Cardano Reels into Closing Week of Shelley Testnet Program With 4 Imminent Updates
The announcement of the Shelley testnet and mainnet of Cardano (ADA) blockchain keeps on creating ripples in the crypto and blockchain space as Cardano holds the 7th position as the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, after surpassing about 6 projects on the table within 2 months.
Meanwhile, the head of delivery at IOHK, Christopher Greenwood, has just disclosed that the team behind Cardano is making great progress on the Shelley Testnet and mainnet, adding that the blockchain network is moving into the closing week of the Shelley Testnet program.
Greenwood made this known during the developmental updates for this week which ends on 17th of July. He said in the past week, eight developmental updates have been achieved, however, about 4 new ones are ahead.
Cardano Shelley Updates for Last week
1. The Cardano network continues the hard fork of the network, a crucial stage for the continuity of the platform from the Bryon era into Shelley.
2. Stake pool operators are using the testnet and excellent feedbacks are to roll in.
3. Primary resolution of activity integration between nodes, Wallet Back End, and the Daedalus wallet itself.
4. On the heel of the third update, a new version of the Wallet back end and node has been released.
Other components have also been released during the updates. They include:
The DB Sync, which helps write data from the chain and are used to service the system.
Graph QL, and
SMASH, the stakepool meta data aggregation server. SMASH collects all information around URLs.
5. The Shelley version of the Daedalus wallet has been proven. All core features of the wallet like stakepool ranking, delegations among some other important things are already functioning perfectly.
6. The Staking Calculator, it allows users calculate the amount of investments and return that can get from stakepools.
7. The old Cardano SL codebase, the old integration method for most exchanges. This development is such a big one for developers as they have suffered a lot of legacy issues with the old SL.
Cardano Shelley Awaits 4 Imminent Updates
1. Cardano awaits the final wallet backend updates. The team will go through a number of integration activities, and there a number of features on the queue coming with Shelley. This includes:
Byron Witnesses
Hard Fork Combinator Integration
Enhanced Stake Pool Ranking: This gives a better understanding of stake pool performance
Reward withdrawal history
2. New Shelley Daedalus Release
3. Mainnet Candidate version node 1.16
4. Exchange integration alongside Shelly launching
The announcement of the Shelley testnet and mainnet of Cardano (ADA) blockchain keeps on creating ripples in the crypto and blockchain space as Cardano holds the 7th position as the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, after surpassing about 6 projects on the table within 2 months.
Meanwhile, the head of delivery at IOHK, Christopher Greenwood, has just disclosed that the team behind Cardano is making great progress on the Shelley Testnet and mainnet, adding that the blockchain network is moving into the closing week of the Shelley Testnet program.
Greenwood made this known during the developmental updates for this week which ends on 17th of July. He said in the past week, eight developmental updates have been achieved, however, about 4 new ones are ahead.
Cardano Shelley Updates for Last week
1. The Cardano network continues the hard fork of the network, a crucial stage for the continuity of the platform from the Bryon era into Shelley.
2. Stake pool operators are using the testnet and excellent feedbacks are to roll in.
3. Primary resolution of activity integration between nodes, Wallet Back End, and the Daedalus wallet itself.
4. On the heel of the third update, a new version of the Wallet back end and node has been released.
Other components have also been released during the updates. They include:
The DB Sync, which helps write data from the chain and are used to service the system.
Graph QL, and
SMASH, the stakepool meta data aggregation server. SMASH collects all information around URLs.
5. The Shelley version of the Daedalus wallet has been proven. All core features of the wallet like stakepool ranking, delegations among some other important things are already functioning perfectly.
6. The Staking Calculator, it allows users calculate the amount of investments and return that can get from stakepools.
7. The old Cardano SL codebase, the old integration method for most exchanges. This development is such a big one for developers as they have suffered a lot of legacy issues with the old SL.
Cardano Shelley Awaits 4 Imminent Updates
1. Cardano awaits the final wallet backend updates. The team will go through a number of integration activities, and there a number of features on the queue coming with Shelley. This includes:
Byron Witnesses
Hard Fork Combinator Integration
Enhanced Stake Pool Ranking: This gives a better understanding of stake pool performance
Reward withdrawal history
2. New Shelley Daedalus Release
3. Mainnet Candidate version node 1.16
4. Exchange integration alongside Shelly launching
Bitcoin Mining Rigs Are Pouring into Abkhazia…Where Mining Is Illegal
Illicit crypto mining appears to be booming in the South Caucasus region, with Abkhazia where crypto rigs are reportedly flooding over the border – despite the fact that mining is officially illegal under Abkhazian law.
The largely unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia in the South Caucasus is recognized by most countries as an autonomous republic of Georgia. Per Nuzhnaya Gazeta, a whopping 83 consignments of crypto mining hardware worth USD 589,290 have crossed the Abkhazia-Russia border checkpoint at Psou in the past six months.
Although laws introduced in 2018 prohibit crypto mining on Abkhazian soil, importing crypto mining rigs is permissible. However, importers must pay customs duties of 1% of rigs’ worth and VAT of 10% when importing mining rigs. Customs officials said they have collected over USD 84,100 in taxes from mining rig imports so far this year.
The same media outlet called the situation “absurd” – and said that authorities often need to begin hunting for illegal crypto miners right after rigs are brought into the country.
The outlet quotes the head of the nation’s customs service, Guram Inapshba, as stating that they “start looking” for rigs and their users straight after approving their import.
The customs chief stated that would be “quite simple to resolve the issue.” By prohibiting the import of crypto mining equipment, he said, authorities could ensure that “not a single mining rig would be brought into Abkhazia.”
Per state-owned energy provider Chernomorenergo, electricity tariffs in Abkhazia are around USD 0.7 per kWh for households, while industries pay a rate of USD 1.30 per kWh.
Illicit crypto mining appears to be booming in the South Caucasus region, with Abkhazia where crypto rigs are reportedly flooding over the border – despite the fact that mining is officially illegal under Abkhazian law.
The largely unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia in the South Caucasus is recognized by most countries as an autonomous republic of Georgia. Per Nuzhnaya Gazeta, a whopping 83 consignments of crypto mining hardware worth USD 589,290 have crossed the Abkhazia-Russia border checkpoint at Psou in the past six months.
Although laws introduced in 2018 prohibit crypto mining on Abkhazian soil, importing crypto mining rigs is permissible. However, importers must pay customs duties of 1% of rigs’ worth and VAT of 10% when importing mining rigs. Customs officials said they have collected over USD 84,100 in taxes from mining rig imports so far this year.
The same media outlet called the situation “absurd” – and said that authorities often need to begin hunting for illegal crypto miners right after rigs are brought into the country.
The outlet quotes the head of the nation’s customs service, Guram Inapshba, as stating that they “start looking” for rigs and their users straight after approving their import.
The customs chief stated that would be “quite simple to resolve the issue.” By prohibiting the import of crypto mining equipment, he said, authorities could ensure that “not a single mining rig would be brought into Abkhazia.”
Per state-owned energy provider Chernomorenergo, electricity tariffs in Abkhazia are around USD 0.7 per kWh for households, while industries pay a rate of USD 1.30 per kWh.
Bitcoin Pops Above USD 10K, Ethereum Outperforms All Major Coins Again
Bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH), the first- and second-ranked cryptoassets by market capitalization, continued higher over the weekend, with both coins breaking through crucial resistance levels at USD 10,000 and USD 300, respectively.
As of press time on Monday morning (04:43 UTC), bitcoin was up by 5.6% over the past 24 hours, trading just above the USD 10,200 mark. The rally comes as bitcoin first started gaining momentum early last week, picking up even more steam over the weekend. The price is now up by 11% in a week.
On Sunday, sentiment among bitcoin traders further improved when the price briefly traded above the USD 10,000 level. The price then returned to break through that level in a stronger move early Monday morning UTC time, further boosting optimism among both traders and ‘HODLers’.
“We remain positive on the overall precise structure for bitcoin and do expect it push through USD 10,000-USD 10,500 as part of its longer-term bullish technical profile,” Rob Sluymer, technical strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. Even so, that range “remains a resistance band that bitcoin will need to break above to signal its next move to resistance at USD 13,800.”
With regards to ETH, the weekend rally also marks a continuation of an already strong rally last week, which has now brought its price up by more than 35% over the past 7 days. At press time today, the token was also up nearly 7% over the past 24 hours, trading at a price of USD 323. Other coins from the top 10 are in the red or advanced less than 2%.
The bullish momentum in ethereum gained traction as the previous high from February at around USD 285 was taken out on Saturday, with the rally continuing throughout Sunday and in the Asian trading hours on Monday.
