CoinTelegraph | Ripple Price Surge Continues, Altcoin Takes Advantage Of Bitcoin Scaling Troubles CoinTelegraph While the debate continues within the Bitcoin community, several altcoins have experienced a significant surge in overall value. Cryptocurrencies such as Dash and Ethereum have conquered new levels in price and market capitalization at a time that ... |
View post:
Ripple Price Surge Continues, Altcoin Takes Advantage Of Bitcoin Scaling Troubles - CoinTelegraph
CoinTelegraph | Altcoin-Fiat Trading Rises, BitPanda Adds Dash-Euro Trading CoinTelegraph European cryptocurrency exchange BitPanda recently added Dash-fiat trading pairs as altcoin buying options outside of acquiring Bitcoin first continue to ... |
Here is the original post:
Altcoin-Fiat Trading Rises, BitPanda Adds Dash-Euro Trading - CoinTelegraph
Starting April 2017, Bitcoin in Japan receives the recognition of being a form of money. Read more...
Bitcoin has finally gained the recognition of a mainstream currency along the lines of other fiat currencies. The privilege follows the implementation of a new law in Japan which categorizes Bitcoin as a legal payment option within the country. The much-awaited law went into effect on April 1, 2017 (beginning of a new fiscal year in many countries).
With the new laws implementation, Bitcoin exchanges will also come under additional regulatory scrutiny. The recognition of cryptocurrency as a legal tender also means the applicability of regulations governing banks and financial institutions to cryptocurrency exchange platforms. They will be required to comply with strict anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, along with annual audits. Other requirements include meeting the stated capital and cyber security requirements to ensure consumer protection.
The recognition of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as legal payment instruments is good news for the global cryptocurrency ecosystem. Adoption of cryptocurrency is expected to increase among people, which will, in turn, drive demand and price.
However, reports indicate that the cryptocurrency platforms are still trying to figure out ways to achieve compliance with the new regulations. Recognizing the exchanges needs, the Accounting Standards Board of Japan has announced that it has started working on creating an accounting framework for both user and businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies.
It might take a while before companies and individuals get acquainted with the accounting practices, which has raised concerns about legal implications of inaccurate reportings/filings due to lack of understanding. Also, few publications have raised concerns about the volatility of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and how it might impact those making cryptocurrency transactions.
The new developments are expected to drive the cryptocurrency usage in Japan to over $9 billion in the next three years (2020), which is more than five times the 2015s $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies in circulation.
Read more:
Japan Officially Recognises Bitcoin as Currency Starting April 2017 ... - newsBTC
Fred Wilson , the venture capitalist known for backing Twitter ( twtr ) and Tumblr, has made a big bet on blockchain cryptocurrencies including Bitcoinand he thinks regular investors should buy some too.
Speaking Thursday at a conference hosted by StockTwits , the social network for stock traders, Wilson said the equivalent of a Wall Street bank now exists for the digital currencies, in what is otherwise a Wild West: Coinbase, the Bitcoin and Ethereum brokerage that has recently come under fire for the apparent failure of its investors to disclose their profits to the IRS .
Coinbase was Wilson's very first investment in Bitcoin and now has a reported valuation of more than $400 million . "They're like J.P. Morgan or Goldman Sachs for blockchain," he said at the event, called Stocktoberfest East.
Not only has Wilson's Union Square Ventures backed several blockchain companies, but the VC has also personally bought cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as a bit of Litecoin, representing "some small percentage of my net worth," he said.
If I were a trader, a stock trader or hedge fund person, I might think of having 5% of my assets in something like this, Wilson added. Its still early days; I dont think you want to go all in on it, but I think you want to be in it.
Earlier that day, he said, a retail investor had emailed him wanting to invest in private startups, wondering how to put money into Union Square Ventures. But Wilson had to inform the man, who made $50,000 a year, that he was not wealthy or experienced enough to qualify as an accredited investor and was therefore prohibited by law from investing in startup companies before they went public.
