Cryptocurrency News for 8 Sep 2017

 

Bitcoin Meets Mainstream Property In $330 Mln BitPay Dubai Deal

 

A British baroness and asset management conglomerate Knox Group have partnered with BitPayto offer luxury Dubai property for Bitcoin.

The three-way venture will see 1,133 apartments on offer by 2019 worth around $330 mln, with the first 150 for sale at a 20 percent discount.

This represents the first time anyone can purchase property directly from a developer with Bitcoin, an accompanying press release states, and aspects of the sale are deliberately “mirroring” ICO executions.

“I wanted to offer the property, tech and Blockchain community an [...] opportunity by merging the property and tech sectors together in a true first for the industry,” Knox Group chairman Douglas Barrowman commented.

“Bitcoin’s meteoric rise in a few short years means it’s now the world’s leading cryptocurrency. This is exactly why we are the first property development ever to be priced in Bitcoin.” 

Full story at http://bit.ly/2f3rzH8

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

India Keeps Quiet on ICOs So Far, Focuses on Cryptocurrency Misuse

 

India has not yet responded to China’s sudden ICO ban, with lawmakers continuing to focus on “misuse” of cryptocurrencies in general.

As part of an ongoing examination of cryptocurrency regulation, the country’s central bank told a government panel Monday that such currencies are “susceptible” to criminal activity.

“It is true that while virtual currencies may have legitimate uses, some of their characteristics like anonymity make them susceptible to misuse or abuse," the Reserve Bank of India reports, quoted by multiple local news outlets.

China’s heavy-handed approach to ICO control has yet to find company among major economies, with even Hong Kong choosing to follow a similar approach to that of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2f3FWv6

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

BRICS to Discuss Cryptocurrency as Alternative to National Currencies

 

BRICS member states could create a cryptocurrency to function “as an alternative to other payment instruments.”

According to Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, investments in the bloc, which consists of Russia, India, South Africa, China and Brazil, is set to increase up to fourfold within the next three years.

“One other topic we’re discussing on the financial committee is cryptocurrency,” he told journalists quoted by Russian news outlet RIA Novosti.

“It may even be possible to discuss creating a BRICS cryptocurrency as an alternative to other financial instruments, and that’s what’s being debated as part of the BRICS Business Council.”

Full story at http://bit.ly/2vFu1O9

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

What is Bitcoin, “Bubble Territory” or “New Gold”?

 

Jean Pierre Verster, who is well known for predicting the African Bank’s collapse, and is a portfolio manager at Fairtree Capital in South Africa, has come out in support of many who believe the latest rise in Bitcoin price is an indication of a bubble.

The portfolio manager has said that Bitcoin is in bubble territory and that he will not be investing in it.

In differentiating the value of Bitcoin compared to its founding technology, Vester has said the digital currency is a ‘false truth while the Blockchain technology on which it is built is a ‘true truth.’

Verster is one in a long line of investors that have said they will not be investing in digital currencies, for a raft of different reasons. But it is clear that the portfolio manager still sees the value in Blockchain technology, but adds that Bitcoin is not a wise investment right now.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2f2BRHl

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

Google Says Russia’s Interest in Bitcoin up 220%, Mining 560%, Ethereum 760%

 

Google has performed an analysis on search queries of Russian residents for the first half of 2017 for information related to cryptocurrency, according to local publications. The company revealed its findings on Thursday, stating that:

"Despite the fact that the first cryptocurrency was launched in 2009, the greatest surge of interest of Russian users to this industry came in the first half of 2017. Just imagine, from January to June the number of requests for the industry as a whole increased by more than 250%."

Google revealed that the highest growth recorded in searches was Ethereum-related, which increased more than 760%. Bitcoin-related searches were up more than 220%.

In addition, users also searched for cryptocurrency mining information more frequently, resulting in the total number of mining-related searches increasing by 560%. “Cryptocurrencies and mining also fell into the top 100 queries with the words ‘how’ and ‘what is’,” Rusbase detailed, adding that the number of requests for specific cryptocurrencies also increased by the same percentage.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2vF6NIc

Source: Bitcoin News

 

Bitcoin Price Corrects on China News, But Uptrend Still Intact

 

The cryptocurrency market is a sea of red today, a development skeptics will no doubt quickly use to make the case against bitcoin as a 21st century gold.

