ThorBlock Pools Will Allow Anyone To Invest in ICOs on VeChainThor

Safe Haven has announced a new project called ThorBlock,

described as a platform that will allow users to pool funds on the VeChainThor blockchain. The project will allow individual investors to participate in crypto-related activities that would normally be out of their price range, including ICOs.

The platform requires pool administrators to start a community pool by locking down their own SafeHaven tokens (SHA). Other users can then contribute to the community pool, which will be used to raise funds for group investments. Once the pool matures, the administrator will gain access to the deposited funds. They can then invest in the project that the pool has agreed to fund. After that, the rewards will be divided between the contributors.

ICO Investing

ThorBlock will enable individuals to participate in ICOs and token sales, even when regulations and investment limits restrict them from doing so. Many ICOs are too expensive for individual investors and are only open to accredited investors. Additionally, ICOs are generally off-limits to residents of the U.S., China, and many other countries. But with ThorBlock, a pool operator who qualifies as an ICO investor can invest in the token sale on behalf of the community pool. After the ICO is complete, the earnings can be redistributed to the pool members.

Staking Nodes

Update: According to VeChain Insider, “Although the [ThorBlock] pool wallet could potentially be used to create a new node (not an X-Node), this is not recommended, since it is not possible to distribute the generated VTHO between pool contributors. Safe Haven is currently working on a dedicated solution for node pooling called TrustNode.”

Previous Pools

Although ThorBlock may be the first platform of its type, crypto investors have been arranging pools for some time. One blogger notes that many pool administrators currently use Telegram to coordinate investors who want to fund a particular ICO. However, ThorBlock’s features may allow pool administrators to more effectively manage their contributors. The platform will allow administrators to whitelist users so that only trusted contributors can participate.

The platform will also allow users to put more trust in pool operators: administrators cannot withdraw funds early, and users can revoke their funds if they have second thoughts. Admittedly, many investment pools currently use smart contracts to control funds — these are known as trustless pools. However, ThorBlock will provide an all-in-one platform designed specifically for this purpose. The project will launch in early October.

Article Produced By

Mike Dalton

https://unhashed.com/cryptocurrency-news/thorblock-pools-allow-anyone-invest-icos-vechainthor/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

What Does the Rise of Airdrop Campaigns Tell Us About ICOs?

Airdrops are massive distributions of value-caring cryptographic assets,
free of charge.

Pennies from heaven, who doesn’t like them?

Especially when it comes to magic pennies, raining down from a cryptographic sky, bearing the promise to increase in value as time progresses. This isn’t just the latest geeky Sci-Fi-inspired fantasia show killing it at Comic-Con, but rather a serious financial instrument, burgeoning in the always exhilarating blockchain space. It’s called an Airdrop, and it describes a mechanism through which a blockchain startup distributes its tokens, or virtual currency, to a large number of random people for free. ere and there you’ll be kindly asked to post about the event on social media, but overall, Airdrops are massive distributions of value-caring cryptographic assets, free of charge.

Airdrops are not a new phenomenon. We have seen blockchain companies hand out their tokens for free before. Normally this would happen shortly after, or sometimes before these entities offered their tokens in a public sale, or Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). In 2017, ICO sales grew to astronomical proportions, in some cases reaching $153 million. With such figures, free handouts act mainly as a marketing stunt, designed to increase followership and to support the overall fundraising operation. 2018 Airdrop campaigns, however, tell quite a different story.

The amount of blockchain startups skipping the ICO phase entirely, limiting their public token distributions to free Airdrops is steadily growing. $60 Million heavy Polymath didn’t raise a dime from the general blockchain-public. The same goes for M&A marketplace LEXIT, refuting ICO rumors and limiting public participation to a “Community Airdrop,” joining ventures such as trading-community Rublix. What most of these projects have in common is evidently a solid influx of private investments, but maybe more importantly – they all balance on the lip of a highly regulated volcano. Polymath seeks to trade securities on the blockchain, LEXIT allows entrepreneurs to buy and sell entire companies and their assets, while Rublix lets you trade sensitive financial data.

Projects of this kind are like candy for activist regulators, even without involving the unregulated public sale of a new kind of asset, which may or may not be a security, depending on who you ask and in which way the wind blows today. It comes as no surprise that these established projects, which have managed to raise considerable private funding, are more than happy to skip their anticipated “public rounds” and hand out tokens to the public for free – an act that will probably remain legal, even if ICOs get regulated out of existence.

However, go over the long list of new Airdrop offerings to see that even smaller players start to prefer this less dangerous route, even if it means losing the opportunity to raise unbelievable sums of money. The young blockchain space amazes the startup industry with its dynamic changes, happening incredibly fast. Merely a few months ago ICOs were all the rage, while at the moment some crypto-insiders might recommend staying away from unfunded projects and to skip the ICO phase, at least partly.