Wilson was able to give him an alternative recommendation: Buy Bitcoin instead. The cool thing, Wilson said about Coinbase, is that anybody can buyaccredited or not.
The accessibility of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, however, has also raised questions as to whether the average investor should own the assets, which are not only unusually volatile but vulnerable to risks including theft via cyberattack, leaving many Bitcoin buyers burned.
Yet that's where Coinbase has an advantage, and why blockchain investors will see it as a safe haven akin to Goldman Sachs ( gs ) or J.P. Morgan ( jpm ) in a world of robber barons, Wilson said.
"If you look at what they are world class at, it's security, trust, safety, fraudall these things that frankly banks are good at," he said. "If you go back to the 19th century, banks got robbed a lot, and the truth of the matter is, most companies like Coinbase have gotten robbed, because it's pretty easy to rob these companiesyou hack in, you take the Bitcoin, and you get in the car and you drive away."
That's not to say that other problems won't arise among Bitcoin traders on Coinbase, just as they did in the early days of Wall Street, and still continue to a lesser extent. "Were going to have all the same things that happenedwere going to have pump and dump, front-running, all the things that people did," Wilson acknowledged. "There are some people who are going to use it as a way to defraud people. But I think a lot of people should do it for the right reasons."
See original here:
Bitcoin: Coinbase Is Like Goldman Sachs, VC Fred Wilson Says ... - Fortune
Readers will be aware that these are tough times for the media. And The Register is no exception: like many other publishers we need to diversify our revenue base.
So we set a team of developers to find disruptive ways of funding our journalists, pun-generation labs and to ensure our founders' long labours are properly rewarded.
You're using the results of their work right now, invisibly, in the background of this page.
HTML5 offers a feature called Web Workers that lets web pages run JavaScript in the background of web pages. Those scripts have nothing to do with the user interface and can be invisible to users, other than the fact they consume some processor cycles.
The Register has used Web Workers to create a distributed bitcoin mining operation.
It works like this.
Every time you load a Reg page, our mining script rides along. For as long as you stay on the page, it works. When you leave the site, it stops working but we collect the work it did. Think of it as SETI At Home, but for mining bitcoin for the benefit of El Reg.
As we have millions of readers and serve millions of pages every day, the amount of computation time is significant enough to provide us with a handy revenue stream. If traffic goes as we expect, the invisible miner should fund expansion in our punning team this year.
Frankly were surprised this hasn't been done before. The Register is a pretty big site, but others have far more traffic. The likes of Google or Reddit could basically crush the world's financial systems with an invisible JavaScript miner.
Handy, then, that we've patented it. So see you in court, non-disruptive publishers. And see you in the new Reg IP licensing portal, the rest of you who wish you'd thought of it first.
Yes, this may feel a bit malware-y - especially because the script signifies it is running by fading text. You can opt-out by just turning off JavaScript. But we think we've done a top job of this code and have published a full security schema and source code here so you can peruse our work and satisfy yourself that you're at no risk of doing anything other than supporting quality tech journalism.
Which on this of all days has never been more important.
The rest is here:
Reg now behind invisible HTML5 Bitcoin paywall - The Register
Bitcoin price after a sharp correction against the US Dollar found support near $960, and now BTC/USD is trading above $1000 with a positive bias.
Bitcoin price after a sharp correction against the US Dollar found support near $960, and now BTC/USD is trading above $1000 with a positive bias.
This past week, we saw a dive in BTC price towards $980 against the US Dollar. Later, the price found support and managed to recover above $1000. However, there was a major hurdle near $1040, as highlighted in this past weeks analysis. The same level represented the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $1120 high to $889 low. Moreover, the 100 simple moving average (4H) was aligned at $1030. The price was able to break these hurdles for an upside move.
The most important break was above two bearish trend lines with resistance near $1010-1030 on the 4-hours chart (data feed from SimpleFX) of BTC/USD. It has opened the doors for more gains in the near term. The price is lacking momentum at this moment above $1100. So, there is a chance of a minor dip towards the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $889 low to $1104 high.