Based on chart analysis, the next major resistance level for the long-term daily chart of ETH is now around the market top from June 2019 at the USD 340 to 365 area.
The rally in ethereum has happened as many recently hot DeFi (decentralized finance) tokens have consolidated their earlier gains, and with some even falling from highs seen less than two weeks ago. Among these tokens were chainlink (LINK), aave (LEND), and REN protocol (REN), which have seen losses of 11%, 29%, and 20%, respectively, over the past 7 days.
Bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH), the first- and second-ranked cryptoassets by market capitalization, continued higher over the weekend, with both coins breaking through crucial resistance levels at USD 10,000 and USD 300, respectively.
As of press time on Monday morning (04:43 UTC), bitcoin was up by 5.6% over the past 24 hours, trading just above the USD 10,200 mark. The rally comes as bitcoin first started gaining momentum early last week, picking up even more steam over the weekend. The price is now up by 11% in a week.
On Sunday, sentiment among bitcoin traders further improved when the price briefly traded above the USD 10,000 level. The price then returned to break through that level in a stronger move early Monday morning UTC time, further boosting optimism among both traders and ‘HODLers’.
“We remain positive on the overall precise structure for bitcoin and do expect it push through USD 10,000-USD 10,500 as part of its longer-term bullish technical profile,” Rob Sluymer, technical strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. Even so, that range “remains a resistance band that bitcoin will need to break above to signal its next move to resistance at USD 13,800.”
With regards to ETH, the weekend rally also marks a continuation of an already strong rally last week, which has now brought its price up by more than 35% over the past 7 days. At press time today, the token was also up nearly 7% over the past 24 hours, trading at a price of USD 323. Other coins from the top 10 are in the red or advanced less than 2%.
The bullish momentum in ethereum gained traction as the previous high from February at around USD 285 was taken out on Saturday, with the rally continuing throughout Sunday and in the Asian trading hours on Monday.
Based on chart analysis, the next major resistance level for the long-term daily chart of ETH is now around the market top from June 2019 at the USD 340 to 365 area.
The rally in ethereum has happened as many recently hot DeFi (decentralized finance) tokens have consolidated their earlier gains, and with some even falling from highs seen less than two weeks ago. Among these tokens were chainlink (LINK), aave (LEND), and REN protocol (REN), which have seen losses of 11%, 29%, and 20%, respectively, over the past 7 days.
Pack Your Bitcoin: Busy South Korean Beach Says ‘Yes’ to Crypto
Holidaymakers at Haeundae, South Korea’s busiest and most popular beach, will be able to pay for services such as sun umbrella and inflatable tube rentals in bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and other tokens next month.
Haeundae Beach, in South Korea’s second city Busan, is a 1.5 km-long, 30-50m wide stretch of sand that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors a day during the peak summer months of July and August.
And per media outlet Fintech Post, Busan city authorities have teamed up with CIC Enterprise, an arm of blockchain firm Bitbeat, as well as Innotech, a firm that currently provides payment infrastructure to the city’s beaches.
Under the terms of the deal, beach authorities of both Haeundae and nearby rival hotspot Songjeong Beach – a popular nearby destination for surfers – will allow sunbathers, swimmers and watersport fans to pay in fiat using debit or credit cards, or use BTC, ETH or the musiconomi (MCI) and WAY tokens.
As part of coronavirus-fighting contact-free drives, crypto enthusiasts will be able to pay for their beach holidays in BTC, ETH and the rest online before they even leave the house – picking up their parasols, dinghies and the like when they arrive.
Busan said that the project will operate from August 1 until the end of the summer season, but could be followed up next year with a wider blockchain-powered payment system at beaches all over the city.
Holidaymakers at Haeundae, South Korea’s busiest and most popular beach, will be able to pay for services such as sun umbrella and inflatable tube rentals in bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and other tokens next month.
Haeundae Beach, in South Korea’s second city Busan, is a 1.5 km-long, 30-50m wide stretch of sand that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors a day during the peak summer months of July and August.
And per media outlet Fintech Post, Busan city authorities have teamed up with CIC Enterprise, an arm of blockchain firm Bitbeat, as well as Innotech, a firm that currently provides payment infrastructure to the city’s beaches.
Under the terms of the deal, beach authorities of both Haeundae and nearby rival hotspot Songjeong Beach – a popular nearby destination for surfers – will allow sunbathers, swimmers and watersport fans to pay in fiat using debit or credit cards, or use BTC, ETH or the musiconomi (MCI) and WAY tokens.
As part of coronavirus-fighting contact-free drives, crypto enthusiasts will be able to pay for their beach holidays in BTC, ETH and the rest online before they even leave the house – picking up their parasols, dinghies and the like when they arrive.
Busan said that the project will operate from August 1 until the end of the summer season, but could be followed up next year with a wider blockchain-powered payment system at beaches all over the city.
Twitter Says It Knows How Hackers Gained Access
The hackers who got away with BTC 13.14 – worth roughly USD 146,000 – in the infamous Twitter attack on July 15, gained the access they needed by targeting Twitter employees directly through a “phone spear-phishing attack,” Twitter said.
The attackers relied on “a significant and concerted attempt to mislead” specific employees, and “exploit human vulnerabilities” to gain the access they needed to carry out the attack, the social media giant said today.
The attack, now known to be the largest hack in Twitter’s history, made headlines across the world earlier in July as celebrities like Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Michael Bloomberg all had their accounts compromised, with the hackers posting tweets where they asked followers to send them BTC.
Sharing the latest information from its internal investigation, Twitter said that the attackers managed to obtain credentials from the employees they targeted, thus getting access to the company’s account support tools, which, in turn, provided direct access to 130 Twitter accounts.
In response to the finding that attackers managed to mislead Twitter employees to give them the access they needed, Twitter said that they are now “taking a hard look” at how account support tools can be made “more sophisticated.” Further, it also said that access to internal tools have been made “significantly limited” to ensure a similar incident does not happen again.
The sophisticated spear-phishing attack that targeted Twitter should also be a learning lesson for the crypto community, which has previously been plagued with phishing attempts in the form of fake websites of exchanges, phone scams, and email phishing attempts.
As previously reported, phishing attacks are particularly prevalent in the crypto world, as unlike bank transactions, transactions made with cryptocurrency are almost impossible to reverse.
What typically happens is that scammers will send out emails from addresses that closely resemble legitimate addresses from crypto wallets or exchanges, usually changing only one letter in the address. This email will inform users of supposed malicious login attempts and urge the recipients to use the links contained therein to change their account information on the platform. Once the user inputs login information through the compromised link, hackers gain access to the user’s account, enabling them to get away with any cryptoasset that is held there.
The hackers who got away with BTC 13.14 – worth roughly USD 146,000 – in the infamous Twitter attack on July 15, gained the access they needed by targeting Twitter employees directly through a “phone spear-phishing attack,” Twitter said.
The attackers relied on “a significant and concerted attempt to mislead” specific employees, and “exploit human vulnerabilities” to gain the access they needed to carry out the attack, the social media giant said today.
The attack, now known to be the largest hack in Twitter’s history, made headlines across the world earlier in July as celebrities like Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Michael Bloomberg all had their accounts compromised, with the hackers posting tweets where they asked followers to send them BTC.
Sharing the latest information from its internal investigation, Twitter said that the attackers managed to obtain credentials from the employees they targeted, thus getting access to the company’s account support tools, which, in turn, provided direct access to 130 Twitter accounts.
In response to the finding that attackers managed to mislead Twitter employees to give them the access they needed, Twitter said that they are now “taking a hard look” at how account support tools can be made “more sophisticated.” Further, it also said that access to internal tools have been made “significantly limited” to ensure a similar incident does not happen again.
The sophisticated spear-phishing attack that targeted Twitter should also be a learning lesson for the crypto community, which has previously been plagued with phishing attempts in the form of fake websites of exchanges, phone scams, and email phishing attempts.
As previously reported, phishing attacks are particularly prevalent in the crypto world, as unlike bank transactions, transactions made with cryptocurrency are almost impossible to reverse.
What typically happens is that scammers will send out emails from addresses that closely resemble legitimate addresses from crypto wallets or exchanges, usually changing only one letter in the address. This email will inform users of supposed malicious login attempts and urge the recipients to use the links contained therein to change their account information on the platform. Once the user inputs login information through the compromised link, hackers gain access to the user’s account, enabling them to get away with any cryptoasset that is held there.
Coin Race: Top Winners/Losers of July; Ethereum Up the Most, Bitcoin Least
The crypto market seems to have acquired a habit of surprising us near the end of a month - albeit not always positively. July, however, ended up very much positively.