In times of economic or political stress, investors prefer to hold safe haven assets, and while many experts believe bitcoin is the new safe haven, today's dismal performance contradicts such claims. The cryptocurrency dropped 5 percent over the last 24 hours, even while North Korea's nuclear test and heightened geopolitical tensions pushed up traditional safe haven assets like gold, Japanese Yen.

Overall, bitcoin (BTC) clocked an intraday low of $4,253 earlier today, and was trading around $4,335 levels on news China has banned initial coin offerings, one of the main trends powering this year's boom.

Still, the price decline comes amid an uptick in trading. CoinMarketCap data shows volumes on Bitfinex, which offers trading in the BTC/USD pair, are up 7.11 percent.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2vFeuhm

Source: CoinDesk

 

 

 

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Cryptocurrency News for 7 Sep 2017

 

Can Cryptocurrency Debit Cards Increase Day-to-Day Usage of Digital Coins?

 

With less than a quarter of Americans using cash in their day-to-day purchases, it’s more evidence that society is becoming an increasingly cashless environment.

On the other hand, cryptocurrencies are growing in popularity. However, most users only hold crypto to save and invest.

So with digital coins like Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin becoming increasingly popular, why aren’t we seeing more widespread adoption?

Full story at http://bit.ly/2gMunMB

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

Bitcoin Comes Clawing Back After Selloff on China Ruling: Chart

 

Bitcoin traders seem to be taking Monday’s 11 percent slump -- triggered by China ruling initial coin offerings illegal -- as a buying opportunity. The cryptocurrency is rising a second day, gaining back about 4.5 percent over that period as of 3:27 p.m. Hong Kong time, and Monday’s losses have barely made a dent in bitcoin’s 2017 surge, with the virtual currency still up 379 percent since January. China’s central bank ordered all fundraising related to ICOs halted immediately, the strongest regulatory pushback thus far to the swelling market for digital token sales.

Full story at https://bloom.bg/2f6E9W6

Source: Bloomberg

 

How Bitcoin Rescued Victims of Hurricane Harvey

 

The International Cherch of Blerk, a registered crypto-based 501(c)(3), and recognized religion, is revolutionizing peer to peer charitable works. They are using crypto currency to target aid where it’s needed most.

After Huricane Harvey struck South Texas, Cherch of Blerk Executive Director Jason Seibert, along with Blerk Medical Director, Dr. Rhiana Ireland, loaded up a truck with a chainsaw, generator, fuel, water and coffee and drove as far into the storm as they could. They finally arrived in Bay City, Texas in the heart of hard-hit Matagorda County after dodging tornadoes and plowing through pouring rain.

In the following days, Seibert and Ireland coordinated the creation of several shelters in the Galveston County area.

Dr. Ireland was recognized nationally for her life saving efforts in JEMS (the Journal of Emergency Medicine). Seibert implemented infectious disease control protocols in food service and meal plans, ran a makeshift kitchen, and produced nearly 12,000 meals for four shelters. Blerk ran all the efforts, advising local officials on how to proceed and how to create new shelters. Blerk even ran medical supplies between shelters as the Red Cross was nowhere to be found.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2f5nTED

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

Bitcoin Is Getting Easier To Understand, And It's Pushing Up Prices

 

“Crypto needn’t be cryptic.”

That was the tagline on an advertisement for the Crypto CopyFund, an investment vehicle offering a bunch of “the world’s biggest digital currencies” in a single “innovative portfolio.”

Sold by social trading network etoro, the portfolio brings together bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Dash, Ripple and Litecoin into one package. Investors would be able to make (or lose) money with the rise and fall in the value of digital currencies in the same way that they invest in a stock portfolio. And like a stock portfolio sold by an investment house, they wouldn’t need to go anywhere near the exchanges. They wouldn’t need to understand blockchains and mining, know what forks are or why they matter, and they certainly wouldn’t need to tell the difference between each of those digital currencies, how they’re used, what they’re for, their trading volumes or their market capitalizations. They’d just need to know where to send their money and remember something about bitcoin reaching new heights every month.