This, of course, raises two questions: one, where does all this “private money” come from? and two, why hand out tokens for free if you can sell them privately, no strings attached? The answer to the first question again highlights the rapid changes in the blockchain space: the money comes from a loosely-affiliated network of dispersed blockchain enthusiasts; crypto markets have evolved into a maturing industry, comprising investment funds, market-makers, “institutionalized investors,” and all the jazz that makes boring Wall Street tick the way it does.

The answer to the second question is slightly more tricky: free tokens don’t yield returns or dividends the way stocks or bonds would, so their value relies entirely on the activity of secondary markets. The moment a blockchain startup matures, and its tokens become a means to unlock a certain utility, this changes to a large degree, but until then, and for private investors to sleep tight, they are dependent on demand and liquidity provided by public activity on token-exchanges. Airdrops create this activity.

This, then, raises further questions. The blockchain industry was borne of a sentiment, disparaging the ways of Wall Street “institutionals” while praising the dispersed wisdom of the crowd. ICOs were one of the means through which this sentiment was realized. Are these days now over? Is Crypto becoming just another industry, dominated by leviathans controlling highly consolidated markets, with the public picking up oddments from the floor? Well, partly, but not so fast.

The public, or “the community” as it addressed in this sector, still has a vital role in blockchain projects. Most of them still rely on network effects, some of them are open-source, and all of them would be pretty worthless without a large followership. The willingness of compliant projects to throw their tokens around, and lose potential private investments, isn’t just manipulative market-making. Airdrops as a public distribution mechanism signify that the public plays an ever increasing role in these startups, and that this role is important enough to be set on a payroll.

So then, will ICOs disappear completely and morph into Airdrop-like handouts? Well, probably not, but at the moment it appears that the public will follow projects that have raised considerable private funding, seek to raise less impressive sums publically, and perform the rest of the necessary distribution via Airdrops and various loyalty schemes. One thing however remains certain – never before have corporations donated their financial assets to random strangers only to secure their existence. This as a tendency alone would probably justify the colorful craziness this industry never tires of producing.

Article Produced By
Thought Leadership

https://www.financemagnates.com/thought-leadership/rise-airdrop-campaigns-tell-us-icos/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

What is an Airdrop?

The basic idea behind an airdrop is to distribute cryptoassets

to investors, entirely for free, to encourage the adoption of that particular token. However, the concept often leaves investors confused. Surely giving out something valuable for free makes little sense? Why do companies do it? What does an investor need to do to receive these free tokens? What is the catch? In this part of the Lisk Academy all of these questions will be clarified and explained.

In short, an airdrop involves a cryptocurrency being dispensed to cryptocurrency wallet addresses. Investors will normally log into their wallet to find that they suddenly hold a certain amount of tokens, usually a token that they have never heard of, that they did not have the last time they checked their wallet. It can sometimes be a confusing and uncomfortable surprise the first time that it happens to an unaware investor. However, there is really nothing to worry about.

The first, and most important, thing to know is that if a cryptoasset is in a wallet, it is indisputably the property of whoever owns the private key to that particular wallet. Therefore, once a cryptocurrency has been airdropped to a wallet it belongs to the owner of that wallet. Therefore, should that individual decide to sell the tokens straight away, take the profits and invest them elsewhere, they are free to do so.

How to Receive an Airdrop?

The reasons dictating which address receives an airdrop can greatly vary. It can by all means be entirely random, based on no defining factor and sent to randomly selected addresses. However, other factors can come into play for those who are actively seeking to receive airdrops.

Scams are commonplace wherein airdrops are offered in return for private keys. Never give your private key to anyone. This will result in a loss of all cryptoassets. Only a public key is ever to be shared. A further step in avoiding such scams is looking at the URL of any site offering airdrops in detail. Always check for the green padlock and ensure there is no suspicious misspellings in the URL. If there is any doubt whatsoever, leave the site immediately.

For example, an address might sometime need to be registered on the company’s website so that it is known where to send the airdrop or whether the the holder of the address is a supporter of the project, which can sometimes be a requirement for an airdrop. The company can use the address to take a snapshot of the accounts holdings to ensure that the address is holding their particular cryptoasset.

What is a Snapshot?

As blockchain technology is transparent, anyone can view the holdings of a particular wallet if they know the public address. Therefore, conditions, such as holding a certain cryptocurrency, can be set that a wallet needs to meet in order to be eligible for an airdrop. A company will check an addresses holding at a particular date to ensure that their tokens are present amongst the holdings. These snapshots can also be taken over a period of time to determine the average holding of the token, ensuring that the user doesn’t simply buy the token, deposit it in the address and withdraw it straight after the snapshot.Generally, airdrops divide into two categories. Completely randomised or dependent on whether the investor is already a supporter of the project carrying out the airdrop.

What are the Benefits of Airdrops?