July has seen a mini crypto revival, one may say. After weeks of unusual lack of movement, or better said - volatility, which we are all used to seeing from many digital assets, the market swiftly moved upwards. It might've been true that it was 'resting,' preparing for a fast bull coming its way, as very few coins finished the month in the red.
Top 10 Coins
Just as the month neared its end, bitcoin (BTC) moved upwards from the USD 9,000 level it had seemed stuck at, and first jumped to USD 10,000, followed by USD 11,000. The first days of August, saw the coin hit the USD 12,000 level shortly, then crashing in minutes.
Altcoins weren't left behind either. Ethereum (ETH) surpassed the USD 300 mark and is standing near the USD 400 one, currently separated by some USD 15 from it. As a matter of fact, ETH appreciated the most among the top 10 coins by market capitalization in July.
Additionally, ETH - which celebrated its fifth aniversary on July 30 - was one up on bitcoin. Namely, its price grew in July more than double that of bitcoin's. This trend continues with the yearly, quarterly, and weekly numbers as well.
Furthermore, XRP, cardano (ADA), and bitcoin SV (BSV) all appreciated more than 50% during July.
The rest of the coins on the top 10 list also had a productive July, all appreciating between 30% and 50% - except bitcoin. The world's most popular coin appreciated the least over the course of the past month.
The crypto market seems to have acquired a habit of surprising us near the end of a month - albeit not always positively. July, however, ended up very much positively.
July has seen a mini crypto revival, one may say. After weeks of unusual lack of movement, or better said - volatility, which we are all used to seeing from many digital assets, the market swiftly moved upwards. It might've been true that it was 'resting,' preparing for a fast bull coming its way, as very few coins finished the month in the red.
Top 10 Coins
Just as the month neared its end, bitcoin (BTC) moved upwards from the USD 9,000 level it had seemed stuck at, and first jumped to USD 10,000, followed by USD 11,000. The first days of August, saw the coin hit the USD 12,000 level shortly, then crashing in minutes.
Altcoins weren't left behind either. Ethereum (ETH) surpassed the USD 300 mark and is standing near the USD 400 one, currently separated by some USD 15 from it. As a matter of fact, ETH appreciated the most among the top 10 coins by market capitalization in July.
Additionally, ETH - which celebrated its fifth aniversary on July 30 - was one up on bitcoin. Namely, its price grew in July more than double that of bitcoin's. This trend continues with the yearly, quarterly, and weekly numbers as well.
Furthermore, XRP, cardano (ADA), and bitcoin SV (BSV) all appreciated more than 50% during July.
The rest of the coins on the top 10 list also had a productive July, all appreciating between 30% and 50% - except bitcoin. The world's most popular coin appreciated the least over the course of the past month.
Fed Is In No Rush With Decision on Digital Dollar - Governor
Following speculations about a potential upcoming digital version of the US dollar, an official with the US Federal Reserve revealed yesterday that the central bank is indeed experimenting with distributed ledger technology (DLT), although she stressed that no decision has been made to actually introduce it.
The admission that the Fed is indeed working on an experimental version of a digital dollar came in a speech delivered on Thursday by Fed Governor Lael Brainard at a conference sponsored by the Fed’s regional branch in San Francisco. In the speech, Brainard revealed that the project has been in the works “for the last few years” and that it is overseen by a “multidisciplinary team” at the bank.
However, Brainard stressed that the US central bank has not yet decided on whether this new form of the dollar will ever be introduced. According to him, a significant policy process would be required to consider the issuance of a CBDC (central bank digital currency), along with extensive deliberations and engagement with other parts of the federal government and a broad set of other stakeholders.
“There are also important legal considerations … The Federal Reserve has not made a decision whether to undertake such a significant policy process, as we are taking the time and effort to understand the significant implications of digital currencies and CBDCs around the globe,” the Governor added.
She said that the US central bank is in no rush with their work, and that they are “taking the time and effort to understand the significant implications of digital currencies,” including the implications of other CBDCs developed around the world.
Multiple countries are working on digital versions of their own fiat currencies, with China arguably leading the race with their digital yuan proposal. As reported today, the Chinese central bank is set to massively expand the scope of its digital yuan pilots.
Discussions about the potential for a digital version of the US dollar has been reignited in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with proponents arguing it could, among other things, speed up stimulus payments from the government, which in the US have been sent out as physical checks.
Touching on the issue of more modern forms of payment, Brainard also said that a US CBDC could serve as a “complement to cash and other payments options,” noting that the central bank “remains committed to ensuring the public has access to a range of payments options.”
Following speculations about a potential upcoming digital version of the US dollar, an official with the US Federal Reserve revealed yesterday that the central bank is indeed experimenting with distributed ledger technology (DLT), although she stressed that no decision has been made to actually introduce it.
The admission that the Fed is indeed working on an experimental version of a digital dollar came in a speech delivered on Thursday by Fed Governor Lael Brainard at a conference sponsored by the Fed’s regional branch in San Francisco. In the speech, Brainard revealed that the project has been in the works “for the last few years” and that it is overseen by a “multidisciplinary team” at the bank.
However, Brainard stressed that the US central bank has not yet decided on whether this new form of the dollar will ever be introduced. According to him, a significant policy process would be required to consider the issuance of a CBDC (central bank digital currency), along with extensive deliberations and engagement with other parts of the federal government and a broad set of other stakeholders.
“There are also important legal considerations … The Federal Reserve has not made a decision whether to undertake such a significant policy process, as we are taking the time and effort to understand the significant implications of digital currencies and CBDCs around the globe,” the Governor added.
She said that the US central bank is in no rush with their work, and that they are “taking the time and effort to understand the significant implications of digital currencies,” including the implications of other CBDCs developed around the world.
Multiple countries are working on digital versions of their own fiat currencies, with China arguably leading the race with their digital yuan proposal. As reported today, the Chinese central bank is set to massively expand the scope of its digital yuan pilots.
Discussions about the potential for a digital version of the US dollar has been reignited in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with proponents arguing it could, among other things, speed up stimulus payments from the government, which in the US have been sent out as physical checks.
Touching on the issue of more modern forms of payment, Brainard also said that a US CBDC could serve as a “complement to cash and other payments options,” noting that the central bank “remains committed to ensuring the public has access to a range of payments options.”
Japan: Demographic Shift Sees Younger Folk Flock to Crypto
Exchanges news
Japanese crypto exchange bitFlyer has reported that there has been a shift in the demographic of its user base, with more people in their 20s using the platform. Per a press release published by Coin Post, the exchange – one of Japan’s biggest – says that 34% of its customers are aged in their 20s. Two years ago, the biggest user group was people in their 30s (32%). Now, it says, thirtysomethings represent 28% of its user base. The exchange added that an increasing number of young people were first-time investors, turning their backs on more traditional tools like the stock exchange.
Crime news
Five men have been arrested in Japan over a suspected USD 48,000 crypto fraud case, reports Mainichi. The men are all in their 20s, per a police announcement, and are said to have run a fake bitcoin (BTC) trading bot program from October 2018 to May 2019, promising users that they would make huge returns on their stakes.
Konstantin Ignatov agreed to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and, if need be, testify against his sister in court as part of a settlement deal, Law360 reported. The deal will see him dismissed from civil litigation. Ignatov was a part of an alleged USD 4 billion-heavy Ponzi scheme, OneCoin, which was founded, among other people, by his sister Ruja Ignatova, currently on the run. Late last year, he pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a separate case, and is facing 90 years in prison.
Former Chief Security Officer at Uber, Joseph Sullivan, is being accused of giving hush money to hackers who broke into the company system and stole sensitive data. According to an announcement by the US Department of Justice, Sullivan allegedly used the company’s bug bounty program to give USD 100,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC) to hackers in 2016, who stole the drivers’ license numbers of roughly 600,000 Uber drivers, as well as private information for roughly 57 million users. He has been charged with obstruction of justice and misprision of a felony.
Exchanges news
Japanese crypto exchange bitFlyer has reported that there has been a shift in the demographic of its user base, with more people in their 20s using the platform. Per a press release published by Coin Post, the exchange – one of Japan’s biggest – says that 34% of its customers are aged in their 20s. Two years ago, the biggest user group was people in their 30s (32%). Now, it says, thirtysomethings represent 28% of its user base. The exchange added that an increasing number of young people were first-time investors, turning their backs on more traditional tools like the stock exchange.
Crime news
Five men have been arrested in Japan over a suspected USD 48,000 crypto fraud case, reports Mainichi. The men are all in their 20s, per a police announcement, and are said to have run a fake bitcoin (BTC) trading bot program from October 2018 to May 2019, promising users that they would make huge returns on their stakes.
