metric analyst Lucas Nuzzi in a tweet.
Nuzzi also listed the top five stablecoins by their year-to-date growth.
This is not the first time Tether has replaced XRP as the third-largest crypto. Amid the market meltdown back in March, USDT briefly overtook XRP after surpassing $5 billion in market cap.
Tethers growth comes despite its parent company dealing with several court cases. Currently, Tether and its sister company, crypto exchange Bitfinex, are in the middle of a fraud investigation led by the New York Attorney Generals office over allegations that they conspired to mask an $850 million dollar void in Bitfinexs finances.
A class-action lawsuit also accused Tether of damages of $1.4 million for printing billions of dollars worth of the cryptocurrency and for manipulating the price of Bitcoin in 2017.
But in the meantime, Tether keeps growing.
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Tether retakes top 3 cryptocurrency spot over XRP - Decrypt
Buy Bitcoin or Gold? Novogratz and Portnoy Prefer the Cryptocurrency – Bloomberg
Michael Novogratz is a veteran Wall Street fund manager and cryptocurrency maven who readily acknowledges when he earns a black eye,while Dave Portnoy is the brash founder of a media empire who only recently began touting stocks and has disparaged Warren Buffett.
Their backgrounds and personalitiesmay be vastly different, but both are now offering the same investment recommendation:Bitcoin is a better long-term bet than gold.
In an appearance on Bloomberg Television, Novogratz founder of Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. said that although he sees gold climbing above its record highs, Bitcoin is still the more worthy investment because its harder to buy than the traditional haven. He said about 25% of his net worth is tied up in the cryptocurrency.
Its only got a $20 billion market cap, while gold is over $10 trillion,Novogratz said of Bitcoin. So its got a long way to go to catch gold in terms of just adoption. Still, he doesnt recommend beginners put in more than 1-2% of their money into the digital currency.
Novogratz said Bitcoin had crossed the Rubiconon the question of whether its a good store of value. Now, more institutions and banks are considering how to get into the cryptocurrency, compared with a few years earlier when they viewed it more skeptically, he said.
Barstool Sports founder Portnoy, meanwhile, was sold on the cryptocurrency after being pitched by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. In a video posted on Portnoys Twitter feed, the twin brothers who founded crypto exchange Gemini Trust say Bitcoin has the potential to replace gold as a store of value. Their reasoning? They claim that Elon Musk has plans to mine gold from asteroids.
In a tweet after his interview with the Winklevoss twins, Portnoy suggested he has bought $1 million worth of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin, the largestcryptocurrency, has been on a roller coaster in 2020. After sliding below $4,000, its zoomed up and is around $11,800. Its seen further acceptance in the mainstream investment community, experienced a halving where the rate of Bitcoin created dropped by 50% as of May, and seen correlations with gold rise to records.
In the case of bullion, prices have been on a tear this yearas central banks worldwide took steps to shore up ailing economies in the wake of the coronavirus crisis and investors sought a haven from the turmoil. The precious metal isup 28% this year to about$1,945, with Credit Suisse Group raising its bullion forecast for next year to $2,500 due to a perfect storm of factors.
With assistance by Sonali Basak
Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.
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Buy Bitcoin or Gold? Novogratz and Portnoy Prefer the Cryptocurrency - Bloomberg