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Tag: BitCoin

Prices Aside, Crypto’s Tech Stack Is Steadily Improving

Prices Aside, Crypto's Tech Stack Is Steadily Improving

Prices Aside, Crypto's Tech Stack Is Steadily Improving

Rachel Rose O'Leary and Alyssa Hertig

Feb 11, 2018 at 14:45 UTC

 

A look at the headlines of late may leave you with a familiar conclusion – with all the ups and downs in the market, it's just too early to take crypto seriously.

And it's true, despite the best efforts of even the industry's most notable developers, the world's largest cryptocurrencies remain not just volatile, but difficult (and risky) to use, at least in a way that their creators' intended.

Still, heading into 2018, enthusiasts the world over are hard at work on improvements.

As such, there's optimism advances could start to compound, creating a user experience that finally starts to transcend the issues – namely, the high fees and long wait times – users of most blockchains have become all too accustomed to.

In fact, in the year ahead, blockchain users could see exciting new features and scientific firsts that just might help push the industry closer to that vision:

 

1. Off-chain channels

What if it was possible for blockchain-based transactions to avoid using the blockchain at all?

That's the big idea behind off-blockchain payment channels, an idea that harkens back to 2015, but whose time may have finally come this year. Most associated with Bitcoin's Lightning Network, the idea is actually more general than this specific instance.

Essentially, off-blockchain payment channels would allow two people using any one cryptocurrency to send small payments back and forth, settling to the blockchain (and dealing with its high fees and slow transaction times) only when absolutely necessary.

Due to the potential impact, the idea is catching on – ethereum developers, while they often don't see eye-to-eye with their bitcoin peers, are at work on the same type of solution.

But there's more than just a rivalry at play, there's also reason to believe 2018 might be different in that actual live transactions could be sent in significant numbers.

The developers behind bitcoin's Lightning Network have declared the technology almost ready based on successful tests. Meanwhile, ethereum's developers have also unveiled successful tests for their versions of the concept, Raiden Network, with a more ambitious version, Plasma, potentially around the corner.

 

2. Real-live staking

As their popularity grows, attention is also being paid to the electricity required to sustain cryptocurrencies.

While the relevant data is difficult to pin down, proof-of-work, the consensus protocol that underlies bitcoin mining, is best defined as an energy-intensive process. As such, there are concerns about its electricity use could have large-scale environmental effects.

This is leading to new research on an idea from 2011. Called proof-of-stake, or "consensus by vote," the idea has been implemented, however, not at the scale intended by ethereum.

As such, it's long-awaited project Casper is likely to be under significant scrutiny this coming year, and early versions are beginning to see the light.

In a testnet released on New Year's Eve, one variation of Casper, was claimed to be functional. Karl Floersch, a leading developer behind the technology, told CoinDesk at the time that the code is working with "no hiccups."

Work remains to adapt this early version of Casper across the different ethereum clients, but ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has said he expects the technology will be tested alongside proof-of-work sometime in the future.

 

3. Privacy advances

Privacy has been a somewhat neglected promise in the majority of blockchains, but it's nonetheless an issue that could see improvement this year.

Most notable is the advances in zero-knowledge proofs, what Buterin has called "the single most under-hyped thing in cryptography right now," are getting cheaper and easier to deploy.

A form of cryptography that hides information without risking validity, it's already been adapted to a small degree into ethereum, which could lead to a wave of startups experimenting with private smart contracts in novel and unexpected ways.

Plus, in a white paper published earlier this month, a system for achieving zero-knowledge without compromising trust – a point of contention in some earlier iterations of the tech – was released, an update which could have exciting consequences.

And as existing tech matures, privacy-centric cryptocurrencies such as monero and zcash are also set to improve.

In preparation for an upgrade, zcash has been steadily reinforcing its security, while monero is stepping up to implement "bulletproofs," a feature that could cut fees by 80 percent.

 

4. Decentralized exchanges

No, this isn't just a new version of Coinbase or Kraken.

As the industry's largest exchanges struggle to cope with the influx of new adopters, an increasing number of projects are at work developing something called a decentralized exchange. The term denotes not just a new browser-based exchange, but rather a type of software users can use to swap one cryptocurrency with another without a central entity.

2017 saw a flood of new decentralized exchange projects, such as ShapeShift's Prism, 0x, OmiseGo, Kyber Network, and many others.

Expect those efforts to accelerate this year.