The benefits of an airdrop from a receivers perspective are clear. They are receiving tokens, which have tangible value, for free. To some extent, it can almost be regarded as “free money”. However, the benefits of carrying out an airdrop can sometimes be less obvious from the standpoint of the company doing so.

The foremost reason a company will willingly carry out an airdrop is to encourage the adoption of their particular utility token or cryptocurrency. They will do so because it is extremely difficult to stand out in such a dynamic and densely populated environment. There is a new cryptocurrency sprouting almost every day and with over 1500 cryptocurrencies in circulation it is a serious challenge for any aspiring projects to stand out and garner the attention of potential users.

Aa airdrop acts as an incentive for those who are receiving a token to research the project behind it. The hope is that a potential investor will like the project and be inclined to support it further, by buying more tokens for example. Furthermore, an airdrop can be seen to demonstrate the value or capabilities of a network, to a degree. Successfully delivering tokens to multiple addresses can be seen to demonstrate that the network itself works and that transaction fees are low enough for this to be practical.

Carrying out airdrops can also help blockchain projects maintain the loyalty and engagement of their community. Blockchain projects tend to be actively developing a promised product over time and during that period it can be a vital challenge to keep their community actively interested and engaged in their vision.

Is there a Catch to Receiving an Airdrop?

As mentioned earlier, the cryptocurrencies in any particular wallet are the sole and indisputable property of the owner of that wallet, namely whoever has the private key associated with that wallet. Therefore, a fee or some sort of catch cannot be applied to allow a user access to the airdropped funds in their wallet. In that regard, once the tokens are in a wallet they are the property of the wallet owner.

However, an indirect catch can be that tokens that are airdropped will not be traded on the larger, more commonly used exchanges. Therefore, an investor will need to dedicate some time signing up to a smaller, lesser known, exchange to have any chance of selling the airdropped tokens that they have received.

Similarly, some investors might simply not want to receive airdrops. More often than not, the value of the tokens that are being airdropped will be negligible and in that regard receiving unwanted tokens that are not worth the time it takes to sell can frustrate some individuals.Always ensure that a token is compatible with a particular exchange before sending it there to trade. If a trader transfers a token that is not listed on an exchange to that particular exchange, the tokens will be lost forever. Always carry out thorough research in regard to token compatibility before transferring tokens anywhere.

What Should an Investor do upon Receiving an Airdrop?

At the end of the day, the final decision is the investors. On the one hand, it can be worthwhile for an investor to research a project whose token has been airdropped to them. It could theoretically be a hugely successful project. On the other hand, dedicating time to researching a project is the purpose behind an airdrop and in that regard an investor is doing exactly what the sender intended for the receiver to do.

This could end up being a waste of time, so it is important to carefully pick and choose which projects are worth investing effort into researching. In that regard airdrops have been dubbed by some as the equivalent of spam emails in the blockchain space. They are sent to capture the attention of users without necessarily guaranteeing tangible value. To some extent it can also be assumed that the biggest, or most likely to succeed, projects will not need to carry out airdrops. Awareness and belief in what such projects are trying to achieve will exist organically, based on the quality of their team and product. However, respectable projects have been known to sometimes carry out airdrops too.

Whether airdrops are an effective marketing tool, free money or the equivalent of spam emails is entirely up to each user to decide for themselves. Irrespective, they are a prominent feature of the cryptocurrency space. As always, the most important aspect with arriving at a conclusion, or engaging with any project is carrying out extensive and thorough research before doing so.

Article Produced By
Lisk

https://lisk.io/academy/blockchain-business/cryptocurrencies/airdrops-explained

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Wallet Provider Blockchain Sues Crypto Startup Days Before ICO

Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency wallet provider Blockchain

has filed a lawsuit against a startup with a similar name, the company announced Thursday. Blockchain – formerly known as Blockchain.info – is suing Blockchain.io just days in advance of the latter's initial coin offering (ICO) over concerns that investors may believe they are buying tokens distributed by the wallet distributor, according to a public court filing.

Specifically, the suit names Paymium SAS, the company behind Blockchain.io, and founder Pierre Noizat, as defendants, claiming that Paymium has participated in "bad acts," including the operation of the now-defunct crypto wallet Instawallet. A representative for Blockchain told CoinDesk that the move came as a result of investors confusing the two firms,

adding:

"As we allege in our complaint, blockchain.io is using our brand to cover up a history of hacking and theft of user funds. Worse, they are raising money in a dubious ICO they claim is 'registered with the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission].' There is of course no registration statement in place. Given the current climate of SEC enforcement and scam ICOs, when users and investors alerted us to this confusion, we needed to step up and take action before any further harm was done."

Among the suit's arguments is the claim that Blockchain.io's logo is similar to Blockchain's, which infringes its design marks (both logos are pictured above). The complaint specifically states that "Blockchain does not claim exclusive rights to the word 'blockchain' to describe the technology underlying cryptocurrencies …Rather, it claims exclusive rights in the BLOCKCHAIN marks, which it has been using exclusively for its Blockchain Products and which have become well and favorably known to consumers throughout the United States and the world as identifying its highly regarded and secure services."

