Why bitcoin is taking the lead again
As a result of trades on Thursday, bitcoin for the first time since last year took a share of 45.66% in the total volume of cryptocurrency market. Obviously, with a general drop in crypto-market up to $ 279,091,792,181, it is bitcoin that causes the greatest confidence of users. There are several reasons for this.
First, at the end of March the cost of transaction in bitcoin network decreased to a record amount of 1 satoshi. This is due to the introduction of Segregated Witness scaling technology: the share of SegWit-transactions is already 30% -35% of all transactions on the network.
Secondly, bitcoin is becoming increasingly widespread in real trade: this is happening in the European Union and Asian countries. The last example is the new service of the Korean crypto-exchanger Bithumb, which allows users to pay for purchases using cryptocurrencies in 6,000 stores across the country.
In a situation where bitcoin will become increasingly common, its forks will not be needed. Now this is already happening with Bitcoin Cash: OKEx and KuCoin crypto-exchangers have already eliminated illiquid pairs with this cryptocurrency.
As a result of trades on Thursday, bitcoin for the first time since last year took a share of 45.66% in the total volume of cryptocurrency market. Obviously, with a general drop in crypto-market up to $ 279,091,792,181, it is bitcoin that causes the greatest confidence of users. There are several reasons for this.
First, at the end of March the cost of transaction in bitcoin network decreased to a record amount of 1 satoshi. This is due to the introduction of Segregated Witness scaling technology: the share of SegWit-transactions is already 30% -35% of all transactions on the network.
Secondly, bitcoin is becoming increasingly widespread in real trade: this is happening in the European Union and Asian countries. The last example is the new service of the Korean crypto-exchanger Bithumb, which allows users to pay for purchases using cryptocurrencies in 6,000 stores across the country.
In a situation where bitcoin will become increasingly common, its forks will not be needed. Now this is already happening with Bitcoin Cash: OKEx and KuCoin crypto-exchangers have already eliminated illiquid pairs with this cryptocurrency.
Why Europe cannot reject cryptocurrencies
While experts are discussing the future of cryptocurrencies, they continue their victorious march through European countries. The National Tourist Board of Germany (GNTB) announced that tourists can pay for services and services with bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies in any of the 32 offices of the organization located around the world.
Recently, the Lithuanian processing unitary company Coingate signed an agreement with the e-commerce application Prestashop, which will allow taking bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payments in 86,000 small and medium-sized European stores.
These are just two examples. Adding to this initiatives to legalize and regulate cryptocurrencies in Switzerland, Malta, the Baltic countries and other European countries - and we can conclude that the free circulation of cryptocurrencies throughout the European Union is only a matter of time.
While experts are discussing the future of cryptocurrencies, they continue their victorious march through European countries. The National Tourist Board of Germany (GNTB) announced that tourists can pay for services and services with bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies in any of the 32 offices of the organization located around the world.
Recently, the Lithuanian processing unitary company Coingate signed an agreement with the e-commerce application Prestashop, which will allow taking bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payments in 86,000 small and medium-sized European stores.
These are just two examples. Adding to this initiatives to legalize and regulate cryptocurrencies in Switzerland, Malta, the Baltic countries and other European countries - and we can conclude that the free circulation of cryptocurrencies throughout the European Union is only a matter of time.
Telegram raised $ 1.7 billion within the ICO of TON
The blockchain project of Telegram messenger attracted $ 1.7 billion in two rounds of ICO. This was announced by the project's founder, Pavel Durov, reporting to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In the second round, $ 850 million was raised. The minimum investment of investors was $ 1 million.
In the first round, it was also possible to raise $ 850 million from 81 investors. Also, the third round is expected, within which the price of the token will increase from $ 1.33 of the second stage to about $ 2.2.
Apparently, Durov is raising funds only from trusted investors to minimize his risks in terms of the legitimacy of the project. Therefore, open sale of TON tokens is not planned yet. It is not yet clear about the tools of payment which will be used.
The blockchain project of Telegram messenger attracted $ 1.7 billion in two rounds of ICO. This was announced by the project's founder, Pavel Durov, reporting to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In the second round, $ 850 million was raised. The minimum investment of investors was $ 1 million.
In the first round, it was also possible to raise $ 850 million from 81 investors. Also, the third round is expected, within which the price of the token will increase from $ 1.33 of the second stage to about $ 2.2.
Apparently, Durov is raising funds only from trusted investors to minimize his risks in terms of the legitimacy of the project. Therefore, open sale of TON tokens is not planned yet. It is not yet clear about the tools of payment which will be used.