So far, hardware wallet Ledger has already integrated with decentralized exchange Radar Relay, allowing users to trustlessly exchange tokens based on ethereum.

While functionality is limited (it's only supported by a single wallet and only ethereum-based tokens can be sent), many in the industry see it as a glimpse into the future of not just cryptocurrency exchanges, but the technology itself.

 

Posted By David Ogden Entrepreneur
David ogden Cryptocurrency entrepreneur

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

Why Employers Can’t Pay You in Cryptocurrency

Why Employers Can't Pay You in Cryptocurrency

With the help from recent news headlines

chronicling the substantial increase of some cryptocurrencies, more members of the public are discovering what people who’ve dealt with digital currencies like Bitcoin already knew. Although volatility is constant, it is possible to become wealthy with Bitcoin and similar non-physical forms of money. So you might be wondering, why isn’t it possible for your workplace to pay your wages in cryptocurrency? Some employers actually do – we’ll cover those later. But first, let’s discuss four barriers that make widespread adoption of that payment method difficult.

Some laws specify cash or check payments only

One of the main federal regulations that cover employee wages in the US is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It stipulates that employers must meet at least some of their minimum-wage requirements by paying workers with cash or checks – as of now, Bitcoin payments don’t apply and the same is true for overtime compensation.

However, outside those federal requirements for minimum wage and overtime, employers and workers can agree on other forms of payment if desired. Employers could theoretically pay employees partially with cash or checks, then give them supplementary amounts made up of cryptocurrencies. The system isn’t so straightforward in certain states, though. For example, Delaware and Texas are two of several states where wages can only be comprised of US currency.

Cryptocurrencies may be deemed securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement about cryptocurrencies to remind people that investments associated with them can quickly cross into other geographical boundaries without owners’ knowledge, which increases the possible risk. Also, the SEC may ultimately decide some cryptocurrencies are designated as securities. In that case, employers would have to comply with additional laws for securities in addition to the wage-related rules mentioned above.

 Employers could feel wary

The rapid fluctuations in value associated with Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies may make employers balk at the idea of paying their workers through these non-traditional means. Similarly, they might feel that not enough merchants accept cryptocurrencies as payment yet,  even as the number grows.

However, a BitPay debit card allows people to convert amounts from their cryptocurrency wallets into dollars in minutes. People can then use the more widely accepted currency anywhere that accepts Visa. This capability takes care of the potential issue of someone having cryptocurrency but not being able to spend it. The card also offers a safeguard if cryptocurrency holders learn about market conditions that signal a likely, sudden drop in value. In such a scenario, people could quickly make conversions using the card to avoid holding onto large amounts of cryptocurrency that could lose substantial worth in a few days or less.

The tax implications vary by country

If an employer regularly hires remote workers who are legal residents in one country and pay taxes in other, the different ways countries view cryptocurrencies for tax purposes could also be a barrier to adoption. In Canada, for instance, the country views cryptocurrency earnings as barter transactions. Companies based in the US have to convert cryptocurrency values to dollar amounts for the IRS on the dates payments occur. Similarly, employees must report all earnings in dollars, even when earned as Bitcoins or another currency.

Depending on the respective countries, reporting cryptocurrency earnings for tax purposes could be a straightforward process. However, companies with large percentages of international workers may decide that figuring out the logistics requires too much time-consuming research. If that happens, workers who strongly desire cryptocurrency payments could offer to find out the details and report back to their employers.

Some companies do pay employees with cryptocurrency

Despite the challenges we’ve presented, pioneer companies do exist that pay their employees in cryptocurrencies. Notably, none of the businesses are within the US, so some of the issues you learned about above may not apply to them. Geographical differences aside, if a growing number of companies around the world conclude that cryptocurrency payments for employees make sense, it could encourage other entities to follow suit.

Starting in February, GMO Internet, a Japanese company, will give portions of employee salaries in Bitcoin.  Employees will be able to receive the equivalent of $890 per month in Bitcoins. A representative of the company said the move to offer Bitcoins as salary was intended to make the company at large more literate about how cryptocurrencies work. Another business to consider is Buffer, a company associated with social-media tools that save time and grow traffic. It pays one of its developers, who reside in South Africa, a portion of his salary in Bitcoins. In this case, the employee is a big believer in the potential of Bitcoins. As such, he wanted to receive five percent of his wages in the currency.