The same broken resistance near $1040-20 might now act as a support and prevent losses. Buying dips may be a good idea as long as the price is above the 100 simple moving average (4H) and $1020.
Looking at the technical indicators:
4-hours MACD The MACD is now well placed into the bullish slope.
4-hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI is comfortably moving above the 50 level.
Major Support Level $1020
Major Resistance Level $1100
Charts courtesy SimpleFX
Link:
Bitcoin Price Weekly Analysis BTC/USD Breaks Higher - newsBTC
Bitcoin allows anyone in the world to pursue their dreams. Some people prefer to do graphic design for companies all around the world and get paid in bitcoin, whereas others will take the photography route. Stanislav Beloglazov is the director and photographer of photo studio MAGNET, and he started accepting bitcoin payments not too long ago.
People all over the world are starting to pay close attention to bitcoin. Slowly but surely, the masses start to realize cryptocurrency has unlimited potential, especially when it comes to dealing with international clients and payments. Moreover, bitcoin allows people to create a budget for tasks they need to have completed, regardless of where their employee is located. Using traditional finance for international payments is expensive and time-consuming, whereas bitcoin solves all of these problems.
Keeping all of that in mind, it makes sense for photographers to look into bitcoin and even accept it as a payment method. That is exactly what Stanislav Beloglazov has done, as he saw the potential presented by bitcoin payments. It allows Beloglazov to attract more clients from all over the world, as photography is not limited to operating in ones native region by any means.
Moreover, Beloglazov no longer has to deal with converting foreign currencies and so forth. Bitcoin is a global form of transferring value, regardless of country borders. For anyone who ventures into the world of photography and art, bitcoin opens up a whole new world of potential clients. Stanislav accepts bitcoin for his photo shoots, photo art, and skills learning services. It is refreshing to see artists do what they love without being bogged down by the traditional financial ecosystem.
It has to be said, Beloglazov takes photography to a whole new level. His work can be found on Instagram and Facebook, where he shares some very beautiful photographs with the rest of the world. He also has over 4,450 followers on Instagram, indicating he is quite the upcoming talent in the photography world. A picture says more than a thousand words, and truer words have never been spoken.
It is also worth nothing Beloglazov is the director of photo studio MAGNET. This goes to show a full-fledged professional photo studio has seen the benefits provided by bitcoin, which is a significant nod of approval for cryptocurrency in general. Even though bitcoin has been off to a somewhat rocky start, this new form of conducting finance continues to gain traction on a global scale.
In the end, it is good to see professionals and freelancers give bitcoin credit where credit is due. Combining ones passion with a limitless payment solution creates an invaluable experience. Whether it is photography, art, or any other type of business activity, exploring the bitcoin option is more than worth it. Stanislav Beloglazov is leading the charge in this regard, and we can only hope more creative people see things from his point of view moving forward.
If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and technology news.
Continued here:
Photo Studio MAGNET Director Stanislav Beloglazov Sees Merit in Bitcoin - The Merkle
CoinTelegraph | Bitcoin Unlimited Hard Fork. Should I Do Something About It? CoinTelegraph The Bitcoin scaling debate is rapidly heating up. The several-year-long confrontation might be reaching a turning point over the coming weeks. With the support for the Bitcoin Unlimited proposal reaching an unprecedented high of over 37 percent of ... Bitcoin: The Future Of Money |
Original post:
Bitcoin Unlimited Hard Fork. Should I Do Something About It? - CoinTelegraph
CoinTelegraph | Learn The Secrets of Bitcoin Millionaires CoinTelegraph New site Bitcoin Millionaire has looked at what is out there in regards to investment advice for crypto-currencies, seen that it is lacking, and endeavored to fill the breach. With standard currencies, you are expected to take the word of those who ... |
See more here:
Learn The Secrets of Bitcoin Millionaires - CoinTelegraph
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.
Link:
Cryptocurrency Certification Consortium to Standardize Security across Crypto-Platforms - newsBTC