What was really telling, though, was where the advertisement appeared. It was on the London Underground. The portfolio wasn’t being pitched to the kinds of city brokers who know all about risks and derivatives, and trade gazillions on behalf of trust funds. It wasn’t for Silicon Valley venture capitalists who know a good tech thing when they see one. It was aimed at the passengers who take the 5 million journeys to work and stores and sites that London’s subway delivers every day. It was an attempt to bring bitcoin to the masses.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2f762gO

Source: Forbes

 

London developer to allow rental tenants to pay deposits in bitcoin

 

A London property developer is to allow its tenants to pay their deposits in bitcoin– the first time the virtual currency has been used in the UK residential homes market.

Co-living pioneer The Collective has announced that prospective tenants can pay deposits from Monday in bitcoin. By the end of this year it will also accept rent payments in the cryptocurrency. This is the first time in the UK a major property developer has enabled bitcoin payments. The Collective said it was in response to demand predominantly from international customers.

The price of bitcoin hit a record high of $4,700 (£3,627) last week, having risen by 350% since the beginning of the year. Bitcoin is the world’s first decentralised currency and is not controlled by any government or bank. While increased global recognition is leading to mainstream adoption, critics warn that – as a vehicle popular with speculators looking to make a quick buck – it is volatile, risky and potentially dangerous.

However, from Monday The Collective’s online booking form for its Old Oak co-living scheme – the world’s largest co-living development,with 550 rooms, which launched last May and where rent starts from £178 a week for a 10 sq m space – will accept bitcoin deposits. The standard deposit is £500 – for all unit types and sizes – and The Collective has pledged “spot conversion”, which means it will bear any financial risk while holding the deposit, returning it at the original value when the tenancy finishes.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2f78P9L

Source: The Guardian

 

Bitcoin's Golden Future

 

Could bitcoin be the next gold?

The idea has a lot of intuitive appeal. Gold bugs and bitcoin fetishists tend to share a deep distrust of fiat currency and the nation state, an impregnable bullishness about their favored asset class, and an obsessive attention to details of market movements combined with a blithe disinterest in bigger-picture issues.

The idea has become particularly popular as the value invested in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has marched upward over the past year. Even after this week's selloff, prompted by China declaring initial coin offerings illegal, the value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation is around $155 billion, according to Coinmarketcap.com.

Full story at https://bloom.bg/2f6R7Do

Source: Bloomberg

 

 

 

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Cryptocurrency News for 6 Sep 2017

 

South Korea Moves to Impose Stricter Digital Currency Regulations

 

The South Korean digital currency task force held a joint meeting in September 2017 to discuss the introduction of stricter regulation and monitoring of virtual currencies, including Bitcoin. The task force is composed of the country’s central bank, financial regulators and cryptocurrency companies.

The meeting was attended by the Korea Fair Trade Commission and the National Tax Service, among others. Agenda items included the strengthening of user authentication procedures at exchanges and the ‘suspicious transaction reporting’ systems used at banks for deals related to virtual currencies.

In his statement, Financial Services Commission (FSC) and task force chairperson Kim Yong-beom said that cryptocurrencies are neither money, nor currency, nor financial products.

“At this point, digital currencies cannot be considered money and currency, nor financial products.”

Full story at http://bit.ly/2eYF0Io

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

IRS To Go After Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Profits, What to Expect

 

Recent developments lead many to Bitcoin mining and investing in Bitcoin as many tend to believe that it is a great start for investment. Regulators and tax specialists are now looking into cryptocurrencies and how they should be treated when it comes to income taxation.

Since there are currently no set guidelines and procedures as to how cryptocurrencies are being taxed, the recent split of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash has caused many investors to wonder whether profits from Bitcoin Cash will be considered “free cash” in the eyes of the taxman.

A recent report from WSJ explored the question and by the looks of it, it’s still a draw.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2wB7L5A

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

Privatix Makes It Possible to Share Unused Broadband and Get Paid in Cryptocurrency

 

Win-win strategy: if you don’t use your Internet connection at the moment – just sell it in a few clicks.

VPN services are widely used among Internet users from different countries, trying to either bypass restrictions or stay secured and anonymous. For such reasons, VPN is the best solution for those, who do not enjoy censorship, choosing cybersecurity and freedom instead.