The man approached a payment associate that works with Buffer and began a dialogue, later completing research to find a company that specializes in payroll services related to cryptocurrencies. He’s a good example of an employee who was proactive and got positive results even though the company was not offering widespread cryptocurrency payments. If a business is already in the cryptocurrency market, they might even ask employees during the hiring process whether they’ll accept non-physical payments. That situation happened at Bitedge, a sports betting establishment based in Australia. The company’s web developers receive 100 percent of their income in Bitcoins.

The future is bright

If you’re eager to explore the possibility of getting paid in cryptocurrency, it’s crucial to be aware of the volatility associated with cryptocurrency values, as well as the possibility that employers may not be up to speed about digital forms of payment. They might require you to research the specifics and provide guidance. As cryptocurrencies become more prominent, finding ways to overcome these and other challenges get easier. You can strengthen your stance as an early, in-the-know adopter and get involved in what could eventually revolutionize the way employers give compensation.

Chuck Reynolds


Marketing Dept
Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

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

General Manager of BIS Wants To Prevent Crypto From Joining ‘Main Financial System’/More

General Manager of BIS Wants To Prevent Crypto From Joining ‘Main Financial System’

Augustín Carstens, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements

(BIS), called Bitcoin a “combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster”  and asked central banks to more closely regulate cryptocurrencies during a speech at Goethe University on Feb. 6. BIS is known as the “bank for central banks,” for it only provides banking services to central banks and other international organizations. In August 2017, when Carstens was the head of the central Bank of Mexico, he argued that Bitcoin is not a currency but a commodity and warned against its potential use for cybercrime.

Carsten’s recent comments Tuesday morning come after both the traditional and crypto markets have been experiencing a large drop since Monday, Feb. 5. Also this week, several large banks, including Lloyds Banking Group and J.P. Morgan Chase, banned credit card purchases of cryptocurrencies. In Carsten’s opinion, the global interest in cryptocurrencies is just a “speculative mania” and thus strict regulation by

central banks is needed:

“If authorities do not act pre-emptively, cryptocurrencies could become more interconnected with the main financial system and become a threat to financial stability.”

Carsten considers it “alarming” that some banks are releasing Bitcoin ATMs, for he considers Bitcoin’s potential use for illegal transactions too high to allow the currency to be associated with mainstream

financial institutions:

“If the only ‘business case’ is use for illicit or illegal transactions, central banks cannot allow such tokens to rely on much of the same institutional infrastructure that serves the overall financial system and freeload on the trust that it provides.”

The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and Elliptic, a Bitcoin forensics company, released a report in late January that showed that less than one percent of all Bitcoin transactions represented money laundering.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept
Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

UAE Issues Warning On ICOs, Says Investors Should Assume Full Risk

A new document issued by the UAE Securities and Commodities

Authority (SCA) on Sunday, Feb. 4 warns investors about the risks of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). In the document, the SCA emphasizes that investors involved in ICO fundraising campaigns have to assume all associated risks, given that digital token-based fundraising activities are not regulated by the UAE, and no legal protection can be provided in cases of fraud.

The major risks, as pointed out by the SCA, include high volatility of ICO tokens on secondary markets, misleading or unaudited details in ICO offerings, as well as common unawareness of potential costs and gains shared by most retail investors. Moreover, the SCA mentioned the risks of investing in foreign ICOs, commenting that it may be difficult to verify the proper regulatory compliance of such fundraisers and track the invested money as it leaves the UAE.

This is the second time that the country’s government warns its citizens about the risks of ICOs as back in Oct. 2017, Abu Dhabi's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) issued its guidelines on both ICOs and cryptocurrencies.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept
Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

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

Crypto Has What it Takes to Break the Flawed Financial System

Crypto Has What it Takes to Break the Flawed Financial System

Bitcoin, when it first hit the presses in its own white paper,

was heralded as this peer-to-peer cashless system that could revolutionize the financial world and break the shackles of banking hegemony. However, as the cryptocurrency market has evolved, it has attracted a new crop of investors and speculators who have strayed somewhat from its original purpose, rather happy to cash in on the unprecedented gains which attracted them in the first place. Really, those entering the crypto economy should be doing so for the right reason, reveling in the potential it holds to be a disruptive technology, rather than a quick get rich scheme.

The flawed financial system

A look at the generations shows how today’s generation is sitting under the yoke of a financial service sector that was set up by the baby boomers, who still run the central banks. The end of the Second World War in 1945 sparked a new revolution of banking, but that system still remains nearly totally intact.