Which state is going to legalize cryptocurrency next
Recently it became known that Thailand is legalizing cryptocurrencies and ICO. New rules aimed at protecting investors, will start to enter from April. They will include requirements for information disclosure and warnings, but the state as a whole is more loyal than, for example, China.
It is noted, that in March, Germany announced the legalization of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. Now digital coins can pay for goods in some stores, cryptocurrencies has been adopted by the German Tourism Office.
By 1 July, cryptocurrencies should be legalized in Russia. Legislation on regulating crypto-market is now under consideration in the Russian parliament. The desire to become the leader of the cryptocurrency industry was declared by Switzerland.
What's next? More and more countries will legalize cryptocurrencies, including using the working time of those who have already made such a decision. Where will the next state be, it is difficult to say. But given the Asian skepticism from Korea, China and Japan and the interest of the European Union, it can be assumed that the following positive news will come from Europe.
Recently it became known that Thailand is legalizing cryptocurrencies and ICO. New rules aimed at protecting investors, will start to enter from April. They will include requirements for information disclosure and warnings, but the state as a whole is more loyal than, for example, China.
It is noted, that in March, Germany announced the legalization of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. Now digital coins can pay for goods in some stores, cryptocurrencies has been adopted by the German Tourism Office.
By 1 July, cryptocurrencies should be legalized in Russia. Legislation on regulating crypto-market is now under consideration in the Russian parliament. The desire to become the leader of the cryptocurrency industry was declared by Switzerland.
What's next? More and more countries will legalize cryptocurrencies, including using the working time of those who have already made such a decision. Where will the next state be, it is difficult to say. But given the Asian skepticism from Korea, China and Japan and the interest of the European Union, it can be assumed that the following positive news will come from Europe.
Venezuela wants to pay Russia for spare car parts in El Petro cryptocurrency
Venezuela will use El Petro to pay for spare car parts of "KamAZ" supplied from Russia. The news was reported by the Minister of Foreign Trade of Venezuela, José Vielma Mora.
According to him, this decision was discussed during the meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission in Caracas. In addition to supplies of components, the alliance with the Russian motorcar factory provides vehicle assembly on the territory of Venezuela, which is planned to be partly paid for in El Petro.
It worth noting that recently the information that Russia helped Venezuela in the release of El Petro appeared in media. Thus, the Russian authorities allegedly wanted to estimate the possibilities of the state's cryptocurrency in circumventing international economic sanctions. There were no official comments on this matter.
Venezuela will use El Petro to pay for spare car parts of "KamAZ" supplied from Russia. The news was reported by the Minister of Foreign Trade of Venezuela, José Vielma Mora.
According to him, this decision was discussed during the meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission in Caracas. In addition to supplies of components, the alliance with the Russian motorcar factory provides vehicle assembly on the territory of Venezuela, which is planned to be partly paid for in El Petro.
It worth noting that recently the information that Russia helped Venezuela in the release of El Petro appeared in media. Thus, the Russian authorities allegedly wanted to estimate the possibilities of the state's cryptocurrency in circumventing international economic sanctions. There were no official comments on this matter.
Dubai is trying to get the Arab world interested in blockchain and cryptocurrencies
The Islamic Academy (Fiqh) plans to express its attitude to the cryptocurrencies and, possibly, issue a fatwah this year. Now the debate over the religious permissibility of cryptocurrencies in the Shariah countries significantly inhibits the development of digital money in this region and limits the flow of Arab capital into the crypto industry. In the meantime, the OneGram start-up from Dubai has issued a cryptocurrency, backed by real gold, the trident equivalent of cash payments in the Islamic world. The British-born Arabian Ibrahim Muhammad, who launched the start-up, received the conclusion in Dubai's Al Maali Consulting that his cryptocurrency is in line with the principles of Islam, and in May he expects to start trading on the exchange. It is already known that start-ups from Singapore and Malaysia are going to follow the example of OneGram.
The growing interest of crypto traders in Arab capitals is also evidenced by the venue choice for the Futurama Blockchain Innovators Summit, a representative blockchain conference, which will take place in Dubai on May 3-6. One of the event headliners will be the American company Vimana, which develops an air transport infrastructure on the blockchain for Smart Cities. Everything that concerns Smart City, IoT and smart air transport (in this case, unmanned passenger convertible aircraft) in recent years has been struck a chord with investors from the Arab Emirates. Now the audience will clearly see how modern engineering solutions from the real world can interact with the blockchain and be funded through the digital money.