It goes on to note that "in 2018, after years of doing business under different trademarks, Paymium adopted the mark BLOCKCHAIN.IO in a blatant and bad faith attempt to capitalize on the valuable and trusted BLOCKCHAIN marks and to confuse consumers into believing Paymium's inferior services emanate from or are otherwise associated with Blockchain."

"Paymium's digital currency services are identical or nearly identical to Blockchain's Digital Wallet Services, Mobile App Services and Website Services, which allow consumers to exchange one form of digital currency for another, such as bitcoin for ether or bitcoin cash," the suit continued. However, Blockchain.io has denied the claim, with founder Pierre Noizat telling CoinDesk that "we find it strange that Blockchain Luxembourg filed a claim just [six] days before our public token sale when they had [six] years to contact us regarding our domain name if they had issues with it."

Indeed, whois information confirms that the domain "blockchain.io" was first registered in April 2012 by Paymium. Public records with the National Institute of Industrial Property, the French patent office, also show that blockchain.io was registered as a brand in 2017. However, it is unclear if there was any activity under the domain prior to 2018. The Wayback Machine does have a snapshot from 2017, indicating the domain may have simply redirected to Paymium's website at the time.

And while ICOs cannot "register with the SEC," companies offering securities sales can declare their intent to do so. Public records indicate that Paymium filed a "Form D" for the sale of "digital tokens" in June 2018, announcing the company's intent to sell tokens in the future. CoinDesk was unable to confirm that Blockchain.io had registered with the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, or the French bank and insurance company monitor, as the firm claimed in its pitch deck.

Lawyers weigh in

The lawsuit has failed to impress at least some lawyers who work in the space. Stephen Palley, an attorney with corporate law firm Anderson Kill P.C., told CoinDesk that "it's an odd argument to make in a trademark infringement action." His colleague, Dan Healy, explained further, saying that "BLOCKCHAIN" is a generic term.

"Generic terms are not generally trademarks because they do not identify [a] source. They generically refer to a thing or service. It looks like the plaintiff is trying to show that it is using its design mark as a source identifier for digital wallet services, as something not generic to blockchain, even though they are wallets for holding blockchain currency," he explained. Palley expanded on that idea, noting that "in fact, they had to disclaim any such protection, the lawsuit even says as much."

He added:

"Their use of the word blockchain isn't really protected under U.S. Trademark law … Perhaps because they couldn't get protection for the word, they filed a "design mark" – "blockchain" in all capital letters with a picture next to it. And even though they don't have trademark protection for the word, it appears that they are in effect by this lawsuit trying to use their design mark to prevent blockchain.io from using the word blockchain."

"We think that's a weak argument," he concluded.

Healy noted that Blockchain disclaimed the term, saying "no claim is made to the exclusive right to use BLOCKCHAIN apart from the mark as shown." "That means the plaintiff has a design mark and disclaimed the exclusive right to use the term BLOCKCHAIN, but appears to be trying to enforce its mark to preclude other from using the term BLOCKCHAIN," he said.

Article Produced By
Nikhilesh De

https://www.coindesk.com/wallet-provider-blockchain-sues-crypto-startup-days-before-ico/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

What are airdrops and why should I care?

What are airdrops and why should I care?

When a new cryptocurrency is launched the developers need to decide what to do with the coins.

How to Claim Cryptocurrency Airdrops

Some have them locked up until they’re mined, some put up all the coins for sale in an ICO (initial coin offering) and some give away some or most of the coins in a free airdrop. Why would they just give away the coins? It’s all about marketing and getting the word out that your cryptocurrency project exists. And if people like your project and currency, they’re likely to hold the coin, perhaps even buy more and drive up the price.

So what are these airdrops actually worth? It really depends. Most are in the $1 to $3 range. But some will be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. You could sign up for a ton hoping to catch some good ones or you can just sign up for airdrops from projects that look promising (fyi most of my biggest payouts were not coins that I thought had any potential).

Steps to claim crypto airdrops.

Have necessary social media accounts.
The requirements for airdrops vary but many require social media accounts including Bitcointalk (a cryptocurrency forum), Facebook, Telegram and Twitter (sometimes Instagram, Steemit and Reddit). I use a dedicated Facebook, Twitter and email just for signing up for airdrops (some require you to post about them or subscribe to emails so I don’t want to clutter my other accounts).

Get an ERC20 Ethereum wallet.
Some airdrops will be held right on the platform’s website, but many tokens will go to an Ethereum wallet. An ETH wallet on an exchange will not work. You’ll need need an ERC20 (can hold ETH and ETH tokens) wallet such as one from My Ether Wallet. You can read how to set up a MEW account here. Besides MEW you may try Parity or MetaMask. Another platform that is starting to see token airdrops is Waves. You can get a Waves wallet here. Make sure you store your private key in a safe place (or places) where you won’t lose it or else you’ll lose you’re funds.