This system of banking and finance is dated and obsolete, and not even functioning properly, with a number of major crashes sending the globe into dire straits on a few occasions; the 1987 crash, the 2000 dotcom bubble burst and 2008 global financial crisis all down to a broken system. There is huge amounts of skepticism that has been born from being put under the financial quash that was built by generations before. Millenials are now starting to fight back and ask why things are the way they are, and what can they do to change it.

Blockchain revolution

The technology of the Blockchain is revolutionary, not only in name but in nature too. Those who understand the technology behind Bitcoin know what cryptocurrencies can become. But, those who only understand that Bitcoin has a chance of doubling its value every three months, are pushing it into bubble territory. The evidence is there though, the threat that Blockchain and cryptocurrencies pose can be seen in the way in which most central banks and regulators are reacting to it, knowing their monopoly is under threat.

But as it stands, even with the exponential expanding of the crypto community, which is also an intellectual expansion, there needs to be a balancing out of the financial speculators, and the technological innovators. When Bitcoin was chugging towards making fiat currency obsolete, it was doing so with a much lower number of users who were more focused on the technology. Now, as the network has swelled, the direction of Bitcoin, as the lead example, has changed, and the community is a different demographic.

Useless digital gold?

Bitcoin is in a precarious position. It is the most popular and well known, and thus the most likely to be disruptive in any sense of the word, but it has gone down a pretty useless path in terms of revolution. The fact that Bitcoin is an asset, a store of value – digital gold – because of its scaling issue and other reasons, makes it much less of a revolutionary, more of a bloated get rich quick scheme. This is not the fault of the coin, the technology or those driving its development, and it is the fault of those who use it for the wrong reasons.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept
Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

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

Samsung’s now making chips designed for cryptocurrency mining

Samsung’s now making chips designed for cryptocurrency mining

An ethereum mining rig in South Korea.

  Samsung’s semiconductor business is booming, with the company recently overtaking Intel as the world’s biggest chipmaker. But the South Korean firm is not resting on its laurels, and is currently looking to expand into the buzziest contemporary market for processors: cryptocurrency mining.As reported by TechCrunch, Samsung has confirmed it’s in the process of making hardware specially designed for mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. A spokesperson for the firm told TechCrunch: “Samsung’s foundry business is currently engaged in the manufacturing of cryptocurrency mining chips. However we are unable to disclose further details regarding our customers.”

These chips are known as ASICs, or application-specific integrated circuits. ASICs are processors that have been specially designed for a single computational task, as opposed to the multi-purpose processors we use in computers and phones. As the valuation of cryptocurrencies has shot up, so has the demand for these sorts of chips. In the case of bitcoin, the currency is created by solving mathematical problems, with these calculations also maintaining the integrity of bitcoin transactions. As more bitcoins are mined, these math problems become increasingly difficult. This has led to miners moving on from using normal integrated graphics cards, to GPUs designed for gaming, and now to specially built ASICs.

It’s not clear exactly what sort of products Samsung will be making, but according to reports from Korean media, it’ll be working with Taiwanese firm TSMC. The company currently supplies chips for a number of firms set up solely to mine cryptocurrencies, including the China-based Bitmain. Meeting the demand for these chips has added around $350 million to $400 million to its quarterly revenue, says TSMC. That’s nothing to be sniffed at, but it’s a small sum compared to the $69 billion revenue generated annually by Samsung’s chip business. Mining cryptocurrencies is buzzy, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be extremely profitable for those selling the silicon shovels.

Samsung made a special chip for mining cryptocurrency

Maybe don't expect GPU prices to drop anytime soon, though.
 

Samsung has a chip designed specifically for mining cryptocurrency.

Rather than repurpose a GPU to do the dirty work, Samsung made an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which is a specialized processor that is more efficient at mining than, say, an NVIDIA 1080 card. The company has entered into a distribution agreement with an as-of-now anonymous Chinese partner for distribution. As TechCrunch notes, this is significant for at least one reason: This gives the Korean company a way into the Chinese ASIC market, where local firms dominate. It's too early to tell what sort of impact (if any) this could have on Samsung's bottom line, or how it could affect cryptocurrency and China's local players.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept
Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

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

UK: Cryptocurrency Trader Robbed ‘At Gunpoint’, Amount Stolen Unknown

UK:
Cryptocurrency Trader Robbed ‘At Gunpoint’, Amount Stolen Unknown

Four masked robbers have broken into the house

of a cryptocurrency trader in Moulsford, Oxfordshire and forced him to transfer all of his bitcoins to them “at gunpoint”, The Telegraph reports Sunday, Jan. 28. According to The Telegraph, this is the first case of cryptocurrency robbery in the UK. The criminals entered the house of a crypto trader and forced him to transfer his entire Bitcoin stash. The exact amount of bitcoins stolen has not yet been specified. Fortunately, the incident did not cause any serious injuries to anyone. The police immediately launched an investigation into the case, however, no arrests were made as of press time.