Konstantin Ignatov agreed to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and, if need be, testify against his sister in court as part of a settlement deal, Law360 reported. The deal will see him dismissed from civil litigation. Ignatov was a part of an alleged USD 4 billion-heavy Ponzi scheme, OneCoin, which was founded, among other people, by his sister Ruja Ignatova, currently on the run. Late last year, he pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a separate case, and is facing 90 years in prison.
Former Chief Security Officer at Uber, Joseph Sullivan, is being accused of giving hush money to hackers who broke into the company system and stole sensitive data. According to an announcement by the US Department of Justice, Sullivan allegedly used the company’s bug bounty program to give USD 100,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC) to hackers in 2016, who stole the drivers’ license numbers of roughly 600,000 Uber drivers, as well as private information for roughly 57 million users. He has been charged with obstruction of justice and misprision of a felony.
Link Token Enjoys Japanese Post-Listing Success, Says Chat App Line
Chat app giant Line says that its link token (LN) has exceeded 100 million yen (around USD 941,000) worth of transaction volumes on its crypto exchange – just six days after it began trading the coin.
According to Hedge Guide, Line – which has some 81 million monthly active users per its own reckoning – also says that 10,000 new users signed up to Line’s Bitmax crypto exchange within the space of a single week in early August.
The exchange links directly to the Japanese version of the chat app via a tab in the latter’s interface.
The firm’s token was officially released some time ago. But as Japanese law requires that all new token listings gain approval from the nation’s top financial regulator, Line was forced to wait until this month to finally list its token on the Bitmax exchange.
Line marked its listing with a number of promotional offers, including free link token giveaways for customers making deposits or purchases in a number of leading cryptoassets, including bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH).
As previously reported
, the firm – which was founded by South Korean internet giant Naver – is set to merge with the Softbank-backedYahoo Japan in February next year. The latter is also a major crypto play, with multiple crypto exchange interests – and could spark the creation of Asia’s first crypto mega-company.
Line also operates Bitfront (formerly Bitbox), crypto exchanges based in other Asian nations such as Singapore.
Per media outlet Coin Post, Line is also set to launch a dapp developing kit for its blockchain network. The move will allow partner firms to create and release decentralized apps compatible with its crypto wallet and exchange platforms.
Chat app giant Line says that its link token (LN) has exceeded 100 million yen (around USD 941,000) worth of transaction volumes on its crypto exchange – just six days after it began trading the coin.
According to Hedge Guide, Line – which has some 81 million monthly active users per its own reckoning – also says that 10,000 new users signed up to Line’s Bitmax crypto exchange within the space of a single week in early August.
The exchange links directly to the Japanese version of the chat app via a tab in the latter’s interface.
The firm’s token was officially released some time ago. But as Japanese law requires that all new token listings gain approval from the nation’s top financial regulator, Line was forced to wait until this month to finally list its token on the Bitmax exchange.
Line marked its listing with a number of promotional offers, including free link token giveaways for customers making deposits or purchases in a number of leading cryptoassets, including bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH).
As previously reported
, the firm – which was founded by South Korean internet giant Naver – is set to merge with the Softbank-backedYahoo Japan in February next year. The latter is also a major crypto play, with multiple crypto exchange interests – and could spark the creation of Asia’s first crypto mega-company.
Line also operates Bitfront (formerly Bitbox), crypto exchanges based in other Asian nations such as Singapore.
Per media outlet Coin Post, Line is also set to launch a dapp developing kit for its blockchain network. The move will allow partner firms to create and release decentralized apps compatible with its crypto wallet and exchange platforms.
Russian Lawyers Debate Legality of Crypto Firm Selling Drinks for BTC
An event organizer in Moscow recently sold over USD 1,600 worth of drinks in bitcoin (BTC) to attendees – but experts are divided when it comes to answering the question: was it legal?
The event was the brainchild of a crypto startup named Chatex, but per RBC, it has courted controversy.
A recently passed law, which promulgates on January 1, 2021, prohibits the use of BTC and altcoins to pay for goods and services. However, it does not prohibit the purchase, issuance, or sale of digital tokens.
The media outlet quotes a Moscow-based lawyer and member of the Russian Bar Association as stating that as the new law is yet to come into force, Chatex had done nothing wrong. However, the lawyer pointed out that this would soon change. As of next year, the law is clear on the point of crypto pay – defining what is and is not a cryptoasset. Although companies could technically accept crypto “gifts,” they would not be able to build a business model based on selling goods if bitcoin and altcoin payments were involved.
However, another lawyer, also based in the Russian capital, stated that as the company is headquartered in Estonia, Russian laws may not apply to it. Furthermore, the second lawyer added, bitcoin can still be exchanged for other goods – in barter or swap-like deals. The only caveat here is that these deals would not be legally recognized in Russia, and this would not be covered by statutory protection under sales legislation.
The lawyer added that even though foreign currencies are not legal tender in Russia, they are also covered by property rights legislation, and courts could consider that bitcoin falls into the same category.
On a related note, experts say that there is a slim chance of new Russian crypto law emerging anytime soon.
An event organizer in Moscow recently sold over USD 1,600 worth of drinks in bitcoin (BTC) to attendees – but experts are divided when it comes to answering the question: was it legal?
The event was the brainchild of a crypto startup named Chatex, but per RBC, it has courted controversy.
A recently passed law, which promulgates on January 1, 2021, prohibits the use of BTC and altcoins to pay for goods and services. However, it does not prohibit the purchase, issuance, or sale of digital tokens.
The media outlet quotes a Moscow-based lawyer and member of the Russian Bar Association as stating that as the new law is yet to come into force, Chatex had done nothing wrong. However, the lawyer pointed out that this would soon change. As of next year, the law is clear on the point of crypto pay – defining what is and is not a cryptoasset. Although companies could technically accept crypto “gifts,” they would not be able to build a business model based on selling goods if bitcoin and altcoin payments were involved.
However, another lawyer, also based in the Russian capital, stated that as the company is headquartered in Estonia, Russian laws may not apply to it. Furthermore, the second lawyer added, bitcoin can still be exchanged for other goods – in barter or swap-like deals. The only caveat here is that these deals would not be legally recognized in Russia, and this would not be covered by statutory protection under sales legislation.
The lawyer added that even though foreign currencies are not legal tender in Russia, they are also covered by property rights legislation, and courts could consider that bitcoin falls into the same category.
On a related note, experts say that there is a slim chance of new Russian crypto law emerging anytime soon.
Altcoins Led Sell-off Intensifies as Bitcoin Erases All Monthly Gains
The crypto market took another step lower for the second day in a row, with bitcoin (BTC) falling below USD 11,000 for the first time since the end of July.
At pixel time (15:12 UTC), BTC trades at USD 10,818 and is down by almost 5% in a day and a week. The price also dropped by 2% in a month, but it's still up by 4% in a year.
BTC price chart:
At the same time, other coins from the top 10 are down by 4%-11%. Meanwhile, tron (TRX) is on the verge of reentering the top 10 club after rallying by 70% in a week. TRX is up by almost 10% today, trading at USD 0.0387.
Ethereum (ETH) dropped by almost 7%, to USD 413, trimming its weekly gains to almost 6%.
Meanwhile, among the top 10 DeFi tokens, only YFI is up today, jumping by 12% after it launched the yETH vault yesterday. Other major DeFi tokens are down by 4%-12%.
The total market capitalization decreased by almost 4%, to USD 357bn, while BTC dominance, or the percentage of the total market capitalization, is almost unchanged in a day, standing above 56%.
“After another failed attempt of breaking free from the USD 12,000 level, bitcoin is starting to lose some momentum,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, told Bloomberg after the correction yesterday. According to him, while a strong dollar tends to dent appetite for the cryptocurrency and there are signs its popularity is fading among retail investors, if the greenback softens over 5% it could be the catalyst to help BTC breach that threshold again, if its fundamentals improve.
The crypto market took another step lower for the second day in a row, with bitcoin (BTC) falling below USD 11,000 for the first time since the end of July.
At pixel time (15:12 UTC), BTC trades at USD 10,818 and is down by almost 5% in a day and a week. The price also dropped by 2% in a month, but it's still up by 4% in a year.
BTC price chart:
At the same time, other coins from the top 10 are down by 4%-11%. Meanwhile, tron (TRX) is on the verge of reentering the top 10 club after rallying by 70% in a week. TRX is up by almost 10% today, trading at USD 0.0387.
Ethereum (ETH) dropped by almost 7%, to USD 413, trimming its weekly gains to almost 6%.
Meanwhile, among the top 10 DeFi tokens, only YFI is up today, jumping by 12% after it launched the yETH vault yesterday. Other major DeFi tokens are down by 4%-12%.
