Segregated Witness Has Officially Activated on the Bitcoin Network
Segregated Witness (Segwit) was an idea that was introduced by the software developer, Peter Wuille, in 2015 at the Hong Kong Scaling Workshop. The protocol is meant to relocate witness inputs from the transaction hash, which will theoretically help malleability and create more block size space. The concept was at first well received by the bitcoin ‘community, ’ but some had hoped a block size increase would also follow. The community and developers couldn’t come to terms with increasing the block size, and lots of infighting began. Further, this meant the Segwit protocol sat on the shelf for quite some time as some miners would not approve of the upgrade unless a block size increase was included.
After more than a year and a half of arguing and failed roundtable proposals, another meeting called the New York Agreement (NYA) took place this year and pushed things further. The ‘agreement’ said Segwit would be activated by the mining majority and followed by a 2MB hard fork. This brought about the birth of the Segwit2x working group led by early bitcoin adopter and developer Jeff Garzik. The Segwit2x development team and the majority of miners had managed to lock-in Segwit on August 8 on block 479707. Following this, on August 23 the mining pool BTC.com processed block 481822 and Segregated Witness was officially activated on the network. Two days ago Segwit2x developer Jeff Garzik was thrilled about Segwit activating on the network, stating;
"Would not have happened without Segwit2x moving past the gridlock — Getting Things Done."
Full story at http://bit.ly/2wvCd39
Source: Bitcoin News
$150 Billion: Total Cryptocurrency Market Cap Hits New All-Time High
The combined value of all publicly traded cryptocurrencies has set a new record, surpassing $150 billion for the first time today.
At press time, the value of ether, bitcoin and more than 800 other blockchain-based assets had reached a high of around $154 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Overall, the figure indicates that the cryptocurrency market continues to grow at a steady pace. At $154 billion, the market is up 13 percent over the last seven days, 67 percent over the last month and an astounding 1,240 percent year-over-year.
What might be most notable, however, is that the new high came during a trading session in which there were no individual all-time highs for major cryptocurrencies.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2wvCfYP
Source: CoinDesk
Bitcoin Nears All-Time High As $5,000 Target ‘Back in Play’
Bitcoin (BTC) has once again exited above $4,000 in a move Tone Vays says puts $5,000 levels “back in play.”
Having dipped as low as $3,674, Bitcoin has rebounded in recent days to circle all-time highs from earlier this month.
Cross-exchange data from Coinmarketcap shows BTC trading around $4,360, having peaked at $4,390 earlier Friday.
Compiling the latest of his price chart analyses, Vays concluded current data “screams buy,” adding that $5,000 for BTC was once again a potential scenario.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xiWrek
Source: CoinTelegraph
Estonia wants to launch its own government-backed cryptocurrency called 'estcoin'
Estonia wants to issue its own virtual currency with the help of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin.
The cryptocurrency, called "estcoin," could be launched via the digital coin community's version of crowdfunding – an initial coin offering (ICO).
ICOs enable start-ups to raise funds by selling off cryptocoins, such as bitcoin and ether, in return for cash. They are similar to initial public offerings (IPOs), but differ in that they deal with supporters of a project, making the investment more personal.
The small eastern European country is no stranger to digital innovation. It was the first country to offer citizens of the world "e-residency," a digital ID for non-Estonians that offers access to services like banking, payment processing and taxation.
Full story at http://cnb.cx/2wvvXIE
Source: CNBC
Nvidia's boost from cryptocurrencies is slowing down
Nvidia is among the companies seeing a boost from the cryptocurrency craze, but, that boost has been slowing down recently.
In its second quarter earnings report, Nvidia said it saw a $150 million boost from miners buying its chips to help mine cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum. During that quarter, the speed of the network increased by about 55 terahashes per second, according to Mitch Steves, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
Steves says the network is not growing as fast this quarter, which would mean fewer miners are buying cards and the boost from cryptocurrency mining will not be as large for the company in the current quarter.
So far, in the third quarter, the network has only increased about 15 terahashes per second, which implies a boost of about $40 to $45 million for Nvidia. The network speed increases as more cards from Nvidia and other companies are added to the network. Miners have been scrambling to grab as many cards as possible in order to speed up the network, and win a bigger share of the reward given for payment verifications. The rapid demand means Nvidia's cards have been sold out in a lot of retailers recently.
Full story at http://read.bi/2wvlTzB
Source: Business Insider Nordic
Bitcoin Price Might Exceed $1 Million, More Millionaires in World Than Bitcoins
While sources differ on the number of millionaires in the world, Credit Suisse estimates the number at about 35 million. This figure accounts for all “financial and nonfinancial wealth,” including assets, collectibles, and homes.
This is a remarkable number when compared to the total number of Bitcoins that will ever exist. While there are roughly 35 million millionaires in the world, there will only ever be a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins. That’s right--there will never be enough Bitcoins in existence for every millionaire in the world to own even a single one.
While you let that thought sink in, let’s consider what gives Bitcoin its value. Granted that there are numerous features we could cite, including a global network, an immutable Blockchain and a means to transfer wealth from one person to another without ever involving a middleman.
These are all fine features, to be sure. But what really makes Bitcoin valuable are two properties: scarcity and authenticity.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2xiBMH3
Source: CoinTelegraph
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