The police have also asked for help from local citizens:

"Officers are particularly interested in speaking to anyone travelling through [Moulsford] on the A329 Reading Road between 7.30am and 10.30am on Monday who has Dashcam footage or anyone with mobile phone footage.”

Due to their relatively anonymous nature, cryptocurrencies are becoming an increasingly popular target for robberies. Back in December 2017, Cointelegraph covered another case: the managing director of the cryptocurrency exchange EXMO Pavel Lerner was kidnapped in Kiev by an group of unidentified people. Fortunately, Lerner got out safely just two days later, albeit having to pay a ransom of $1 mln in bitcoins. Another robbery has taken place in neighboring Russia in mid-January, in which a locally famous cryptocurrency blogger was deprived of $425,000 worth of bitcoins. The latest news shows that cases of Bitcoin robbery aren’t limited to Russia and surrounding countries, as even the citizens of UK can be targeted by the criminals.

Chuck Reynolds


Marketing Dept
Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Marketing.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

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

How blockchain could kill both cable and Netflix

How blockchain could kill
both cable and Netflix

Blockchain technology, powered by nodes of peer-to-peer computers

around the world, is on the rise. So can we expect decentralized entertainment applications built on blockchain to replace streaming services like Netflix or Amazon and be the final death knell for Cable? Video production studios have already seen a lot of disruption recently. Websites like Youtube and Twitch have created a mass market for user-generated content, stripping the cable networks and studios from their positions as the sole creators of mass-market video content. Yet, despite the rise of these mega-websites, most high quality scripted entertainment content today, still comes via a largely centralized model. Studios and networks (now expanded to include streamers Netflix and Amazon) fund the development of content, and the content follows an orderly approach to distribution – from the studio to the end user along one of the pre-defined channels: cable or broadcast or mobile device or website.

Blockchain has the power to fundamentally disrupt the entertainment industry because it brings out a completely new, decentralized model for content distribution. In a blockchain, computers all over the world act together in a peer-to-peer network to work on some task — there is no central server or authority. Today Netflix and Cable still rely on the idea of “centralized” aggregation and distribution. Content creators must get past some number of “gatekeepers” and strike business deals with the network, which then puts the content on a server and distributes it over the air, via coaxial, or more recently, over the internet directly using CDNs (Content Delivery Networks like Akamai or Amazon CloudFront). Decisions about what content is offered, when it’s offered, the price, and the distribution route are still very proprietary and hierarchical.

In a decentralized world, no single website or authority would have a say over what content is to be distributed and how it will reach the “last mile.” No website would be able to block specific content. With decentralized apps (Dapps) for entertainment, whether it’s for live streaming or on-demand video, thousands of computers around the world would act as broadcasters in a mesh network that is not hierarchical. These “super nodes” would solve the last mile problem by broadcasting the signal to computers that are geographically nearby. This will be particularly effective in countries that don’t have lots of presence from existing CDNs.

A number of new crypto projects have cropped up that use either existing blockchains or completely new blockchains as infrastructure for decentralized video streaming. Some of these are optimized for ingesting and compressing content to make it available, such as LivePeer, built on the Steem blockchain, and Viuly, built on Ethereum. Some are application level tokens for streamers and influencers, such as Stream Token and YouNow/PROPS, both on Ethereum. Spectiv VR is focused on the advertising model and making sure content creators get a larger part of it, particularly for VR content. And LBRY and my company, Theta Labs, are building new blockchains/protocols to support third-party DApps for entertainment, esports, and more. Not only could these blockchain projects completely disrupt the distribution world because they no longer require centralized architectures, they can also disrupt the Netflixes of the world and make the idea of channels on cable completely obsolete. What is a channel but an aggregation of curated content over a well-defined distribution network?