The total market capitalization decreased by almost 4%, to USD 357bn, while BTC dominance, or the percentage of the total market capitalization, is almost unchanged in a day, standing above 56%.
“After another failed attempt of breaking free from the USD 12,000 level, bitcoin is starting to lose some momentum,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, told Bloomberg after the correction yesterday. According to him, while a strong dollar tends to dent appetite for the cryptocurrency and there are signs its popularity is fading among retail investors, if the greenback softens over 5% it could be the catalyst to help BTC breach that threshold again, if its fundamentals improve.
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops While BTC Slips Below USD 10K Again
Following a month of rising Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty, the first adjustment in September saw the difficulty drop - though it still remains at the second-highest level in the network's history.
Bitcoin mining difficulty, or the measure of how hard it is to compete for mining rewards, dropped 1.21% today, but it was not enough for it to drop out of the 17 T level. It's now sitting at 17.35 T.
The all-time high was reached just last adjustment, at the end of August, thanks to a rise of 3.6%.
Bitcoin's price has also dropped in the past week from the USD 12,000 it shortly touched again at the very beginning of this month. Holding the USD 11,000 level for a couple of days, it then fell below it on September 3, which was followed by a steep decline, and even a brief dip below USD 10,000 two days later. It's currently (13:12 UTC), trading at USD 9,926. It dropped by 3% in a day and 15% in a week.
Meanwhile, the hashrate, or the computational power of the network, has gone up nearly 2% since the previous adjustment, as the 7-day simple moving average shows: from 122 E on August 24 to 124.43 E recorded yesterday.
The mining difficulty of Bitcoin is adjusted every two weeks (or more precisely, every 2016 blocks) to maintain the normal 10-minute block time. According to Bitinfocharts, it has been moving between 8 and 11 minutes since the previous adjustment, standing around 9 minutes yesterday.
Meanwhile, miners have turned to saving bitcoin again. According to data from data from ByteTree, miner had been offloading far more bitcoin than they mine. As reported just four days ago, bitcoin miners sold 63% more coins than they generated in a day.
Following a month of rising Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty, the first adjustment in September saw the difficulty drop - though it still remains at the second-highest level in the network's history.
Bitcoin mining difficulty, or the measure of how hard it is to compete for mining rewards, dropped 1.21% today, but it was not enough for it to drop out of the 17 T level. It's now sitting at 17.35 T.
The all-time high was reached just last adjustment, at the end of August, thanks to a rise of 3.6%.
Bitcoin's price has also dropped in the past week from the USD 12,000 it shortly touched again at the very beginning of this month. Holding the USD 11,000 level for a couple of days, it then fell below it on September 3, which was followed by a steep decline, and even a brief dip below USD 10,000 two days later. It's currently (13:12 UTC), trading at USD 9,926. It dropped by 3% in a day and 15% in a week.
Meanwhile, the hashrate, or the computational power of the network, has gone up nearly 2% since the previous adjustment, as the 7-day simple moving average shows: from 122 E on August 24 to 124.43 E recorded yesterday.
The mining difficulty of Bitcoin is adjusted every two weeks (or more precisely, every 2016 blocks) to maintain the normal 10-minute block time. According to Bitinfocharts, it has been moving between 8 and 11 minutes since the previous adjustment, standing around 9 minutes yesterday.
Meanwhile, miners have turned to saving bitcoin again. According to data from data from ByteTree, miner had been offloading far more bitcoin than they mine. As reported just four days ago, bitcoin miners sold 63% more coins than they generated in a day.
Crypto Exchange Coincheck Speaks About NFT Marketplace and IEO Plans
Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck has reaffirmed its initial exchange offering (IEO) and non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace plans and unveiled its first commercial blockchain-powered online shareholders’ meeting offering. The firm also announced that it would start working with Singapore’s Enjin (ENJ) on a Minecraft-related NFT collaboration.
Per Coin Post, the company told shareholders that its sales were up 80% on 2019, claiming that strong bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin markets this year had helped propel growth.
The exchange said that it would look to expand the scope of its crypto staking and lending services in the year ahead, look into listing more altcoins and also spoke about its NFT and IEO-related business plans.
The firm is already committed to launching a manga, anime, sports and music-related IEO offering, and said that it was set to conduct tests and “if there is no problem,” would push ahead with issuance.
Coincheck first unveiled its NFT marketplace plans last month, but stated that it foresees “a huge market” developing for NFTs in the future after “major companies” with powerful intellectual property noscripts announced plans to release blockchain-powered gaming and collectibles noscripts.
NFTs usually make use of the Ethereum blockchain network.
However, as rising gas fees have made Ethereum-based trading less attractive for some, Coincheck said that its marketplace will focus on reducing or even eliminating gas fee-related concerns – a fact that could make its new trading platform more competitive.
The firm has also struck a deal with Singapore-based blockchain and crypto gaming firm Enjin, reported Fisco, via Gentosha.
The deal will allow Coincheck customers to trade Minecraft NFTs issued through the Enjin blockchain development on the new NFT marketplace.
And per Nikkei’s XTech, Coincheck has also unveiled a virtual shareholder meeting management platform offering named Sharely. The platform allows participants to vote and ask questions from remote locations. The move followed the firm’s decision to move its own shareholder meetings online, making use of blockchain-powered voting tools.
Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck has reaffirmed its initial exchange offering (IEO) and non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace plans and unveiled its first commercial blockchain-powered online shareholders’ meeting offering. The firm also announced that it would start working with Singapore’s Enjin (ENJ) on a Minecraft-related NFT collaboration.
Per Coin Post, the company told shareholders that its sales were up 80% on 2019, claiming that strong bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin markets this year had helped propel growth.
The exchange said that it would look to expand the scope of its crypto staking and lending services in the year ahead, look into listing more altcoins and also spoke about its NFT and IEO-related business plans.
The firm is already committed to launching a manga, anime, sports and music-related IEO offering, and said that it was set to conduct tests and “if there is no problem,” would push ahead with issuance.
Coincheck first unveiled its NFT marketplace plans last month, but stated that it foresees “a huge market” developing for NFTs in the future after “major companies” with powerful intellectual property noscripts announced plans to release blockchain-powered gaming and collectibles noscripts.
NFTs usually make use of the Ethereum blockchain network.
However, as rising gas fees have made Ethereum-based trading less attractive for some, Coincheck said that its marketplace will focus on reducing or even eliminating gas fee-related concerns – a fact that could make its new trading platform more competitive.
The firm has also struck a deal with Singapore-based blockchain and crypto gaming firm Enjin, reported Fisco, via Gentosha.
The deal will allow Coincheck customers to trade Minecraft NFTs issued through the Enjin blockchain development on the new NFT marketplace.
And per Nikkei’s XTech, Coincheck has also unveiled a virtual shareholder meeting management platform offering named Sharely. The platform allows participants to vote and ask questions from remote locations. The move followed the firm’s decision to move its own shareholder meetings online, making use of blockchain-powered voting tools.
From USD 150k to 30m: How MicroStrategy CEO Sold Voice.com To Block.One
Block.one CTO Dan Larimer during the announcement of Voice in June 2019. Source: a video screenshot.
Prior to buying a total of BTC 38,250 for a grand total of USD 425 million, Michael J. Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy, an American software company, sold the Voice.com domain to the developers of Voice decentralized social media platform for USD 30 million - one of the largest publicly announced domain name sales to date.
In the recent interview with Anthony Pompliano, Co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital, Saylor shared his story about the sale, which happened sometime around June 20, 2019. According to him, the initial offer was just USD 150,000 but he didn’t get on the call with the buyers until the offer was raised up to around USD 22 million.
“Selling intangible assets like artwork, it all comes down to how much are they worth to you. So if you needed the 10 million dollars you would have taken the 10 million dollars but at this point, you know, I have 500 million dollars of cash in the bank, and I love my things, you know, maybe you can tell that I’m a little bit passionate about some of this stuff. So I would rather own it and not have the 10 million then sell it for that so I said no,” the CEO said.
During the call, he admitted realizing that the buyer at the other end was some sort of anonymous whale who negotiated via a broker and a lawyer, so he decided to wait until they hit his bid.
“I said this is like my daughter: I’ll marry her off but only to a man that's going to treat her better than I will treat her. So if you guys really value this, then give me the 30 million otherwise I’m keeping it,” Saylor said, adding that "the word ‘voice’ in the English language is worth a hundred million.” Also, according to Michael J. Saylor, the sale was his introduction to crypto.
Meanwhile, as reported in August, Voice, developed by EOS developer Block.one, is almost ready to go live, as its beta program opens its doors to the friends and family of the Voice Genesis community. Voice said it's opening up globally, now being available in 20+ countries and territories - with more coming every month.