Have a list of your info for easy access.
It’s good to have a list links to the social media accounts you use and your wallet address so you can quickly copy and paste the into form fields. I use “text expansion” or autocomplete tools to help fill out forms. (Breevy and PhraseExpress are a couple popular ones.) So if I type “eA”, my Ethereum address will automatically be filled into the form field.

Find airdrops and follow the claiming instructions.
There are airdrop links scattered all over the internet, but I’m partial to our huge airdrop spreadsheet that is updated daily. We also run the largest airdrop claiming group on Facebook where you can sign up for and share your airdrop links. To claim, some airdrops ask you to fill in a Google form, some ask you to share on social media, some have you create an account on their site and some want you to talk to a Telegram bot. Whatever they ask you to do, follow the instructions very carefully and don’t try claim airdrops more than once or else you may end up with nothing.

Save your passwords.
Make sure you have a good password manager that is secure. Create strong passwords that have capitals, numbers and special characters. Save your passwords right away or else you’ll have to keep requesting password resets.

Avoid scams.
Unfortunately some airdrops are outright scams and some are fake forms impersonating popular currencies. A rule of thumb is to never give out info that is too personal and never give out your private key. And be wary if a form asks for a “donation” to get more coins… if it’s a fake form you just gave money to a scammer. I’ve only donated to a project once; I just like free stuff.

Check your airdrop balances.
Go to DeltaBalances and paste in your ETH address to see all the tokens you have in your Ethereum wallet and how much they’d trade for on the exchange Ether Delta. (I wouldn’t recommend trading on Ether Delta. It can be a good way to cash in your junk tokens but the interface is very frustrating and I’ve made a mistake worth 100’s of dollars due to that.) I like to wait until a token hits it big and then transfer it to a regular exchange to sell it. But sometimes as soon as an airdrop is released there will be an initial pump where you can sell the token at a high price. Some of these airdrop cryptos should be dumped but some will be successful and may be good to hold long term.

Have fun!
Maybe you’ll strike it rich and maybe not. But when I see my wallet that’s full of tons of up and coming coins, I get a similar feeling to when I was a kid collecting baseball cards and Pokemon. You don’t have to catch them all, but try to catch a few good ones, it’ll be fun.

Article Produced By

https://yourfreecrypto.com/how-to-claim-cryptocurrency-airdrops/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Blockchain files a complaint against a cryptocurrency exchange, launching ICO next week

Blockchain, a cryptocurrency company,

announced on their official Twitter that they have filed a complaint against Blockchaindotio, a cryptocurrency exchange, for using their name and promoting false information to users. According to the blog report, Blockchaindotio is a cryptocurrency launched by Paymuim, a company which focuses on providing services for Bitcoin. However, it is stated that the company which was popular for running Instawallet is rebranding itself since they lost their customers funds to a hack.

In the year of 2013, Paymuim claimed that Instawallet was compromised due to a hack and that the customers’ coins were stolen from the platform. The platform also stated that they have filed a complaint with the police. This falls in the same timeframe as that of Mt. Gox hack, the biggest cryptocurrency hack in the space.

However, the announcement of the hack eventually resulted in many stating that the platform was running a scam and are falsely claiming that they were hacked. This is because the platform failed to show any evidence related to the police report despite the community asking for it several times. Reportedly, the company has not completely paid off the claims made by their customers.

Blockchain claims that the platform is rebranding itself in order to conceal the allegations of scam. The blog further stated the company is falsely claiming that they have registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] for their Initial Coin Offering [ICO]. The ICO is going to be launched in next week on 27th September 2018. This would result in the investors being unable to trade the token publicly. Moreover, the report also stated that there is no evidence regarding the ICO being regulated by the French ACPR.

Blockchain stated that they are particularly concerned about the company has rebranded to a name which is similar to theirs and that it has already led to a lot of confusion in the market. They stated that the similarities which both the companies share include the domain name, the color of the portal, logo, and the tagline. Blockchain further stated that there have been several people questing them about the ICO.

Blockchain said:

“Blockchain is not doing an ICO. When we inspected blockchain.io’s social media and Telegram channels, we discovered that many more people had assumed that blockchain.io was Blockchain.”

They further added:

“To protect our users and maintain the trust we’ve worked so hard to build, we’ve had to take action. Today we filed a complaint in US federal court. We’ll file more complaints in other courts if we need to and we will continue to fight false and misleading statements that endanger the crypto community.”