Here are a few ways that a fully decentralized blockchain based entertainment network might disrupt the industry:

  • Free Up Content Creators. Content creators could create shows and make them available over a decentralized platform instantly – no need to go pitch a studio or try to get Netflix to put you on their system. No more gatekeepers that have to approve your content.
  • New Channels. New “channels” could emerge in a completely decentralized way. You could envision channels for esports, live events, fantasy, sci fi, news, etc. These channels could be set up by anyone and joined by content creators.
  • Advertising and Free Content. Free content could even disrupt the traditional TV advertising model (which sites like YouTube are also following) by using tokens on these networks. The new blockchain video projects usually provide coins or tokens that advertisers can use to buy exposure on these decentralized channels. They can specify that those coins go directly to the content creator without having to a middleman take a big chunk of the revenue — a large departure from existing practices where the middleman gets the biggest chunk.
  • Paid Content. As for paid entertainment or the subscription model, viewers could use the new tokens issued by decentralized content networks to subscribe to particular channels or to pay a particular content creator. This could replace cable on-demand and give viewers unlimited choice of what can be seen “on-demand.” HBO and other subscription networks recently released their own apps so you don’t need a cable subscription to watch them. The next HBO may be a completely decentralized network that is not tied to cable at all!

Conclusion: Watch out.

Technology changes have always impacted the entertainment industry. While the internet has created new ways to consume content, the creation and distribution of high quality shows has, for the most part, still been dominated by a small number of players, studios, TV networks, cable providers, and aggregators like Netflix. This hasn’t led to the democratization of content that was the promise of the internet.

Blockchain technology has the ability to fundamentally disrupt the entertainment industry by breaking that pseudo monopoly, replacing the centralized gate-keepers with a peer-to-peer network. Many of these projects will be going live towards the end of this year, and we can expect to see rapid growth of the new players in 2019 and 2020. Just as it took Netflix a number of years to displace Blockbuster and video rental stores as the dominant way to consume on-demand entertainment, it may take a number of years before the new decentralized approach becomes the dominant trend. Look to the 2020s to be the decade of blockchain in entertainment.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept
Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

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

Bank-based blockchain projects are going to transform the financial services industry

Bank-based blockchain projects
are going to transform the financial services industry

Cryptocurrencies are constantly evolving,

with popular currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum maintaining their popularity despite recent market corrections. At the core of both technologies is the cryptographically secure digital ledger known as the blockchain. It’s a digital ledger where cryptocurrency transactions are recorded chronologically and publicly. Indeed, as the popularity of cryptocurrencies has grown, so has the banking industry’s interest in blockchain for fintech, with an increased and focused push on bank-backed blockchain projects. Some of the largest projects underway include the IBM-backed Hyperledger Fabric project, the Utility Settlement Coin, and R3’s blockchain consortium, signifying a growing acceptance in institutional policy to support blockchain growth

How does it work?

Currently, banks transact with each other by creating agreements, as one would when purchasing an item from a store. A common example would be a bank agreeing to purchase a specific amount of stock for a specific cash price from another. This process, often cumbersome and slow, takes up to several days and incurs the risk that one party may default or renege on the agreement. This period of time, known as settlement, is such an issue that an Oliver Wyman report identified it as costing the financial industry anywhere from $65-$80 billion a year.

Blockchain projects have the potential to reduce, and possibly eliminate, settlement times due to their digital nature, ensuring the timely and secure processing of these operations. Other uses for bank-backed blockchain projects would include secured global currency exchange rate speeds and increased transaction security, among other benefits, eventually allowing for an overhaul of the banking industry, replacing traditional back-office clearinghouses and other outdated mediums that exist between asset sellers and buyers.

IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric

The IBM-backed Hyperledger Fabric project is a trade finance platform aimed at international payments utilizing blockchain, with seven of its largest supporters including Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale and Unicredit. IBM’s blockchain platform will run through the IBM Cloud, allowing for interconnectivity between all parties in a particular secure transaction. This project is designed to be highly scalable, allowing for multiple entrants to easily integrate into the entire financial supply chain process through the secure blockchain, allowing for an unprecedented amount of transaction transparency. In mid-October, IBM revealed a partnership with blockchain startup Stellar, spreading the influence of the Hyperledger Fabric project to global levels unseen before.

The Utility Settlement Coin

Six of the world’s largest banks, Barclays, CIBC, Credit Suisse, HSBC, MUFG, and State Street, have announced backing of the UBS and Clearmatics-spearheaded Utility Settlement Coin, joining other industry heavyweights who have already pledged their support for the project, including BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, and Santander. The UTC specifically tackles the use of blockchain technologies by traditional banks, utilizing it as a tool for more efficient transactions. Additionally, the UTC addresses the issue of currency backing, with the UTC being backed by cash at a central bank, preventing default and credit risk. These safeguards play a huge role in why the UTC has so much pledged interest, allowing banks to take part in the relatively young digital currency ecosystem. The UTC is definitely a sign of fintech adoption in the banking industry, ensuring the eventual wide-scale use of blockchain technologies on a standardized level across the globe.