Block.one CTO Dan Larimer during the announcement of Voice in June 2019. Source: a video screenshot.
Prior to buying a total of BTC 38,250 for a grand total of USD 425 million, Michael J. Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy, an American software company, sold the Voice.com domain to the developers of Voice decentralized social media platform for USD 30 million - one of the largest publicly announced domain name sales to date.
In the recent interview with Anthony Pompliano, Co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital, Saylor shared his story about the sale, which happened sometime around June 20, 2019. According to him, the initial offer was just USD 150,000 but he didn’t get on the call with the buyers until the offer was raised up to around USD 22 million.
“Selling intangible assets like artwork, it all comes down to how much are they worth to you. So if you needed the 10 million dollars you would have taken the 10 million dollars but at this point, you know, I have 500 million dollars of cash in the bank, and I love my things, you know, maybe you can tell that I’m a little bit passionate about some of this stuff. So I would rather own it and not have the 10 million then sell it for that so I said no,” the CEO said.
During the call, he admitted realizing that the buyer at the other end was some sort of anonymous whale who negotiated via a broker and a lawyer, so he decided to wait until they hit his bid.
“I said this is like my daughter: I’ll marry her off but only to a man that's going to treat her better than I will treat her. So if you guys really value this, then give me the 30 million otherwise I’m keeping it,” Saylor said, adding that "the word ‘voice’ in the English language is worth a hundred million.” Also, according to Michael J. Saylor, the sale was his introduction to crypto.
Meanwhile, as reported in August, Voice, developed by EOS developer Block.one, is almost ready to go live, as its beta program opens its doors to the friends and family of the Voice Genesis community. Voice said it's opening up globally, now being available in 20+ countries and territories - with more coming every month.
Electrum Wallet Phishing Attackers Steal USD 22M in Bitcoin - Report
Bitcoin (BTC) thieves are amassing a fortune in stolen crypto funds – using a devious Electrum wallet exploit that allegedly tricked one user out of a staggering BTC 1,400 (USD 16.1m).
Per a report from ZDNet, criminals have developed an “attack pattern that has been reused in multiple campaigns over the past two years,” amassing a total of USD 22m.
On the Bitcoin Abuse Database website, a number of users posted similar complaints about one wallet holder with the address bc1qcygs9dl4pqw6atc4yqudrzd76p3r9cp6xp2kny (data viewable here, via Blockchain.com), with one writing,
“Electrum version 3 asks to be updated, in a seemingly genuine way, from the program. Transaction impossible without the update. Downloaded electrum 4.0.0. exe which has no signature and is marked as malware by Avast. As a result, approved transactions are redirected to the above address and the amount is corrected to all wallet content (minus transaction fee). Please boycott that address.”
The wallet holder in question has received over BTC 1,509 – but has apparently taken care to keep the crypto moving, sending almost the same amount off to other addresses.
ZDNet claimed it had identified tracked “multiple Bitcoin accounts where criminals have gathered stolen funds from attacks they carried out over the course of 2019 and 2020,” adding that the latest attacks had taken “as recently as September 2020.”
The users claim they were presented with an apparent pop-up window asking them to download a software update for the wallet in order to complete transactions. This is part of a phishing attack that eventually prompts users to send their funds to what appears to be a series of scammers’ wallets.
The same user who claims they lost BTC 1,400 in the bogus update scam expanded on the matter on a Github thread, with one developer writing,
“Electrum doesn't have a bug that can be exploited, it cannot be controlled remotely. It has no open vulnerability that can cause loss without a user's action. Electrum was no more ‘hacked’ or ‘exploited’ than Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and all financial institutions (banks, etc.) as well as various other online services are every day.”
Bitcoin (BTC) thieves are amassing a fortune in stolen crypto funds – using a devious Electrum wallet exploit that allegedly tricked one user out of a staggering BTC 1,400 (USD 16.1m).
Per a report from ZDNet, criminals have developed an “attack pattern that has been reused in multiple campaigns over the past two years,” amassing a total of USD 22m.
On the Bitcoin Abuse Database website, a number of users posted similar complaints about one wallet holder with the address bc1qcygs9dl4pqw6atc4yqudrzd76p3r9cp6xp2kny (data viewable here, via Blockchain.com), with one writing,
“Electrum version 3 asks to be updated, in a seemingly genuine way, from the program. Transaction impossible without the update. Downloaded electrum 4.0.0. exe which has no signature and is marked as malware by Avast. As a result, approved transactions are redirected to the above address and the amount is corrected to all wallet content (minus transaction fee). Please boycott that address.”
The wallet holder in question has received over BTC 1,509 – but has apparently taken care to keep the crypto moving, sending almost the same amount off to other addresses.
ZDNet claimed it had identified tracked “multiple Bitcoin accounts where criminals have gathered stolen funds from attacks they carried out over the course of 2019 and 2020,” adding that the latest attacks had taken “as recently as September 2020.”
The users claim they were presented with an apparent pop-up window asking them to download a software update for the wallet in order to complete transactions. This is part of a phishing attack that eventually prompts users to send their funds to what appears to be a series of scammers’ wallets.
The same user who claims they lost BTC 1,400 in the bogus update scam expanded on the matter on a Github thread, with one developer writing,
“Electrum doesn't have a bug that can be exploited, it cannot be controlled remotely. It has no open vulnerability that can cause loss without a user's action. Electrum was no more ‘hacked’ or ‘exploited’ than Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and all financial institutions (banks, etc.) as well as various other online services are every day.”
'Miner Strike is Nonsense, Miners Are Making a Ton' - Filecoin Founder
Juan Benet, the founder of decentralized, blockchain-based storage network Filecoin (FIL), denied recent reports that miners are protesting the platform.
"I was asked about a supposed 'Miner Strike' — This is nonsense," tweeted Benet several hours ago. "There is no strike. Miners are proving their storage just fine. There’s been no power loss out of the ordinary in the network. Miners are following the protocol, and making a TON of money doing so."
He argued that, if it were possible to "'strike' on a mindless blokchain," it would mean not producing blocks or halting the storage proving process, and he showed data that suggests blocks being produced, top miner earning USD 352,000 in a day, and the top 50 earning USD 3.7m in a day. He claimed that the truth is much different than a strike, and that there are some miners who want to use the situation to get more money, trying "all kinds of manipulative tactics."
As reported, the news started circulating through the Cryptoverse that a mere day after Filecoin's mainnet launch on October 15, miners started a strike against network's economic model which allegedly would force them to buy FIL tokens in order to even start mining, and after they already invested thousands of dollars in equipment.
Soon after, the Filecoin team decided to release 25% token rewards immediately, with no vesting, while the rest will be released within 180 days as originally stated, but Benet said that this was not in response to any miner protest, but something the team was discussing for weeks.
In another section of the thread, Benet gave a response to an earlier tweet by Tron (TRX)'s founder Justin Sun, seemingly accusing Filecoin and Benet himself of fraud and/or exit scam, "dumping" FIL on exchanges without community consent, etc. And though Sun got his fair share of criticism for the post, Benet was also criticised for the way he responded, with entrepreneur and Cake co-founder Julian Hosp stating that Benet attacked the man (Sun), instead of providing arguments against his position.
Juan Benet, the founder of decentralized, blockchain-based storage network Filecoin (FIL), denied recent reports that miners are protesting the platform.
"I was asked about a supposed 'Miner Strike' — This is nonsense," tweeted Benet several hours ago. "There is no strike. Miners are proving their storage just fine. There’s been no power loss out of the ordinary in the network. Miners are following the protocol, and making a TON of money doing so."
He argued that, if it were possible to "'strike' on a mindless blokchain," it would mean not producing blocks or halting the storage proving process, and he showed data that suggests blocks being produced, top miner earning USD 352,000 in a day, and the top 50 earning USD 3.7m in a day. He claimed that the truth is much different than a strike, and that there are some miners who want to use the situation to get more money, trying "all kinds of manipulative tactics."
As reported, the news started circulating through the Cryptoverse that a mere day after Filecoin's mainnet launch on October 15, miners started a strike against network's economic model which allegedly would force them to buy FIL tokens in order to even start mining, and after they already invested thousands of dollars in equipment.
Soon after, the Filecoin team decided to release 25% token rewards immediately, with no vesting, while the rest will be released within 180 days as originally stated, but Benet said that this was not in response to any miner protest, but something the team was discussing for weeks.
In another section of the thread, Benet gave a response to an earlier tweet by Tron (TRX)'s founder Justin Sun, seemingly accusing Filecoin and Benet himself of fraud and/or exit scam, "dumping" FIL on exchanges without community consent, etc. And though Sun got his fair share of criticism for the post, Benet was also criticised for the way he responded, with entrepreneur and Cake co-founder Julian Hosp stating that Benet attacked the man (Sun), instead of providing arguments against his position.