Article Produced By
Priya

Priya is a full-time member of the reporting team at AMBCrypto. She is a finance major with one year of writing experience. She has not held any value in Bitcoin or other currencies.

https://ambcrypto.com/blockchain-files-a-complaint-against-a-cryptocurrency-exchange-launching-ico-next-week/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

How to use AirDrop

AirDrop makes sending files to Apple devices easy — here's how

Like many features native to iOS and MacOS,

AirDrop is both quick and easy. Similar to sending files via text and email, you can use the cross-platform utility to send photos, videos, songs, and even robust PDF files. This is particularly handy when you are in close proximity to the person you’d like to send your file to, as AirDrop only works when users are near one another.

The feature uses a Bluetooth connection to create a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network between your iOS and MacOS devices and uses encryption to obfuscate your files. You can access it from directly within Photos, Notes, Safari, Contacts, and Maps too, without having to navigate to a different screen or copy and paste the information. Learn how to use AirDrop and it could become your best friend for file transfers.

Accessing AirDrop on iOS

Apple reconfigured the Control Center in iOS 11, making AirDrop less accessible than it once was. Thankfully, the feature is still easy to access.

Step 1: Swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to reveal the Control Center. If using an iPhone X, swipe down from the upper-right corner of the display.

Step 2: Locate the upper-left box, which contains Airplane Mode, Bluetooth, and other connectivity controls. Make sure both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are turned on.

Step 3: Perform a 3D Touch or hold down on any of the aforementioned icons. This will expand the box, and reveal additional controls like AirDrop.

Step 4: Tap the AirDrop button to open the quick settings menu. Here, you will be able to set your ability to send and receive files via AirDrop.

Note: If you see “Receiving Off” and can’t seem to change it, go to “Settings,” then “General,” and finally “Restrictions,” and ensure the AirDrop feature is toggled on

Using AirDrop on iOS

Using AirDrop on iOS is easy. Just follow these steps:

Step 1: Go to the file, photo, or other piece of content you’d like to share.

Step 2: Tap the Share button in the bottom-left corner of your device’s display. The feature’s icon will depict a box with an arrow pointing upward.

Step 3: Directly below the image or piece of content, you should see a list of available devices. Tap the name of the device with which you wish to share.

Step 4: Once accepted, “sent” will appear under the device name.

AirDrop on MacOS

AirDrop works just as well on MacOS as it does on iOS. Here’s how to take full advantage of it.

Step 1: Open “Finder” from the Dock.

Step 2: If you don’t see it in the lefthand sidebar, you can find it from the menu bar. Just select “Go” and then “AirDrop.”

Step 3: The AirDrop window will show you all nearby devices that can accept your files and documents. Drag what you want to send on to the intended recipient, and drop it to begin the transfer.

Alternatively, you can open the file you want to send and click the share button — it looks like a rectangle with an up arrow pointing out of it. Choose “AirDrop” from the sharing options and then choose a recipient to send the file to them.

Accepting or declining an AirDrop transfer

Sending a piece of content via AirDrop is easy, as is accepting or declining an AirDrop transfer. But it is a little different depending on which platform you’re using. If someone sends a file or photo to you using AirDrop, an alert will appear on your screen with a preview of said content. You’ll need to accept it to complete the transfer. On iOS, you can tap the “Accept” button that pops up in the center of your screen. On MacOS, you’ll need to look to the AirDrop window, or at the notification in the top corner.

Selecting “Accept” will open the app that corresponds with the file (Photos, for instance), whereas tapping “Decline” will cancel the transfer. Keep in mind that if you’re sharing content with yourself via AirDrop, you won’t see an option to accept or decline an AirDrop transfer; the content will automatically transfer between your devices, assuming both are signed in using the same Apple ID.

Making sense of AirDrop’s quick settings

Once you have access the quick settings menu, you’ll be presented with three options:

Receiving Off: This blocks your device from receiving any and all AirDrop requests.
Contacts Only: This makes it so only your contacts can see your device.
Everyone: This allows all nearby iOS users who are using AirDrop to share files with you.

Troubleshooting

If you’re having trouble transferring content between devices, double check that both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on. This applies to each device, as AirDrop only works when both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are enabled. If that doesn’t solve the issue, ensure you’re not using your iPhone or iPad as a personal hot spot. To do so, go to “Settings,” then “Cellular,” followed by “Personal Hotspot,” and ensure the slider beside the feature is toggled off.

If none of the above solve the issue, make sure the two devices are within range of one another. AirDrop will not work if either user is out of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi range. Also, if the person you’re attempting to share your content with has AirDrop set to Contacts Only, and your information is not saved in their contacts, make sure they toggle their AirDrop configuration to receive AirDrop content from “Everyone.”

Article Produced By
Jon Martindale

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-use-airdrop/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

SEC Director Vows âMore Substantial’ Enforcement Against Illegal ICOs

SEC Director Vows ‘More Substantial’ Enforcement Against Illegal ICOs

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

co-director of enforcement Stephanie Avakian mentioned in a Sept. 20 speech that the regulatory agency is most likely going to recommend “more substantial remedies” against those who fail to follow proper initial coin offering (ICO) registration requirements in the future

According to a transcript of the speech posted on the SEC’s website, Avakian articulated the specific set of principals that guide the agency’s decision-making when it comes to regulation, and then delved into how the SEC was tackling in “misconduct” in the ICO and virtual asset space.