R3

Blockchain consortium R3 is another player in the bank-based blockchain space, raising $107 million in May, with four of its backers being Temasek, SBI Group, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Intel, with further support pledged from industry heavyweights such as Wells Fargo and ING. One of R3’s primary projects has been the development of their Corda platform, with future plans for an infrastructure network specifically geared toward financial institutions to build their own ledger-based applications and services, implying that these banks currently have and will grow their own teams of blockchain developers. R3 is also focused on governmental acceptance of blockchain, with buy-in from these institutions signifying a drastic shift in terms of governmental compliance and usage of such fintech.

By presenting credible potential resolutions of current-day issues, these projects represent large-scale efforts by the banking industry to fully embrace and integrate blockchain into their current infrastructures. Industry consumers and participants alike should be excited to see how the industry develops in the next coming months.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept
Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

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

Masked thugs stick up investor at GUN POINT in FIRST UK cryptocurrency robbery

Masked thugs stick up investor at GUN POINT in FIRST UK cryptocurrency robbery

Masked thugs stick up investor at GUN POINT in FIRST UK cryptocurrency robbery
 

BITCOIN'S price is down again this morning after a report this weekend of a gunpoint robbery where a city financier was targeted at his home and forced to transfer money to armed robbers.

Bitcoin's price is down $480 to $11,217 at the time of press as the crypto community responds to the deluge of regulatory threats coming from Davos last week, and a gunpoint robbery in a picturesque Oxfordshire village on Monday, revealed in the Sunday papers.

Last Monday, in the quaint village of Moulsford in South Oxfordshire, four armed robbers forced their way into the home of a City of London finance chief and forced him to transfer an unknown quantity of bitcoin, worth around $10,000 at the time.

Wearing balaclavas, the Mail on Sunday reported that the men kicked down the front door and forced their way into the home of Danny Aston, 30.

The armed men reportedly tied up a woman and kept a baby outside in a pram while forcing Mr Aston to transfer the bitcoin.

A woman said: "I saw four young men in black tracksuits with the hoods pulled up, crossing the road to the property where it took place."

She added: "They were aged 18 to 25, dark-skinned and super-fit. They jumped over the fence on the other side of the road. I didn’t see any gun, but that’s what people locally are saying – and that the men wore balaclavas which I didn’t see either, just the hoodies pulled up."

Chief Executive of Explain The Market, Mark Shone, said: “These are criminals who have likely caught on to the current popularity of Bitcoin.

“But depending on how much they have, these coins are like being in possession of a rare painting. Trying to exchange large amounts for normal money without alerting suspicion will be very difficult.”

A police spokesman said: “Officers were called at about 9.40am to a report that offenders had entered a residential property off Reading Road and threatened the occupants.

“No one was seriously injured during the incident.

“Officers are particularly interested in speaking to anyone travelling through the village on the A329 Reading Road between 7.30am and 10.30am on Monday who has dashcam footage, or anyone with mobile-phone footage.

“The investigation is in its early stages, however initial inquiries suggest this may be a targeted incident.

“No arrests have been made at this stage and anyone with any information relating to the incident is asked to call Thames Valley Police on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Bitcoin transactions provide anonymity to users and so has been used for criminal activity such as buying illicit items on the dark web.

Bitcoin also provides anonymity for scammers as the virtual currency does not pass through any banking institution and consumers cannot stop payment like they can with a credit card.

Cyberfraud, drug dealing, prostitution, gun-running and other major crime profits are being ploughed into the internet currencies.

Drug pedlars are using high street bitcoin ATM machines, of which there are 77 in the UK, to deposit cash from deals.

Gangsters are not only hiding money from the police, they are also making fortunes from the rise in the value of virtual currencies, according to the Met Police.

Head of Scotland Yard’s Serious and Organised Crime Command Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Gallagher said gangs have turned to cryptocurrencies.

He said: “At the moment, it feels like there is significant growth.”

Online criminals prefer the added privacy of some of bitcoin’s competitors as forensic firm Chainalysis said the amount of bitcoin is being used on the Dark Web has fallen from 30 per cent to one per cent.