Legendary Investor Paul Tudor Jones Gives More Likes to Bitcoin
Legendary hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones now claims he likes bitcoin (BTC) even more than when he decided to invest in this most popular cryptocurrency.
“I think we are in the first inning of bitcoin and it’s got a long way to go,” Jones said on CNBC’s "Squawk Box" on Thursday. The founder and chief investment officer of Tudor Investment Corporation also admitted that he holds a "small single-digit investment" in BTC, adding that "It’s like investing with Steve Jobs and Apple or investing in Google early."
"The reason I recommended bitcoin is because it was one of the menu of inflation trades, like gold, like TIPS Treasury Inflation protected Security breakevens, like copper, like being long yield curve and I came to the conclusion that bitcoin was going to be the best inflation trade," Jones said.
The 66-year-old American billionaire hedge fund manager first dabbled in BTC in 2017, doubling his money before selling BTC near its peak at almost USD 20,000. This year, he authorized his hedge fund – Tudor BVI – to allocate “a low single digit” of its assets to bitcoin futures contracts. At the end of March, the fund had over USD 21bn in assets under management, and 1% would mean an investment of around USD 210 million. Many have wondered since whether he holds physical bitcoin.
Jones founded his own hedge fund back in 1980. He is known for macro trades and betting on interest rates and currencies, as well as for predicting the 1987 Black Monday, when it’s said he tripled his money. Also according to Forbes, Jones’ real time net worth is USD 5.8bn.
Legendary hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones now claims he likes bitcoin (BTC) even more than when he decided to invest in this most popular cryptocurrency.
“I think we are in the first inning of bitcoin and it’s got a long way to go,” Jones said on CNBC’s "Squawk Box" on Thursday. The founder and chief investment officer of Tudor Investment Corporation also admitted that he holds a "small single-digit investment" in BTC, adding that "It’s like investing with Steve Jobs and Apple or investing in Google early."
"The reason I recommended bitcoin is because it was one of the menu of inflation trades, like gold, like TIPS Treasury Inflation protected Security breakevens, like copper, like being long yield curve and I came to the conclusion that bitcoin was going to be the best inflation trade," Jones said.
The 66-year-old American billionaire hedge fund manager first dabbled in BTC in 2017, doubling his money before selling BTC near its peak at almost USD 20,000. This year, he authorized his hedge fund – Tudor BVI – to allocate “a low single digit” of its assets to bitcoin futures contracts. At the end of March, the fund had over USD 21bn in assets under management, and 1% would mean an investment of around USD 210 million. Many have wondered since whether he holds physical bitcoin.
Jones founded his own hedge fund back in 1980. He is known for macro trades and betting on interest rates and currencies, as well as for predicting the 1987 Black Monday, when it’s said he tripled his money. Also according to Forbes, Jones’ real time net worth is USD 5.8bn.
BBC Radio Scotland Show Goes Bullish on Bitcoin (and Whiskey)
The UK may be preparing for a second countrywide lockdown, but the national broadcaster has a suggestion for those marooned at home wondering what to do with their dwindling cash savings.
In an article on the BBC website created by BBC Radio Scotland’s Clever about Cash program, authors put forward “five alternatives to keeping your savings in the bank.”
And number four on the list may come as a surprise to regular listeners to the show – not known to veer into the world of blockchain-powered tokens.
The Clever about Cash team suggested “cryptocurrency” as a viable alternative to fiat, writing,
“If you’re not convinced by traditional savings options, an alternative is to invest in cryptocurrency. This is money that is completely virtual; it's basically a line of code.”
The team then quotes Temple Melville, the director of the Scotland-based team behind an ERC-20 token called Scotcoin, as stating that crypto “is a viable investment compared to traditional currency, which can lose its value.”
Melville was quoted as stating,
“Governments have recently thrown all the rule books of economics out the window. The result of that is that there have been trillions of dollars and pounds, euros, yen, you name it, that have been printed. Each new dollar reduces the purchasing power of every dollar in existence. So, to take bitcoin (BTC) as an example, there will only ever be 21 million BTC, it’s built in to their system. So if you only have one bitcoin you’re only ever going to have one bitcoin out of 21 million.”
In addition to crypto, the BBC program also advised readers to consider stocks, classic cars, gold…and Scotland’s favorite export, whiskey.
BBC Radio is not known for its maverick stance on crypto-related matters, although it last year hosted a nine-part podcast expose series on the operators of the scam “token” OneCoin, parts of which focused on bitcoin and blockchain technology.
The UK may be preparing for a second countrywide lockdown, but the national broadcaster has a suggestion for those marooned at home wondering what to do with their dwindling cash savings.
In an article on the BBC website created by BBC Radio Scotland’s Clever about Cash program, authors put forward “five alternatives to keeping your savings in the bank.”
And number four on the list may come as a surprise to regular listeners to the show – not known to veer into the world of blockchain-powered tokens.
The Clever about Cash team suggested “cryptocurrency” as a viable alternative to fiat, writing,
“If you’re not convinced by traditional savings options, an alternative is to invest in cryptocurrency. This is money that is completely virtual; it's basically a line of code.”
The team then quotes Temple Melville, the director of the Scotland-based team behind an ERC-20 token called Scotcoin, as stating that crypto “is a viable investment compared to traditional currency, which can lose its value.”
Melville was quoted as stating,
“Governments have recently thrown all the rule books of economics out the window. The result of that is that there have been trillions of dollars and pounds, euros, yen, you name it, that have been printed. Each new dollar reduces the purchasing power of every dollar in existence. So, to take bitcoin (BTC) as an example, there will only ever be 21 million BTC, it’s built in to their system. So if you only have one bitcoin you’re only ever going to have one bitcoin out of 21 million.”
In addition to crypto, the BBC program also advised readers to consider stocks, classic cars, gold…and Scotland’s favorite export, whiskey.
BBC Radio is not known for its maverick stance on crypto-related matters, although it last year hosted a nine-part podcast expose series on the operators of the scam “token” OneCoin, parts of which focused on bitcoin and blockchain technology.
PayPal CEO: Financial System 'Not Working,' Users 'Very Eager' For Crypto
Dan Schulman, CEO of online payments giant PayPal, has presented his diagnosis of the current financial system’s shortcomings, claiming it is inefficient and causing millions of people to be excluded, as the company expands into cryptocurrencies.
“The pandemic has brought focus to the stark reality that billions of people across the world are struggling to get by. In fact, in the past nine months, over 100 million … adults moved into extreme poverty. The current financial system is just not working for most people. It’s inefficient and expensive for the underserved,” Schulman said during an earnings call on PayPal's results for the third quarter of 2020 yesterday.
He said that modern technology combined with an emerging financial platform have the potential to tilt the odds in favor of the disadvantaged majority, driving “a future of inclusion and financial health”.
“As the use of cash continues to decline … central banks around the world are seriously exploring or even trialing forms of retail digital currencies that they issue directly. And it’s also clear that digital wallets are a natural complement to all forms of digital currencies,” according to Schulman.
With this in mind, the company is launching cryptocurrency services for its users, including a new digital wallet, and plans to embrace central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
The company’s CEO forecasts that the digitization of the digital economy combined with the increase in popularity of digital wallets will drive PayPal’s growth in the coming decade.
Schulman confirmed that the company has already rolled out its new crypto services to 10% of its customers in the US "a couple of days ago" while the rest of their American clients should be able to use it in 2-3 weeks. According to the CEO, their customers are "very eager" to start using crypto and their waiting list of new crypto users exceeded their expectations by "2-3" times. Due to higher than expected demand, PayPal said it's going to increase their weekly limit of crypto purchases by 50%, to USD 15,000.
“We are investing to create one of the most compelling, inexpensive digital wallets in the world, and you can see this beginning to play out in our strong Q3 results,” Schulman said, adding the last quarter brought a record USD 247bn in total payment volume on the platform.
Commenting on Venmo, the company’s digital wallet app, the CEO said it had an inactive consumer base that exceeded 60 million, making it a robust vehicle for the company’s planned expansion.
“We are seeing substantial increases in the use of Venmo as the pandemic continues on, as more consumers turn to their mode to live their financial lives, including the adoption of direct deposit functionality, and later this year the Venmo credit card,” according to Schulman.
As reported, the company plans to expand its new crypto services to other countries as well as Venmo in the first half of 2021.
"It's just the beginning of what we want to do," the CEO said, adding that he sees "a lot of interesting things" that they can do with cryptoassets. Schulman did not elaborate on these plans.