And yet, current existing centralized services are still not perfect due to overpricing, selling user data and not being fully-anonymous like they claim to be.

Dima Rusakov, CEO of VPN provider Privatix and popular temporary email service Temp-Mail.org, confirms that these are the crucial issues for the VPN market. Building decentralized P2P VPN on Blockchain would change the industry of VPN, CDN and cybersecurity.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2gGVTLn

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

How Crypto-Tokens Work: A Close Look At Golem

 

Golem Worldwide Supercomputer network aims to become the Airbnb for computing, employing idle PCs all over the planet. Here's how cryptocurrency plays a role.

A computer-graphics artist who bought Golem Network Tokens to rent computing power on Golem tells her computer to render an animation. Golem determines the rendering can be completed by, say, five machines rendering for one hour each. (More likely, 100 for a minute each.) Each "idle" computer receives one GNT. This happens automatically.

The Golem Network, in its role as an Airbnb for computing-processing power, enables machines around the world to transact with each other. Excess computing power will soon be used by data scientists, companies training machine-learning algorithms and more. Golem had an ICO in November, and its tokens have already appreciated 4,425%.

GNTs aren't actually traded on the Golem Network itself. Ethereum makes it so easy to create tokens that the Golem Network (like many other networks) uses an Ethereum "smart contract" to trade GNT. The CGI artist's transactions are recorded onto the Ethereum blockchain, which updates the account balances of each computer that participated.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2gIXuAk

Source: Forbes

 

Sequoia, IDG to Invest in China Bitcoin Mining Giant

 

Sequoia Capital and IDG Capital are investing in Beijing-based Bitmain Technologies Ltd., the world’s largest bitcoin mining organization, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bitmain is raising $50 million from several venture firms to boost its profile among mainstream investors, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Sequoia and the other firms also plan to provide the company with more guidance on management, the people said.

Bitmain, which produces chips and machines for mining bitcoin and operates its own mining facilities, has benefited from the rise in the currency’s market value, now about $75 billion. The startup told Bloomberg TV in August that its own valuation is “in the billions” and it’s weighing a possible initial public offering. Bitmain has said that it’s planning to produce chips for artificial intelligence and invest in mining facilities in the U.S.

Bitmain, Sequoia and IDG didn’t respond to email queries about the investment. 

Full story at https://bloom.bg/2gIhiDU

Source: Bloomberg

 

Australian Move to Legalize Bitcoin Attracts Gold and Bullion Investor

 

Queensland-based gold and silver bullion dealer Paul Engeman has started trading Bitcoin, following the move by the federal government of Australia to authorize it as a legal currency.

The goods and services tax (GST) from the purchase of virtual currencies was eliminated in Australia on July 1, 2017.

According to Engeman, who serves as director of the Ainslie Bullion and Reserve Vault, he began buying and selling Bitcoin in August and his business is experiencing solid demand from both new and existing customers.

“We've sold gold and silver for 43 years now and those buyers are attuned to monetary assets and can see similar properties in Bitcoin. The fundamentals for what constitutes a monetary asset are the same – it must have intrinsic value and have a medium of exchange. Gold and silver have been the champions of the space for 5000 years, but Bitcoin has the same properties in that there's only 21 million of them and it's a slow process to digitally mine new ones."

Full story at http://bit.ly/2vFVmjB

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

 

 

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Cryptocurrency News for 5 Sep 2017

 

Bitcoin's Price Is Now Down 20% from Its $5,000 High

 

Bitcoin appears to be moving into a new period of price discovery.

Following a new ruling that finds China's regulators moving to outlaw initial coin offerings (sales of new cryptographic tokens often exchanged for bitcoin), the bitcoin price fell to its lowest total since August 22 today.

At press time, bitcoin had declined to just above $4,000 – halting at $4,037.50 across global exchanges – a 20% decline from its all-time high of $5,013 observed on September 1.

Of the exchanges tracked in the BPI, just one was trading below $4,000 at the time of the report, with China-based OKCoin displaying a $3,969 price. (Paxos's itBit exchange, Coinbase's GDAX exchange and Bitstamp were all trading above $4,000).