The Islamic Academy (Fiqh) plans to express its attitude to the cryptocurrencies and, possibly, issue a fatwah this year. Now the debate over the religious permissibility of cryptocurrencies in the Shariah countries significantly inhibits the development of digital money in this region and limits the flow of Arab capital into the crypto industry. In the meantime, the OneGram start-up from Dubai has issued a cryptocurrency, backed by real gold, the trident equivalent of cash payments in the Islamic world. The British-born Arabian Ibrahim Muhammad, who launched the start-up, received the conclusion in Dubai's Al Maali Consulting that his cryptocurrency is in line with the principles of Islam, and in May he expects to start trading on the exchange. It is already known that start-ups from Singapore and Malaysia are going to follow the example of OneGram.
The growing interest of crypto traders in Arab capitals is also evidenced by the venue choice for the Futurama Blockchain Innovators Summit, a representative blockchain conference, which will take place in Dubai on May 3-6. One of the event headliners will be the American company Vimana, which develops an air transport infrastructure on the blockchain for Smart Cities. Everything that concerns Smart City, IoT and smart air transport (in this case, unmanned passenger convertible aircraft) in recent years has been struck a chord with investors from the Arab Emirates. Now the audience will clearly see how modern engineering solutions from the real world can interact with the blockchain and be funded through the digital money.
The first Russian crypto hab will be built in Vladivostok
The construction of a financial center in the free economic zone of Vladivostok, where the first cryptocurrency exchange under the Russian jurisdiction will be opened, as well as offices of Russian and foreign companies developing cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects, has began.
The agreement on the construction of the financial center and the implementation of blockchain projects was signed by the Far East Development Fund (FDFE) and the Tai Cloud Technology company (China). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is known that joint projects will use a special taxation regime as a priority for the development of the Far East. One of the first projects of the Financial Center could be the launch of the D1 Coin provided by "Alrosa" diamonds - the Far East Development Fund will implement it in conjunction with the investment fund Diamundi Pte Ltd (Singapore).
The crypto exchange will be created on the investment platform "Voshod" sunrise, which was developed by the Russian company "Freedom Finance", a part of Freedom Holdings (USA). Now "Voshod" trades in securities using the listing on the St. Petersburg Exchange, and announced plans to register as a crypto exchange operator in Japan.
The head of the Far East Development Fund, Alexei Chekunov, insists on the creation of a "Russian Crypto Valley" in Vladivostok, which should be successful due to the proximity of Asian capital and a special taxation regime. At the initiative of the FDFE, the "Crypto Hab" can be declared a testing ground for the standarts of the first Russian law on the regulation of digital assets, which is being developed by the government.
The construction of a financial center in the free economic zone of Vladivostok, where the first cryptocurrency exchange under the Russian jurisdiction will be opened, as well as offices of Russian and foreign companies developing cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects, has began.
The agreement on the construction of the financial center and the implementation of blockchain projects was signed by the Far East Development Fund (FDFE) and the Tai Cloud Technology company (China). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is known that joint projects will use a special taxation regime as a priority for the development of the Far East. One of the first projects of the Financial Center could be the launch of the D1 Coin provided by "Alrosa" diamonds - the Far East Development Fund will implement it in conjunction with the investment fund Diamundi Pte Ltd (Singapore).
The crypto exchange will be created on the investment platform "Voshod" sunrise, which was developed by the Russian company "Freedom Finance", a part of Freedom Holdings (USA). Now "Voshod" trades in securities using the listing on the St. Petersburg Exchange, and announced plans to register as a crypto exchange operator in Japan.
The head of the Far East Development Fund, Alexei Chekunov, insists on the creation of a "Russian Crypto Valley" in Vladivostok, which should be successful due to the proximity of Asian capital and a special taxation regime. At the initiative of the FDFE, the "Crypto Hab" can be declared a testing ground for the standarts of the first Russian law on the regulation of digital assets, which is being developed by the government.
Bitcoin is behaving like gold: what does this mean for investors?
Against the backdrop of the conflict between the US and Russia caused by a joint missile strike by the United States, Britain and France on Syrian positions, investors are buying up gold on the Chicago toar exchange. Gold traditionally grows in price in times of international conflicts, since it helps to reduce risks due to possible the possible weakness of major currencies.
Now gold seems to have a new competitor: it's cryptocurrencies, and first of all bitcoin. The cryptocurrency market against the backdrop of US military operations behaved in much the same way as the gold market. Bitcoin has a lot in common with gold: limited supply, large extraction costs, high value. True, bitcoin has more competitors in the cryptocurrency market than gold in the metals market, and its ate depends on many factors, including regulatory measures in different countries.