Dan Schulman, CEO of online payments giant PayPal, has presented his diagnosis of the current financial system’s shortcomings, claiming it is inefficient and causing millions of people to be excluded, as the company expands into cryptocurrencies.
“The pandemic has brought focus to the stark reality that billions of people across the world are struggling to get by. In fact, in the past nine months, over 100 million … adults moved into extreme poverty. The current financial system is just not working for most people. It’s inefficient and expensive for the underserved,” Schulman said during an earnings call on PayPal's results for the third quarter of 2020 yesterday.
He said that modern technology combined with an emerging financial platform have the potential to tilt the odds in favor of the disadvantaged majority, driving “a future of inclusion and financial health”.
“As the use of cash continues to decline … central banks around the world are seriously exploring or even trialing forms of retail digital currencies that they issue directly. And it’s also clear that digital wallets are a natural complement to all forms of digital currencies,” according to Schulman.
With this in mind, the company is launching cryptocurrency services for its users, including a new digital wallet, and plans to embrace central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
The company’s CEO forecasts that the digitization of the digital economy combined with the increase in popularity of digital wallets will drive PayPal’s growth in the coming decade.
Schulman confirmed that the company has already rolled out its new crypto services to 10% of its customers in the US "a couple of days ago" while the rest of their American clients should be able to use it in 2-3 weeks. According to the CEO, their customers are "very eager" to start using crypto and their waiting list of new crypto users exceeded their expectations by "2-3" times. Due to higher than expected demand, PayPal said it's going to increase their weekly limit of crypto purchases by 50%, to USD 15,000.
“We are investing to create one of the most compelling, inexpensive digital wallets in the world, and you can see this beginning to play out in our strong Q3 results,” Schulman said, adding the last quarter brought a record USD 247bn in total payment volume on the platform.
Commenting on Venmo, the company’s digital wallet app, the CEO said it had an inactive consumer base that exceeded 60 million, making it a robust vehicle for the company’s planned expansion.
“We are seeing substantial increases in the use of Venmo as the pandemic continues on, as more consumers turn to their mode to live their financial lives, including the adoption of direct deposit functionality, and later this year the Venmo credit card,” according to Schulman.
As reported, the company plans to expand its new crypto services to other countries as well as Venmo in the first half of 2021.
"It's just the beginning of what we want to do," the CEO said, adding that he sees "a lot of interesting things" that they can do with cryptoassets. Schulman did not elaborate on these plans.
US Presidential Crypto Candidate Brock Pierce Yet to Break Silence
As President Donald Trump and his leading challenger, the Democrat Joe Biden, continue to claim victory in an exceptionally tight general election, the crypto community is on the lookout for its self-proclaimed champion Brock Pierce.
Pierce is a former Hollywood actor who has since found fame in the crypto world, and is the chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, a non-profit organization. He also leads Puerto Rico-based firm Gox Rising that aims to buy out creditor claims from the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange.
He announced his independent candidacy for the United States presidency in July this year, and his Brock the Vote campaign has won endorsements from the likes of former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, bitcoin (BTC) advocate Tim Draper and the crypto-keen pop star Akon.
Current AP election forecasts have independent “other candidates,” including Pierce, on 0.3% (or 348,609 votes) of total votes cast, behind Trump, Biden and leading third-party candidates Jo Jorgensen and the Green Party’s Howie Hawkins.
In the District of Columbia, which AP has called, Pierce has apparently won 0.2%, with 461 votes – a sixth-placed finish.
For some, the real contest to watch is between Pierce and another crypto-keen candidate.
On a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, pop star and fellow presidential candidate Kanye West, the world-famous musician, stated that he had spoken to “bitcoin people” ahead of the election, stating,
“Jack Dorsey decentralized Twitter two months before it really hit because he was talking to the bitcoin guys.”
He added,
“I was talking to my man Fred and my boy Anthony possibly Pompliano about crypto and bitcoin yesterday just to be prepped for this conversation.”
Meanwhile, the former actor recently told Fox News,
“I'm in this for the long run. I'm running in 2024. I'm running the next four years all the way through. This is the beginning of that movement.”
He also stated that his goal was to build a “21st-century economy,” and said he hoped both his and West’s campaigns could “collectively deliver a message to the American people.”
As President Donald Trump and his leading challenger, the Democrat Joe Biden, continue to claim victory in an exceptionally tight general election, the crypto community is on the lookout for its self-proclaimed champion Brock Pierce.
Pierce is a former Hollywood actor who has since found fame in the crypto world, and is the chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, a non-profit organization. He also leads Puerto Rico-based firm Gox Rising that aims to buy out creditor claims from the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange.
He announced his independent candidacy for the United States presidency in July this year, and his Brock the Vote campaign has won endorsements from the likes of former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, bitcoin (BTC) advocate Tim Draper and the crypto-keen pop star Akon.
Current AP election forecasts have independent “other candidates,” including Pierce, on 0.3% (or 348,609 votes) of total votes cast, behind Trump, Biden and leading third-party candidates Jo Jorgensen and the Green Party’s Howie Hawkins.
In the District of Columbia, which AP has called, Pierce has apparently won 0.2%, with 461 votes – a sixth-placed finish.
For some, the real contest to watch is between Pierce and another crypto-keen candidate.
On a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, pop star and fellow presidential candidate Kanye West, the world-famous musician, stated that he had spoken to “bitcoin people” ahead of the election, stating,
“Jack Dorsey decentralized Twitter two months before it really hit because he was talking to the bitcoin guys.”
He added,
“I was talking to my man Fred and my boy Anthony possibly Pompliano about crypto and bitcoin yesterday just to be prepped for this conversation.”
Meanwhile, the former actor recently told Fox News,
“I'm in this for the long run. I'm running in 2024. I'm running the next four years all the way through. This is the beginning of that movement.”
He also stated that his goal was to build a “21st-century economy,” and said he hoped both his and West’s campaigns could “collectively deliver a message to the American people.”
The U.S. is suing for the forfeiture of thousands of bitcoins, totaling more than $1 billion, that it recently seized, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
The seizure on Tuesday, tied to early darknet market Silk Road, is the largest the U.S. has ever conducted, the DOJ said.
Court documents reveal the seized funds include over 69,370 bitcoin and nearly equivalent amounts of forked cryptos bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin gold (BTG) and bitcoin satoshi vision (BSV).
Prosecutors say an unnamed hacker stole the trove from Silk Road and moved them to a wallet where they sat from April 2013 until the Tuesday seizure.
The individual consented to the government seizure on Tuesday.
The news comes days after blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic reported that a wallet possibly belonging to the Silk Road marketplace moved almost $1 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC, +5.52%) earlier this week.
This was the first transaction from the address since 2015, when it transferred 101 BTC to BTC-e – a now-shuttered cryptocurrency exchange allegedly favored by money launderers, Elliptic said. BTC-e operator Alexander Vinnik has been in custody in Europe since 2017.
Earlier this week, Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson speculated the coins may have been moved by imprisoned Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht or a Silk Road vendor.
Ulbricht – who operated under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts – operated the darknet website from 2011 until his arrest in 2013 and is currently serving a life sentence.
Since the coins have sat dormant in the wallet for years, unavailable for trading, their confiscation appears unlikely to have played any role in the recent run-up in bitcoin’s price. On the contrary, if the government were to auction them as it typically does, the coins could rejoin the circulating supply.
The seizure on Tuesday, tied to early darknet market Silk Road, is the largest the U.S. has ever conducted, the DOJ said.
Court documents reveal the seized funds include over 69,370 bitcoin and nearly equivalent amounts of forked cryptos bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin gold (BTG) and bitcoin satoshi vision (BSV).
Prosecutors say an unnamed hacker stole the trove from Silk Road and moved them to a wallet where they sat from April 2013 until the Tuesday seizure.
The individual consented to the government seizure on Tuesday.
The news comes days after blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic reported that a wallet possibly belonging to the Silk Road marketplace moved almost $1 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC, +5.52%) earlier this week.
This was the first transaction from the address since 2015, when it transferred 101 BTC to BTC-e – a now-shuttered cryptocurrency exchange allegedly favored by money launderers, Elliptic said. BTC-e operator Alexander Vinnik has been in custody in Europe since 2017.
Earlier this week, Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson speculated the coins may have been moved by imprisoned Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht or a Silk Road vendor.
Ulbricht – who operated under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts – operated the darknet website from 2011 until his arrest in 2013 and is currently serving a life sentence.
Since the coins have sat dormant in the wallet for years, unavailable for trading, their confiscation appears unlikely to have played any role in the recent run-up in bitcoin’s price. On the contrary, if the government were to auction them as it typically does, the coins could rejoin the circulating supply.