Full story at http://bit.ly/2gISBal

Source: CoinDesk

 

China ICO Ban: Impact on the Global ICO Market

 

People’s Bank of China, the central bank of the country, has officially declared initial coin offerings (ICOs) as an illegal method of raising money. In an official statement, the PBoC announced that organizations and individuals are no longer permitted to conduct ICO campaigns and token sales.

Blockchain projects and startups that have recently completed their ICO campaigns were requested by PBoC to refund bitcoin and Ethereum raised during their ICOs to protect investors. CnLedger, a local bitcoin and cryptocurrency news source, wrote:

“PBoC bans ICOs. From now on, no organizations and persons in China are allowed to raise funds via ICOs. Fund-raising platforms are not allowed to provide trading and exchange services. Raised funds should be ‘cleared up’ and refunded to protect investors.”

Full story at http://bit.ly/2gIhjHY

Source: CryptoCoinsNews

 

Bitcoin price drops $200 after new ruling from Chinese regulators

 

The price of bitcoin fell sharply after Chinese regulators announced a ban on organizations from raising funds using initial coin offerings (ICOs).

ICOs allow start-ups to raise investment by selling new cryptocurrencies, which are similar to bitcoin, in return for cash. However, the People's Bank of China says this practice, which has become popular around the world as well as in China, constitutes illegal fundraising.

Despite bitcoin's price falling, some expect this move to be shortlived.

"This type of news is 'universally' negative sentiment, within the crypto space, so we are not surprised to see a dip on all assets today," Fran Strajnar, co-founder and CEO of data and research company Brave New Coin, told CNBC via email.

"We do not see this to be a lasting issue."

Full story at http://cnb.cx/2gHK1J2

Source: CNBC

 

Looking at Legal Issues of ICO Terms and Conditions: Do’s and Don’ts

 

There are mixed views on if a company rolling out their offering should generate their own terms for the Initial Coin Offering phase alone.

To answer this question, one must keep in mind that an ICO phase is not only the most potentially lucrative, it is also the most dangerous. We have seen a couple of examples where ICO's have not been structured properly and the responsible party has received more than one Subpoena (or summons - depending on where you are from) from multiple jurisdictions. 

The ICO is a totally separate phase of Coin life cycle and you should treat it like that from every aspect including marketing, compliance, budget and strategy. This article aims to provide useful tips that might help develop ICO terms and conditions.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2gIhraq

Source: CoinTelegraph

 

China Outlaws ICOs: Financial Regulators Order Halt on Token Trading

 

China has officially outlawed ICOs.

In a joint statement issued by seven financial regulators today, the world's most populous nation outlined why it believes that nascent fundraising mechanism is illegal under domestic law. Authorities backing the statement include the People's Bank of China, the Central Network Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

A translation of the statement reads:

"ICO financing refers to the activity of an entity raising virtual currencies, such as bitcoin or ethereum, through illegally selling and distributing tokens. In essence, it is a kind of non-approved illegal open fund raising behavior, suspected of illegal sale tokens, illegal securities issuance and illegal fund-raising, financial fraud, pyramid schemes and other criminal activities."

Full story at http://bit.ly/2gIhfIe

Source: CoinDesk

 

Massacre Monday: Ethereum, Bitcoin Prices Lead Market Retreat after China Bans ICOs

 

The cryptocurrency markets plummeted on Monday following a report that the Chinese central bank had issued a blanket ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs). The bitcoin price fell 5%, while the ethereum price took an 11% dive. The altcoin markets fared equally as bad, with 91 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies declining for the day.

This widespread investor panic caused the total value of all cryptocurrencies to plummet. Yesterday, the total crypto market cap was $164 billion–a $16 billion decline from the all-time high it set on September 2. But the news that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) had decided to ban ICOs sent the crypto market cap careening below $150 billion.

According to the report, all token sales are forbidden within the country, and organizations which have already completed ICOs are instructed to return all investor funds. This is likely an impossible task, since organizations have doubtlessly already spent a portion of those funds.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2gHiFCW

Source: CryptoCoinsNews

 

 

 

Donation:
If you appreciate the things I share, consider making a contribution
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