Nevertheless,cryptocurrencies have firmly entered the "big league": their price depends on the political situation. And a new escalation of the conflict in Syria or other points of global tension will lead to a new jump in the bitcoin rate.
Against the backdrop of the conflict between the US and Russia caused by a joint missile strike by the United States, Britain and France on Syrian positions, investors are buying up gold on the Chicago toar exchange. Gold traditionally grows in price in times of international conflicts, since it helps to reduce risks due to possible the possible weakness of major currencies.
Now gold seems to have a new competitor: it's cryptocurrencies, and first of all bitcoin. The cryptocurrency market against the backdrop of US military operations behaved in much the same way as the gold market. Bitcoin has a lot in common with gold: limited supply, large extraction costs, high value. True, bitcoin has more competitors in the cryptocurrency market than gold in the metals market, and its ate depends on many factors, including regulatory measures in different countries.
Nevertheless,cryptocurrencies have firmly entered the "big league": their price depends on the political situation. And a new escalation of the conflict in Syria or other points of global tension will lead to a new jump in the bitcoin rate.
📅 ICO for the upcoming week 🚀
21 May
🔺AXenS - The most forward thinking B2B platform for Distributed Supply Chain Finance (DSCF) and Distributed Trade Services (DTS).
🔺Ubex - Global decentralized advertising exchange.
🔺Verasity - Next-generation video sharing platform designed to liberate creators and benefit viewers.
22 May
🔺SONDER - High-secure payment algorithm for e-commerce.
🔺BGX - Decentralized financial platform for the mobile games industry powered by artificial intelligence.
🔺Win Wealth - Decentralized Global Wireless Exchange for Traveller'UX.
23 May
🔺HybridBlock - The all-in-one cryptocurrency trading ecosystem.
🔺TrustedCars Flex - Changing Car Ownership forever by turning dealerships into mobility providers.
24 May
🔺Blue Whale - The Decentralized Ecosystem for Self-employed.
🔺TV-TWO - The Decentralized Television Ecosystem.
25 May
🔺SelfPay - Bridging the gap between traditional payments and cryptocurrency.
🔺Cryptfunder - Decentralized funding source for startup ICOs and blockchain companies.
26 May
🔺Egretia - The World's First HTML5 Blockchain Engine and Platform.
🔺Atomic Network - Revolutionizing streaming TV for techies, trekkies, geeks and gamers.
🔺The Acorn Collective - Blockchain based crowdfunding platform.
27 May
🔺Cryptectum (pre-ICO) - Real Estate investment on blockchain basis.
🔺IAGON (pre-ICO) - Global Supercomputer, powered by Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Technology.
21 May
🔺AXenS - The most forward thinking B2B platform for Distributed Supply Chain Finance (DSCF) and Distributed Trade Services (DTS).
🔺Ubex - Global decentralized advertising exchange.
🔺Verasity - Next-generation video sharing platform designed to liberate creators and benefit viewers.
22 May
🔺SONDER - High-secure payment algorithm for e-commerce.
🔺BGX - Decentralized financial platform for the mobile games industry powered by artificial intelligence.
🔺Win Wealth - Decentralized Global Wireless Exchange for Traveller'UX.
23 May
🔺HybridBlock - The all-in-one cryptocurrency trading ecosystem.
🔺TrustedCars Flex - Changing Car Ownership forever by turning dealerships into mobility providers.
24 May
🔺Blue Whale - The Decentralized Ecosystem for Self-employed.
🔺TV-TWO - The Decentralized Television Ecosystem.
25 May
🔺SelfPay - Bridging the gap between traditional payments and cryptocurrency.
🔺Cryptfunder - Decentralized funding source for startup ICOs and blockchain companies.
26 May
🔺Egretia - The World's First HTML5 Blockchain Engine and Platform.
🔺Atomic Network - Revolutionizing streaming TV for techies, trekkies, geeks and gamers.
🔺The Acorn Collective - Blockchain based crowdfunding platform.
27 May
🔺Cryptectum (pre-ICO) - Real Estate investment on blockchain basis.
🔺IAGON (pre-ICO) - Global Supercomputer, powered by Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Technology.
Switzerland confirmed the status of the European "capital of Blockchain"
Switzerland topped the European rating of countries comfortable for conducting blockchain start-ups. The authors of the rating - the expert council of the BlockShow Europe forum - assessed the regulatory framework for ICO, the taxation of digital assets and the use of cryptocurrency for payments. An additional advantage was the availability of self-regulating organizations of the crypto-industry.
The community considered the results of the rating to be predictable: in Switzerland, in 2017, 4 out of 10 of the world's largest ICOs were conducted. Gibraltar, which was at the second place, is associated with the desire to draw the attention of the crypto-industry to this jurisdiction, where the world's first legislation for the legalization of ICO was developed.