Instead cybercriminals are turning to other digital currencies.

Philip Gradwell, Chief Economist at Chainalysis said: “In the last few months, there has been a rapid increase in the use of Monero, likely for illicit means.

“Whether Monero grows further, to displace bitcoin as the crypto-crime currency, depends on its adoption by new darknet markets, which are emerging following recent shutdowns, and improvements in the user experience of buying and transacting in Monero.”

It comes as the FBI issued a stark warning about an online scam in which people are threatened with death unless they hand over all of their bitcoin.

Investigators said the emails are carefully designed so that even educated professionals can be lured in.

FBI agent Laura Eimiller said it is a new spin on extortion.

Agent Eimiller said: “The chances are if you are online, you will be victimised not once, not twice, but multiple times.”

 

By DAVID DAWKINS and MATT DRAKE UPDATED: 08:00, Mon, Jan 29, 2018

 

Posted bu David Ogden Entrepeneur
David Ogden Cryptocurrency Entrepreneur

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

Twitter Reacts to Crypto Fear-Mongering at Davos WEF

Twitter Reacts to Crypto
Fear-Mongering at Davos WEF

While cryptocurrencies have been a talking point

at previous World Economic Forum conferences, they have come to the fore in Davos this year. Following a breakout year which saw Bitcoin rise to an almighty high of $20,000, alongside the massive growth of other altcoins, it’s hardly surprising that one of the major talking points at WEF would be the future of cryptocurrency. With financial industry leaders coming together at the most important annual event on the economic calendar, media outlets took their chance to ask the top minds for their two cents worth on the current and future prospects of virtual currencies. Cointelegraph is currently attending the summit in Davos and has reported continual resistant perceptions towards cryptocurrencies.

These views stem from a lack of a regulatory framework for virtual currencies which has made some of the world’s prominent banking and financial institutions hesitant about investing and supporting cryptocurrencies. UBS Chairman Axel Weber said as much in an interview with Bloomberg, saying his firm would not recommend cryptocurrency adoption or investment to its clients until there is clarity on future regulatory action. As per usual, the vibrant and feisty cryptocurrency community has been watching developments at Davos keenly, and there has been plenty of backlash in response to any FUD or untoward comments about cryptocurrencies.

Twitter hits out at Davos FUD

Full Tilt Capital Partner Anthony Pompliano was scathing in his analysis of the prevailing sentiment floating around in Davos towards Bitcoin. The former Facebook product and growth manager suggested that statements made by economist Joseph Stiglitz that Bitcoin was still used for shady purposes actually has the opposite effect of driving people away from

cryptocurrency adoption.

Joseph Stiglitz, well-known economist, is bragging to the Davos crowd that Bitcoin is used for "secret use cases" & that fiat currency is superior. My theory is that this type of fear-mongering actually drives more adoption of Bitcoin & cryptocurrencies

Max Keiser, host of the Keiser Report on RT, also touched on the wave of negativity around Bitcoin in Davos, but said it was too late for big financial industry players to try to stop what he described

as a ‘revolution.’

Those at Davos threatened by Bitcoin maybe could have thwarted the revolution 5 yrs ago. But now it’s too late. Go home guys, your time is over.

Renowned American investor Bill Gross suggested that the rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency has signaled a move away from centralized institutions governing and controlling money. People seem to be putting their trust in technology over

government-run establishments.

Bitcoin’s rise may reflect, for better or worse, a monumental transfer of social trust: away from human institutions backed by government and to systems reliant on well-tested computer code..

Twitter users CryptoWilson highlighted more negative sentiment towards cryptocurrency, sharing a video of French President Emmanuel Macron speaking in favor of regulatory crackdowns by the

International Monetary Fund on cryptocurrency.

Macron 'triggered by Bitcoin' at Davos: "I am in favor of the IMF having full competence over the whole areas that escape regulation: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, shadow banking […] which can trigger crises."

Can’t be ignored

Setting perceptions of sentiment aside, the truth of the matter is that the financial world can no longer turn a blind eye on cryptocurrencies. They are very much a central point of this year’s WEF and understandably so. As the 68th US Secretary of State John Kerry told Cointelegraph earlier this week at the summit, the sheer value of capital that has been poured into the overall cryptocurrency market has made it impossible to ignore. Coinmarketcap currently has the current total market capitalization at $559 bln- a steady number after a month of wild market volatility.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept
Contributor

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