Balancing The Risks and Rewards of ICOs

In the speech, Avarkian mentioned that the “novelty of ICOs” and the possible “utility of the underlying blockchain” makes these types of offerings exciting for certain investors. However, she noted the market “exuberance” for ICOs can mask the reality that they are “often high-risk investments,” since they could lack viable products, have flawed business models, or just simply be “outright frauds.” According to Avarkian, the SEC has tried to be cognizant about how to deal with ICOs registration cases that are not fraudulent. The agency wants to affirm valid ways to raise money while still making sure investors can enjoy the legal protections already in place.

She noted that the agency has issued a number of public statements to inform investors about concerning activity in the ICO space, particularity highlighting one last November that discussed the rise in ICO promotion by celebrities and other public figures. Avarkian said the “anecdotal evidence” in the wake of the announcement pointed to a “dramatic decline” in the amount of celebrity-endorsed ICOs. Overall, Avarkian said any issues related to ICOs and cryptoassets must be in the crosshairs of the Division of Enforcement, and pointed out that current work related to the space and other cyber-related issues was already “paying dividends.”

Staying Active On The Cryptocurrency Front

The recent speech by Stephanie Avakian seemingly caps off what has been a busy week for the SEC when it comes to virtual currency. The regulatory agency also said on Thursday that they are starting a formal review process for the bitcoin ETF proposed by VanEck and SolidX. The proposed ETF has made headlines since it would hold actual vitcoin in lieu of virtual currency futures contracts, and would maintain “comprehensive insurance” to safeguard investors against loss or theft of the bitcoin.

Just a couple of days before, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, often referred to as “CryptoMom,” asserted that the government should not hold back new products from coming out in the cryptocurrency market due to the perceived weaknesses associated with bitcoin.

Article Produced By
ICO News

https://www.ccn.com/sec-director-vows-more-substantial-enforcement-against-illegal-icos/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

How to Use AirDrop on Your iPhone

Learn how to AirDrop from your iPhone to your Mac or other devices

AirDrop lets you share photos, documents, and other files wirelessly

with other nearby AirDrop users. It's the easiest way to share files with other iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers without having to rely on file transfer methods like email or cloud storage services. Once you enable AirDrop on your iPhone, you can accept files from other AirDrop-enabled devices around you. There are multiple ways to enable AirDrop on your phone depending on who you want to be able to see your phone when they try to AirDrop files.

Which Apps Support AirDrop?

Many of the pre-installed apps that come with the iOS can be used with AirDrop. This includes Photos, Notes, Safari, Contacts, and Maps. This means you can share things like photos and videos, websites, address book entries, text files, and much more. Some third-party apps support AirDrop, too, to let you share their content. However, it's up to each developer to include AirDrop support in their apps, so not everything you download from the App Store will work with AirDrop.

AirDrop Requirements

An iPhone 5 or newer, a 5th generation iPod touch or newer, an iPad mini, or 4th generation iPad or newer
iOS 7 or higher
A Mac from 2012 or later
A Mac running OS X Yosemite (10.10) or higher
Another iOS or Mac user with an AirDrop-compatible device
Bluetooth turned on
Connection to a ??Wi-Fi network
The person you want to share content with must be nearby (AirDrop doesn't work over the internet)

How to Enable AirDrop on Your iPhone

To use AirDrop, you have to make sure the settings are set up correctly, which you can do in the Settings app. Some versions of iOS work a little differently, though, so you might need to follow the second set of steps below.

Open the Settings app.
Tap General.
Tap AirDrop.
Choose an appropriate setting:
1. Receiving Off disables your phone from receiving AirDrop requests, so nearby devices will not see your phone when they attempt to share files. However, you can still send files to others.
2. Contacts Only lets you use AirDrop only with people in your address book. This gives you the most privacy but also limits the number of people who can share files with you.
3. Everyone does just what it says: lets everyone around you attempt to share files with you over AirDrop.

If you don't have these settings on your phone, then you have an older iOS version, but you can still turn on AirDrop.

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open Control Center.
Tap the AirDrop button.
1. This button should be in the middle, next to the AirPlay Mirroring button.
Choose who you want to be able to see your phone.

How to Share Over AirDrop

With AirDrop turned on, you can use it to share content from any app that supports it.

Open the app that has the content you want to share.
1. For example, open the built-in Photos app to share pictures or videos you've saved to your phone.
Select the file you want to share over AirDrop.
1. If the app supports it, AirDrop lets you share multiple files at once. In the Photos app, for example, select multiple images or videos.
Tap the action box, identified by a rectangle with an arrow coming out of it.
Tap the device you want to share the content with.
1. Icons of all the nearby AirDrop-enabled devices are shown in the Tap to share with AirDrop section.