Full European TOP-10 list:
1. Switzerland
2. Gibraltar
3. Malta
4. Great Britain
5. Denmark
6. Germany
7. Portugal
8. The Netherlands
9. Finland
10. Belarus
Switzerland topped the European rating of countries comfortable for conducting blockchain start-ups. The authors of the rating - the expert council of the BlockShow Europe forum - assessed the regulatory framework for ICO, the taxation of digital assets and the use of cryptocurrency for payments. An additional advantage was the availability of self-regulating organizations of the crypto-industry.
The community considered the results of the rating to be predictable: in Switzerland, in 2017, 4 out of 10 of the world's largest ICOs were conducted. Gibraltar, which was at the second place, is associated with the desire to draw the attention of the crypto-industry to this jurisdiction, where the world's first legislation for the legalization of ICO was developed.
Full European TOP-10 list:
1. Switzerland
2. Gibraltar
3. Malta
4. Great Britain
5. Denmark
6. Germany
7. Portugal
8. The Netherlands
9. Finland
10. Belarus
Equipment for mining will become cheaper after Bitmain's departure
Before the head and co-owner of Bitmain Cihan Wu announced that the company is considering the withdrawal from the market of equipment for mining, as in its place immediately showed up two applicants.
Chinese Canaan Creative (Avalon Miners) and Zhejiang Ebang (Ebit Miners) have applied to the Hong Kong Stock Exchanger for approving applications for giant ICO's worth of one billion dollars each for increasing the production capacity of ASIC chips.
Experts estimate the increase in the equipment market for mining at $ 1.2 billion per year, therefore, the new double offer will be redundant, which will inevitably lead to lower prices.
Bitmain, which removed the main cream from the market of ASIC-miners, moves to the segment of equipment for Artificial Intelligence. According to the founder of the company, Jihan Wu, this is logical for the manufacturer of high-speed chips. Bitmain's competitors in this segment will again be Nvidia and AMD, which have already lost to the Chinese in the battle for the miners.
Before the head and co-owner of Bitmain Cihan Wu announced that the company is considering the withdrawal from the market of equipment for mining, as in its place immediately showed up two applicants.
Chinese Canaan Creative (Avalon Miners) and Zhejiang Ebang (Ebit Miners) have applied to the Hong Kong Stock Exchanger for approving applications for giant ICO's worth of one billion dollars each for increasing the production capacity of ASIC chips.
Experts estimate the increase in the equipment market for mining at $ 1.2 billion per year, therefore, the new double offer will be redundant, which will inevitably lead to lower prices.
Bitmain, which removed the main cream from the market of ASIC-miners, moves to the segment of equipment for Artificial Intelligence. According to the founder of the company, Jihan Wu, this is logical for the manufacturer of high-speed chips. Bitmain's competitors in this segment will again be Nvidia and AMD, which have already lost to the Chinese in the battle for the miners.
Chinese government called Ethereum the most promising cryptocurrency
The CCID Institute at the Ministry of Industry of China kept its word and on Thursday published the first national reliability rating of cryptocurrencies, where Ethereum is on the 1st place, Bitcoin - on the 13th, the Top-10 includes the "damned" in Japan Monero, and growing on the support Gemini ZCash is in the third ten.
The whole rating looks like this:
1-5: ETH, STEEM, LSK, NEO, KMD
6-10: XLM, ADA, IOTA, XMR, STRAT
11-15: QTUM, BTS, BTC, XVG, WAVES
16-20: ETC, XRP, DASH, SC, BCN
21-25: LTC, ARK, ZEC, NANO, BCH
26-28: DCR, HSR, XEM
Publication of the rating has not affected on the exchanger rates. However, the discussion around it is just only growing.
The CCID Institute at the Ministry of Industry of China kept its word and on Thursday published the first national reliability rating of cryptocurrencies, where Ethereum is on the 1st place, Bitcoin - on the 13th, the Top-10 includes the "damned" in Japan Monero, and growing on the support Gemini ZCash is in the third ten.
The whole rating looks like this:
1-5: ETH, STEEM, LSK, NEO, KMD
6-10: XLM, ADA, IOTA, XMR, STRAT
11-15: QTUM, BTS, BTC, XVG, WAVES
16-20: ETC, XRP, DASH, SC, BCN
21-25: LTC, ARK, ZEC, NANO, BCH
26-28: DCR, HSR, XEM
Publication of the rating has not affected on the exchanger rates. However, the discussion around it is just only growing.