After you send the content over AirDrop, there's nothing left for you to do but wait for the other user to accept the transfer. You'll see a "Waiting…" message in the meantime, and then "Sending" during the transfer, followed by "Sent" once they receive your file(s). If the other user declines your AirDrop request, you'll see a red "Declined" message instead.

How to Accept or Decline an AirDrop Transfer

When someone else sends you data over AirDrop, a window pops up with a small preview of the content. You have two options: Accept or Decline. If you tap Accept, the file(s) will be saved to your device and/or opened in the appropriate app. For example, accepting a transfer of images over AirDrop will save the photos to your phone and then open them in the Photos app, URLs will launch in the Safari browser, etc. If you tap Decline, the transfer is canceled and the other user will be told that you declined the request.

Note: If you're sharing a file with a device that's logged in with the same Apple ID you're logged in with, that device will not be shown the Accept or Decline pop-up message. Since both devices are assumed to be your own, the transfer is accepted automatically.

AirDrop Troubleshooting

If AirDrop doesn't work, there's a good chance that you've not enabled it from the settings (see item No. 1 above), or that you have but you've only set sharing to contacts, and the person who's trying to send you something is not in your address book.However, if you've already checked those settings, and so has the other user, but AirDrop still doesn't work, there are a few troubleshooting tips you can try.

Enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: AirDrop requires that both you and the other person have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled.
Disable Your Personal Hotspot: If you're using a Personal Hotspot while trying to also use AirDrop, disable it. AirDrop doesn't work simultaneously with hotspots.
Move Closer: AirDrop is based on Bluetooth, so it has Bluetooth's range limitations. Move within about two dozen feet (preferably closer) of the person you're sharing files with.

Article Produced By
Sam Costello

"I'm fascinated by and enthusiastic about technology. I value technology that helps people and makes our lives better, that improves our time and our relationships. When assessing a new technology or writing about how to perform a task, I take a human-centered approach that focuses on helping people do things better."

https://www.lifewire.com/use-airdrop-on-iphone-1999205

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

China’s Central Bank Warns Investors of ICO, Crypto Risks

China's Central Bank Warns Investors of ICO, Crypto Risks

China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC),

has today, September 18, issued a new public notice “reminding” investors of the risks associated with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and crypto trading. The notice, released from the bank’s headquarters in Shanghai, reiterates the severe line that has been adopted by the country’s Office for Special Remediation of Internet Financial Risks, which first introduced a blanket ban on ICOs in September 2017. Today’s notice censures the “unauthorized” and “illegal” ICO financing model for posing a “serious disruption” to the “economic, financial and

social order”:

“[ICOs are] suspected of illegally selling tokens, illegally issuing securities, illegal criminal activities, financial fraud, pyramid schemes and other illegal and criminal activities.”

The PBoC has today hailed the successes of the country’s stringent restrictions that have targeted ICOs and a broad spectrum of crypto-related activities to date,

claiming that:

“[T]he global share of domestic virtual currency transactions has dropped from the initial 90% to less than 5%, effectively avoiding the virtual currency bubble caused by skyrocketing global virtual currency prices in the second half of last year in China’s financial market. The impact has been highly recognized by the community.”

Nonetheless, the bank recognizes that several challenges remain, notably the prevalence of offshore exchanges that are used by investors to circumvent the mainland ban. The PBoC notes that the Office for Special Remediation of Internet Financial Risks has now adopted a series of targeted measures, including blocking up to 124 IP address suspected of providing a gateway to domestic crypto traders.

It further points to redoubled efforts to “clean-up” payment channels and strengthen monitoring and inspection mechanisms, noting that around 3,000 accounts have already been closed as a result of increased oversight. Lastly the notice outlines recent measures undertaken to counter the circulation of crypto “hype” materials. As previously reported, on August 25 the PBoC had already issued a fresh risk alert against “illegal” ICOs, warning that blockchain and the idea of “financial innovation” are being used to lure investors as a “gimmick” that conceals essentially fraudulent Ponzi schemes.

This summer has seen an onslaught of toughened anti-crypto measures from Beijing, which have included a ban on commercial venues from hosting crypto-related events in certain districts. Alongside ‘offline’ measures, China’s tech titans – Chinese ‘Google’ Baidu, Alipay’s Alibaba and WeChat-developer Tencent – have all tightened their monitoring and acted to ban accounts suspected of engaging in or propagating crypto and even blockchain related activities.

Article Produced By
Marie Huillet

Marie Huillet is an independent filmmaker, with a background in journalism and publishing. Nomadic by nature, she’s lived in five different countries this decade. She’s fascinated by Blockchain technologies’ potential to reshape all aspects of our lives.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/not-high-performance-tradeshift-ceo-prudent-on-blockchain-supply-chain-potential

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden