Wednesday 31 January 2018

Search the Blockchain With Bitcoin.com’s New Block Explorer

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This week the team at Bitcoin.com, the internet’s premier bitcoin portal, launched its block explorer enabling cryptocurrency enthusiasts to search the bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core networks for activities like transactions, addresses, and information about particular blocks.

Also read: Bitcoin Cash Games Arrives — Play Your Favorites Faster With BCH

Bitcoin.com’s Web Portal Adds a Simple to Use Blockchain Explorer

Blockchains record all of the activity that’s taking place within cryptocurrency networks such as transaction times and confirmations, information about processed blocks, and the amount of funds contained in a specific address. A block explorer is a great tool to help people find information about these subjects and Bitcoin.com has launched an easy-to-use block explorer for all of our visitors. Bitcoin.com’s block explorer is basically like a search engine that can locate various activities that are recorded on the bitcoin cash and core public blockchains.

Search the Blockchain With Bitcoin.com's New Block Explorer Bitcoin.com’s block explorer has a BCH and BTC toggle switch, a search field, a cash address switch (BCH only) and the latest blocks and transactions highlighted in the blue boxes.

Various Features with More Support Rolling Out Soon

Looking at the bitcoin cash block explorer’s front page shows the latest blocks processed and the latest transactions. Moreover, there’s a search bar where users can fill in a BCH address, transaction and even block hashes. The interface also includes a QR scanner so QR codes can be read alongside the ability to change the national currency and language. Bitcoin.com’s BCH explorer also features a Cash address switch, adding more depth to the search parameters. While using the BCH block explorer users can also toggle to Bitcoin.com’s BTC block explorer to search for data on the core network.

Bitcoin.com’s CEO, Roger Ver, is thrilled to see the new block explorer in action and believes it’s a great addition to the website’s wide variety of cryptocurrency tools and educational resources.  

“The new Bitcoin.com Block Explorer is a robust tool to analyze transactions, blocks, and addresses on both the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Core (BTC) chains,” explains Ver.  

This product adds another awesome tool to the Bitcoin.com portfolio and the Bitcoin Cash community Future plans include rolling out support for the growing ecosystem of colored coins built on top of the Bitcoin Cash protocol.

Search the Blockchain With Bitcoin.com's New Block Explorer A famous address belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin.com: Providing the Resources & Tools for the Growing Cryptocurrency Environment  

The new block explorer gives bitcoiners a glimpse at where a transaction derives from and when the transaction gets confirmed. Additionally, users can dig further and find other details like inputs, outputs, byte size, scripts, and OPcodes.

Bitcoin.com continues to add many features to our web portal and we’re just getting started. We’ve recently launched our Bitcoin Cash Games portal and have many more additions coming to Bitcoin.com in the future. We’re proud to provide the resources and tools dedicated to these emerging technologies that continue to be at the forefront of innovation. So if you need information about your recent transaction or need information on recently mined blocks, check out our block explorer today.

Have you tried our blockchain explorer yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. We’d love to hear your feedback.  


Images via Shutterstock, and Bitcoin.com


Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

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The Missing Piece

Warning: This uses the word ecosystem. A lot. By all means read ahead, but you’ll probably end up wanting throw your shoe at the computer.

One of the many nuggets of wisdom that Blue Sky’s founder and Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur, Mark Sowerby passed on to me was that in order to build anything that you need to stand the test of time, you need to know when to grow and when to fortify. Put more simply, its knowing when to focus on optimising strengths and when to focus on plugging weaknesses. It’s actually really hard to do both well, at the same time.

I don’t think we need the CrossRoad’s report to tell us (although it does!) that Australia’s high growth, innovation driven SME economy, has gone from strength to strength over the last decade. Professionally, as someone who has been in this sector for 20 years, its actually pretty cool for me to see stats like Australia being ranked 7th in the world for entrepreneurship, and Sydney being ranked 10th in the world for funding (a previous market failure for Australia).

Personally, as a proud QuAdelaidean, it was absolutely fantastic to see how strong South Australia and Queensland performed in 2017, given these are often thought of as the poor cousin of Sydney and Melbourne, and as such, are ecosystems often neglected by capital providers and partners. South Australia has a dedicated venture fund, and the kernels of new industries with a space agency and in renewable energy. After many years of committed focus from State government, Queensland is now the startup capital of Australia. These two states, hit hard by the decline of resources and manufacturing truly need a robust knowledge economy arguably more so than our artisan-coffee-sipping-head-to-toe-black-wearing-cousins in Victoria, or our coogee-based-boutique-beer-sipping-spray-tanned-brethren in NSW.

The country has done, in my opinion, a good job of setting the foundations for a sustainable knowledge and innovation economy. But, now is the time to start fortifying those strides forward by focussing on our weaknesses or all that progress will be in vain. There is simply no point being average or mediocre in developing a knowledge economy. In order to be competitive, in an increasing era of globalisation, we must be excellent, to be competitive. Why? Because our small population means we don’t really have a sufficient population to support large industry for most sectors, and our isolation means we are not a conduit to anywhere and are simply out of sight out of mind for most export partners. Unless, of course we have a competitive advantage. We therefore, must be leaders, and to do this, we must be excellent, and we must address our weaknesses.

So what did the report reveal to be our weaknesses. Well, talent is clearly one. We have great talent here, however, we just have such a small population that the funnel is small. To really make transformational change (as opposed to small iterative steps forward), we need to address the talent pool issue first.

On talent attraction and generation, education programs and curricula focused on platform technology skills, problem solving and aligned new industry skills is one of the ways to do this. Skilled migration visas is another and I am wholeheartedly supportive of both of these strategies. But they won’t be enough, not in the short to medium term. That will take decades to bear fruit.

Retention is the other side of the talent coin. By retention I mean retaining great talent in Australia OR attracting great talent to/back to Australia after it has conquered the world bringing back all its skills and networks with it. But to do this, we need to ensure there is an intellectual, commercial and entrepreneurial opportunity drawcard other than the better quality of life drawcard, to ensure we attract the best talent. And this, leads me to what I think is actually THE biggest weakness in the Australian knowledge/innovation economy but not specifically addressed in the report.

Lack of industry.

Recently, I went to MIT to learn about how to build the optimal innovation ecosystem and the critical components that are required. The main learning, and of course it is actually obvious, was that a successful, world class ecosystem requires the dedicated participation of five key stakeholders, Universities, Entrepreneurs, Government, Capital and Industry. If one is missing, it’s like trying to build a house without a load bearing wall.

Our lack of Industry — either a critical mass of presence, or its material participation, is Australia’s biggest vulnerability in creating a sustainable innovation economy. Our incumbent industries have a long way to go to be considered a participant in this ecosystem (although some are trying), and we are losing our new industries leaders to other markets which means that we don’t see these companies staying in Australia long enough to achieve sufficient critical mass. The result is an anemic industry presence outside of old industry such as financial services, agriculture and resources which are not particularly innovation centric, and this severely throttles the exchange of innovation talent – the net result being limited knowledge and skills transfer, upskilling, retention and recycling of talent.

To access industry experience, talent goes out, and it rarely comes back — if you are a talented Australian, to get true industry experience, more often than not you need to go elsewhere, and that’s fine, but we have little carrot to draw you back unless you want to work in government, university of finance. And we are way behind the eight ball with respect to retention or attraction of world’s best talent to Australia because we don’t have the industry platform to provide world class intellectual and innovation challenges. And it’s not just talent, there is no industrial hive of sufficient critical mass to be the receptacle or conduit for the next innovation based SME, so they stay small or go offshore.

We can absolutely continue to be an ideas and talent generator for other countries, but that’s not where the jobs or the earnings are. That’s not how we are going to counter the decline of the mining and resources cash cow that has been the platform of our prospserity over the last decades. So, my hope, and one of the things I will hope to focus on in my role on the StartupAus board, is that over the coming years we swill see policy and structural frameworks and initiatives that focus on retention of new industry leaders in Australia for longer as they grow, and encouraging greater participation of existing industry leaders in the innovation ecosystem.

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Aeternity (AE) Is Defying the Crypto Market Downtrend

A lesser known cryptocurrency by the name of Aeternity (AE) is up more than 70% over the last week, defying a broad downtrend that has shaved tens of billions of dollars from the market. The Bulgarian-based platform operates as a scalable smart contract for the IOT economy, which has been described as a $19 trillion […]

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Coinshares Group Plans to Launch New Crypto-Investment Funds

News

This week the firm Coinshares Group has announced two new investment vehicles tethered to cryptocurrencies. Coinshares was the first organization to launch publicly traded bitcoin and ethereum-based exchange-traded-notes (ETN), and the firm’s new funds will offer retail investors more “familiar channels” to invest in the growing digital asset economy.

Also ReadChinese Investors Continue to Obtain Bitcoin Using Thriving OTC Platforms

Two New Coinshares Crypto-Investment Funds: The ‘Active’ and ‘Large Cap’

Coinshares Group Plans to Launch New Crypto-Investment FundsCoinshares is well-known for it’s Bitcoin Tracker One ETN listed on Nasdaq OMX.

Coinshares Group is a well-known company that offers two globally traded ETNs based on the decentralized cryptocurrencies bitcoin (Bitcoin Tracker One and BTC Tracker Euro) and ethereum (Ether Tracker One and ETH Tracker Euro). The firm focuses its energy on providing investment vehicles tied to the emerging market of crypto-assets. The ETN provider is approved by the Swedish FSA (Finansinspektionen), and average retail investors can purchase the ETNs which are listed and sold on Nasdaq Nordic in Stockholm. Coinshares is now launching the ‘Active’ Fund and ‘Large Cap’ Fund which offer two types of digital asset fund investment.

The ‘Active’ Fund will follow an alpha-generating ongoing strategy with multiple crypto assets. The ‘Large Cap’ fund will be more a more passive and significant larger basket fund. The Chairman of Coinshares Group, Daniel Masters, believes the firm has a great experience with crypto-investment products and says the company looks forward to offering the new funds.

“As a group, we have developed a deep expertise in bringing new, fit-for-purpose crypto-investment products to market; products which offer traditional investors proper, familiar channels to access the crypto-asset ecosystem,” explains Coinshares chairman.

We are particularly excited for these two new funds as they represent the latest evolution of our expertise and are built on key learnings from the last three years of managing crypto-asset investments.

Investor Education, a New London Office, and Working With Regulators

Coinshares Group Plans to Launch New Crypto-Investment FundsAdditionally, Coinshares has been offering investor education called, “a framework for analyzing crypto assets,” and is also opening a new London-based office. The firm says it plans to expand in global jurisdictions where regulatory policy is shifting with these emerging new technologies. Ryan Radloff, the CEO, and founder of Coinshares says the company still has a lot of work to do regarding dealing with regulators investigating digital assets. Moreover, the company has created a “representative relationship” with Sapia Partners LLP, part of the Lawson Conner Group.     

“As one of the European leaders in crypto-finance, we have a responsibility to lead by example; and as a group, we believe that the crypto-finance community should seek more regulation, not run away from it; this London office is a proper step in upholding that belief,” Radloff details during the announcement.   

There is still a lot of work to be done on regulation in crypto-finance and we look forward to working with regulators throughout the process.

Coinshare’s existing ETNs have had a very successful year much like the rest of the cryptocurrency economy. The product Bitcoin Tracker One (COINXBT:SS) is up 881.22 percent over the past year. The first Ethereum tracking ETN on Nasdaq Stockholm launched this past October hold an excess of $350Mn USD in just a few short months.


Images via Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, the Coin Rush broadcast, and Coinshares XBT. 


Want to learn how to purchase and obtain the decentralized currency Bitcoin Cash (BCH)? Check out Bitcoin.com’s “Learn how to buy Bitcoin Cash with a credit card” Guide here. 

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Ukraine’s Cyberpolice Supports Legalization of Cryptocurrencies

Regulation

The cybercrime combating department of Ukrainian Police has voiced support for the legalization of cryptocurrencies despite sharing some concerns about them. The Cyberpolice unit also noted the need to regulate cryptos “as soon as possible”. Ukrainian parliament is yet to adopt new legislation amid mounting calls from other institutions to regulate cryptocurrencies.  

Also read: Russia’s Longest-Serving Finance Minister Backs Crypto “Self-Regulation”

Legalize it or Ban it

Ukraine’s Cyberpolice Supports Legalization of CryptocurrenciesIt is necessary to regulate at legislative level all matters pertaining to the use of cryptocurrencies, Sergei Demedyuk, head of the Cyberpolice department, said in a statement quoted by local media. In his opinion, regulations should be adopted as soon as possible. He also pointed to the need to amend the law in order to tax crypto related transactions. The rules of operating cryptocurrency exchanges have to be determined, too, he insisted.

If authorities are unable to regulate the status of cryptos in the near future the state should officially ban their circulation, the National Police representative said. Then “everyone will know that by buying and selling cryptocurrency in Ukraine they risk losing their financial investments irrevocably, in the absence of any protection or compensation”, Demedyuk warned.

The high-ranking police official noted, however, that Ukraine’s Cyberpolice force was supportive of efforts to legalize cryptocurrencies and crypto mining in the country, despite concerns that their circulation might be “based on the same foundations as financial pyramids”.

Mounting Calls to Regulate

Demedyuk’s remarks are part of a long list of calls to legalize cryptocurrencies in Ukraine. His comments came after a study revealed that dozens of Ukrainian officials possess a total of more than 21,000 bitcoins, as news.Bitcoin.com reported.

Earlier this month the status of cryptocurrencies was discussed during a meeting of the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center in Kiev. Representatives of the security services took a closer look at the “uncontrolled circulation” of cryptos in Ukraine. The cybersecurity body decided to set up a special working group to complete the legal framework. It should assist other authorities in building foundations for the crypto market, establishing procedures to monitor transactions and clarifying aspects of taxation.

The Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov said that the development of the cryptocurrency market could not be left unattended. The Minister of Justice of Ukraine Pavel Petrenko stated that Bitcoin must be brought into the legal field adding that government institutions should respond to the phenomenon. A petition to the president to legalize cryptocurrencies was filed on January 12.

Ukraine’s Cyberpolice Supports Legalization of Cryptocurrencies

While The National Bank of Ukraine remains opposed to cryptocurrencies, legislators have introduced two bills to regulate their status. The drafts have been advancing through commissions in the Rada since October. One of them aims to regulate the circulation of cryptos, and the other is designed to stimulate the cryptocurrency market and the trade of crypto derivatives. Proposed amendments to the tax code cover taxation aspects, with possible incentives for mining companies. The legalization of bitcoin, however, can take many more months, as the government must prepare subordinate statutory instruments to implement the law.

Do you think Ukrainian deputies will speed up the process of adopting cryptocurrency regulations after multiple calls by other Ukrainian institutions? Tell us in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Cyberpolice Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada. 


Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com.

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Daily Analysis: Markets Calm Down after Slightly Hawkish Fed Statement

Wednesday Market Recap Asset Current Value Daily Change S&P 500 2832 0.39% DAX 13,189 -0.08% WTI Crude Oil 65.02 1.83% GOLD 1348.00 0.44% Bitcoin 10,049 -0.82% EUR/USD 1.2417 0.12% Financial markets were choppy throughout the day, as it is usual on Fed days, as the correction of the last couple of days dominated sentiment among […]

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Kodak Postpones KodakCoin ICO, Future Is Blurred

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The much-hyped $20 million KodakCoin ICO was supposed to debut on Jan. 31.  Instead, the iconic brand announced the night before launch they needed at least several more weeks to get to know their customers better, as they enter the “accredited investor verification phase,” leaving the 40,000-plus potential buyers who want dibs on Kodak’s “photo-centric cryptocurrency” waiting. Skittish investors fled KODK, as the stock tumbled 13% after gaining 200%-plus when the KodakCoin ICO was announced.

The delay comes on the heels of a couple of critical reports, most notably from The New York Times questioning the vetting practices of the nostalgic brand. The Times suggests that Kodak’s push into cryptocurrencies, for which it is betting its comeback, is one fraught with questionable decisions, most notably its business partners, including  “a paparazzi photo agency, a penny-stock promoter and a company offering what has been called a “magic money-making machine.’”

Bull’s Eye

Publicly traded Kodak, which only a few years ago filed for bankruptcy protection, must have known it would have a target on its back even though it registered its token as a security given the hard-line regulators have taken on cryptocurrencies and ICOs of late. SEC chairman Jay Clayton in a Jan. 22 speech called out public companies that “shifted their business models to capitalize on the perceived promise of distributed ledger technology,” and might as well just have mentioned Kodak by name.

Meanwhile, for all its controversy, KodakCoin is a much-anticipated project among photographers as it solves an industrywide problem for them. By using distributed ledger technology, photogs can register their prints and then proceed to license them out, paving the way for them to be paid for their work and catch anyone who violates the copyright.

Kodak chief Jeff Clarke told the Times it was this disconnect in the photography industry that led him to blockchain technology in the first place.

“This is not a dog food company that’s creating a currency. This is a real solution around digital rights that Kodak has been involved in for many years,” he told the Times.

The KodakCoin ICO is targeting accredited investors across the United States, Canada and the UK, as per early reports.  Meanwhile, the lead advisor that Kodak engaged for the blockchain project is sure to raise some more red flags among regulators. Cameron Chell was banned from the Alberta Stock Exchange for half a decade in the late nineties and fined $25,000 for rules violations. Prior to that, one of Mr. Chell’s companies closed its doors amid fraud allegations tied to its chairman.

Not the first impression Kodak wants to give to regulators, or investors for that matter.

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Bitcoin Caps Off Worst Month in Three Years as Losses Mount

Bitcoin steadied above $10,000 on Wednesday, but not before closing out its worth monthly performance since 2015. January Woes The world’s largest digital currency by trade and market cap has declined 29% since New Year’s Eve. After adding more than $3,000 in the first week of January, bitcoin posted steady losses for the rest of […]

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“Crypto Nation”: Switzerland Embraces Cryptocurrencies as an ICO Haven

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The Swiss are bucking an otherwise resistant trend among the world’s regulators toward cryptocurrencies. Instead, Switzerland is embracing the culture of cryptocurrencies, as evidenced by a leadership role for the domiciling of upcoming ICOs, as reported in the FT. As home to Crypto Valley, the Swiss version of Silicon Valley located in the canton of Zug and filled with blockchain companies, the country now wants its leadership position to encompass all things crypto.

Swiss Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann at a crypto finance conference for private and institutional investors, the first of its kind held in the Swiss Alps earlier this month, said that Switzerland wants to be the “crypto nation.” He said it with the condition that momentum that has gripped Crypto Valley continues.

Switzerland is already an attractive domicile for companies, given its business-friendly regulatory environment and transparency, creating ideal conditions for blockchain startups to come. A propensity for tax evasion among wealthy clients, however, precedes the Alpine country, having tarnished its reputation in the interim. Now policymakers must contend with that reputation when setting the parameters for the Digital Revolution they want to foster.

Bern has created an ICO working group, similar to the approach of the US SEC’s task force, to study the role regulation, as is Swiss’ FINMA. Swiss Finance Minister Jörg Gasser said the market isn’t as “disciplined” as they would like. They are striving for a “flourishing” ICO market but not at the expense of the standards and integrity of the financial markets.

Industry participants come down on both sides of the regulatory argument, with Richard Olsen, founder of blockchain exchange Lykee, suggesting if it’s not broke, there’s no need to fix it, suggesting that ICOs could “self-police,” similar to the sharing economy. But Switzerland is not likely to allow the pendulum to swing too far to that side, with regulatory protocols KYL and AML present.

According to the FT, Switzerland-based ICOs attracted $550 million to their coffers between January and October 2017, compared to $580 million in the United States — the two top countries for token sales. All told, ICOs last year raised about $4 billion.

Swiss ICO Appeal

The appeal of Switzerland is clear, as evidenced by wealthy local investors coupled with high-quality tech talent. Demand for upcoming ICOs is persisting into 2018, with the Crypto Valley trade group getting up to 10 inquiries daily about doing a Swiss ICO.

They are looking to piggyback on the success of some other blockbuster Swiss deals, including blockchain smartphone maker Sirin Labs, a Swiss-Israeli startup that raised more than $157 million in its ICO. Switzerland’s biggest competition may be Gibraltar, with the Gibraltar Stock Exchange doing an ICO.

Not that there haven’t been any losers, with the Tezos ICO debacle still unfolding after raising $232 million. The latest development being Johann Gevers, head of the Swiss Foundation who has been embroiled in a fight with the Tezos founders, reportedly pledging to resign once the project is moving forward.

Meanwhile, of the top 10 upcoming ICOs, 40% are domiciled in Switzerland, as per PwC data cited in the FT.

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Ripple Continues To Grow, But Challenges Lie Ahead

Recent months have seen substantial increases in altcoin adoption and market cap, and as of late Ripple has emerged as a solid challenger to Bitcoin’s hegemony in the crypto space. Led by a team of experts from across the business and tech worlds, it has seen growth that is unprecedented among cryptocurrencies. As crypto and blockchain technology rapidly become mainstream, it is reasonable to assume that Ripple is in a position to become a household name. Nevertheless, questions still remain as to the extent to which Ripple can achieve this goal.

During a year that saw many altcoin values rise to stratospheric levels, Ripple was the clear winner in 2017. Between January and December it gained a whopping thirty-seven thousand percent in fiat value, the highest of any crypto by far. Of equal importance, the Ripple team forged partnerships with dozens of banks across the globe, which together transfer trillions of dollars in assets per year. Entering January, mainstream media was covering Ripple almost as much as Bitcoin, and many believed that it would soon become the new flagship cryptocurrency.

Ripple’s unique status in the crypto space, and its designed technology, has served as both an asset and a shortcoming. To the uninitiated, Ripple appears to be just another cryptocurrency, but it is much different. Most notably, it is controlled by a privately held corporation, Ripple Labs, which holds the bulk of the XRP coin. As such, the Ripple team has been quite successful at forging the relationships with financial institutions that are so crucial to its success. The fact that a private company controls the coin has, however, drawn the ire of many crypto purists who assert that it keeps the coin centralized, and under the thumb of a for-profit entity.

To the Ripple team, maintaining this quasi-centralized nature is crucial to its future. It is certainly in their best interest to keep the value of XRP high, and thus there is little danger of the coin being manipulated to the detriment of its holders. In fact, the Ripple code is open source and, like Bitcoin, the number of XRP cannot be changed. To be sure, many holders of Ripple are comfortable with the fact that Ripple Labs will prevent the discord and internal struggles that have plagued other platforms.

It is also worth noting that Ripple Labs has never advocated the use of XRP as a common cryptocurrency. Rather, it plans for the platform to be used as a payment network for banks and other financial institutions. In that regard, there is no doubt that Ripple works extremely well. Most experts agree that its ultra-fast protocol is far superior to current centralized banking systems, such as the Swift Network. It is without question a perfect example of blockchain’s revolutionary potential. Nevertheless, Ripple’s team intends for it to complement, rather than replace, centralized fiat currencies. In fact, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse has stated that he does not expect cryptocurrency to replace fiat any time soon.

Moving forward, Ripple is no doubt in a very strong position, but hurdles still remain. For example, banks could adopt any number of competing cryptos for their purposes. In fact, once implemented, the Lightning Network will make Bitcoin as fast and efficient, if not more so, than Ripple. It is also possible that governments will seek to regulate how banks conduct blockchain transactions, which could easily interfere with Ripple’s goal of becoming the standard platform. In fact, the very crypto revolution is a potential challenge to Ripple’s business plan, as fiat could very well be replaced at some point.

It is also worth noting that Ripple’s fiat market cap has declined substantially since its high in mid-December, and like every other crypto, volatility has been the norm. In fact, twice last year Ripple’s price rose quickly, only to fall back, leaving many investors with heavy losses. Nevertheless, unlike many other platforms, Ripple has an established track record of success beyond its chart price, and is poised for growth well beyond 2018.

It is now safe to consider Ripple at a turning point in the blockchain space. It is on the verge of breaking into the mainstream, and thus will need to demonstrate its usefulness as a unique product in the financial sphere. Success is far from guaranteed, but there is no doubt that it is in a very strong position. Thus, in a sense, Ripple is perhaps best viewed as more than a mere cryptocurrency, but as an example of how blockchain will soon change how the world works.

Image: Bigstockphoto.com

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Hawaii’s New Money Transmitters Act Will Require Virtual Currency Licenses

Regulation

The state of Hawaii is planning to regulate the use of bitcoin and digital currencies that would require licensure to transmit cryptocurrency-based funds. Two bills introduced by a group of partisan Hawaiian lawmakers are focused on digital currencies as a monetary instrument under the state’s Money Transmitters Act.

Also read: Coinbase Exits as Hawaii Requires Bitcoin Companies to Hold Fiat Reserves

New Definitions Applied to the Hawaiian Money Transmission Act

Hawaii's New Money Transmitters Act Will Require Virtual Currency LicensesLast week Hawaiian bureaucrats reviewed a proposed bill, HI SB3082, that aims to tether regulatory policies to digital currency transmitters. The proposed law adds new definitions like “virtual currency exchanges, transfers, and storage.” The bill will apply to anyone credited with virtual currencies, moving them, relinquishing control, and any use tied to a medium of exchange if passed. The laws will recognize bitcoin as a “permissible investment and statutory trust.” Although, if the statutes does pass, anyone who plans to transmit bitcoin and other forms of digital assets must apply for licensure.

Hawaii’s Virtual Currency Transmission Requirements

Last year Coinbase left the state of Hawaii due to the state’s proposed laws which would require licensed virtual currency transmitters to hold USD reserves. The recently submitted SB3082 has changed this requirement for specific qualified trading platforms. Applicants who want to apply for virtual currency transmission will be required to reveal a lot of information like the applicant’s name and principal address, prior criminal convictions, a description of the business activities, sample of the virtual currency instruments or products, and the name and address of the clearing banks involved. Further, for each virtual currency sale, exchanges must provide its customers with some form of a receipt.

“Each licensee who receives money or monetary value for transmission and the licensee’s authorized delegates shall provide a receipt to the customer that clearly states the amount of money or equivalent value presented for transmission and the total of the fees charged by the licensee,” explains the proposed bill.

Hawaii's New Money Transmitters Act Will Require Virtual Currency Licenses

Hawaii’s SB3082: “These Currencies Are Not Backed”

One notable section describes virtual currencies as based upon computational cryptography and derive their value “solely from the market’s perception of their value.” Hawaii’s SB3082 states:

[Virtual Currencies] can experience great swings — These currencies are not backed by backed by any physical commodity, such as gold or silver; not backed by the United States or any other national government; not legal tender for debts; and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any government.

The bill further details that consumers can lose all their cryptocurrencies through many attack vectors. “Computer failure; malicious software attack; an attack, closure, or disappearance of a virtual currency exchange company; lack of security; loss of your private key; or a sudden or dramatic change in value” are just a few examples explains the SB3082 text. The bill further notes:

Some virtual currency users have been unable to access their legitimate virtual currency account because of heavy traffic by other users or a prevalence of criminal activity in virtual currency use — To protect yourself, become educated as to the potential risks before deciding whether you want to transact in virtual currency.

Hawaiian officials will have a public hearing on SB3082 on February 2, 2018, at 9 am. The newly reformed money transmission act passed its first reading on January 26.

What do you think about the new virtual currency definitions that aim to be applied to Hawaii’s money transmission act? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.


Images via Pixabay, Hawaii’s Senate, and state logo.


Want to purchase Bitcoin Cash (BCH) with a credit card? Check out Bitcoin.com’s “Learn how to buy Bitcoin Cash with a credit card” Guide here.

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South Korea Has No Intention to Ban Cryptocurrency Trading: Finance Minister

South Korea’s Finance Minister confirmed Wednesday that his country has no intention of banning cryptocurrency exchanges, extinguishing lingering fears about a harsher crackdown on the digital asset class. No Ban In a statement reported by Reuters and CCN, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said, “There is no intention to ban or suppress cryptocurrency.” Dong-yeon’s assertion is […]

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Cryptocurrency Analysis: Market Stabilizes but Bounce Fizzles Out

The test of the crash lows in the segment got postponed by the early-session rally today, in the case of most of the majors, as yesterday’s sell-off ran out of steam. That said, the bounce that followed the overnight low didn’t change the short-term setup in the coins, as the dominant downtrend is still intact […]

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Goldman Sachs Isn’t Launching a Bitcoin Trading Desk (Because It Already Owns One)

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Recently, Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein shot down longstanding rumors that the investment bank was launching a cryptocurrency trading desk.

Now, we know the reason why: the bank already owns one.

Goldman Sachs ‘Not’ Launching Bitcoin Trading Desk

As early as October last year, there were rumors that Goldman Sachs was considering opening the first major Wall Street cryptocurrency trading desk.

By the end of the year, sources familiar with the matter were saying that the firm had already begun hiring personnel to staff the trading desk, which would be operated out of New York.

However, Blankfein rebuffed those reports during an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum, which was held in Davos earlier this month.

“What we said was we were opening – we, we’re clearing futures in bitcoins for some of our futures clients. We’d clear them. We’re a prime broker and so if our clients are going to do it, we’re going to do it,” he said. “A principle bitcoin business where we’re going long and short, market making, so far we’re not[.]”

What he didn’t say is that Goldman Sachs already owns a cryptocurrency trading desk — in fact, it has since 2015.

Goldman’s Hidden Cryptocurrency Trading Stake

Okay, strictly speaking, it’s not a Goldman Sachs trading desk, and the bank isn’t a majority stakeholder in the venture, but as Quartz pointed out this week, Goldman Sachs was the lead investor in Circle’s 2015 funding round, which raised $50 million for the fintech startup.

In addition to its flagship Circle Pay service, the company also operates Circle Trade, which provides liquidity for cryptocurrency exchange markets and also manages over-the-counter (OTC) trading for large institutional clients seeking to place minimum orders of $250,000. According to the company’s website, it directly trades $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies per month, making it one of the larger crypto-focused trading operations.

The firm’s next eponymous service will further expand the firm’s cryptocurrency-related offerings — and Goldman Sachs’ exposure to the nascent industry that Blankfein has called “a vehicle to perpetrate fraud.” Slated to launch in March, Circle Invest will provide retail investors with access to a commission-free cryptocurrency trading.

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South Korean Court Rules Bitcoin Has Economic Value

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A South Korean court has ruled that bitcoin has an economic value for the first time. This overturned an earlier court ruling which did not recognize the digital currency. The case involves the confiscation of 191 bitcoins.

Also read: Japan’s DMM Bitcoin Exchange Opens for Business With 7 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin’s Status Re-Examined

The Suwon District Court in South Korea has, for the first time, recognized that bitcoin has an economic value and can be confiscated, local media reported on Tuesday.

South Korean Court Rules Bitcoin Has Economic ValueThe ruling concerns the case involving Ahn who was arrested in May of last year and convicted of operating an illegal pornography site with approximately 1.2 million members. Ahn pocketed 1.9 billion won (~USD$1.78 million) in membership fees. While arresting him, the Southern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency confiscated his 216 bitcoins from an online wallet which received some fees from the site.

In September of last year, the court did not recognize bitcoin and ruled that it could not be confiscated, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported. An official from the court explained that they did not judge bitcoin to have any economic value because it is “in the form of electronic files without physical entities, unlike cash.”

Landmark Court Ruling on Bitcoin

South Korean Court Rules Bitcoin Has Economic ValueFollowing the first ruling, the prosecutor appealed in December to the court for the ability to confiscate bitcoins. The second hearing was held recently.

In the second hearing, the court found that “The crime profit concealment law does not restrict the criminal income to the goods but the cash, the deposit, the stock, and other property with economic value,” Chosun reported and further quoted the court explaining:

Bitcoin can be changed into money through an exchange. It can be used as a means of payment through merchants, so it should be regarded as having economic value.

The court subsequently ruled that “Among the 216 bitcoins confiscated by the prosecution, Ahn’s 191 bitcoins” were traced to email addresses of the pornography site members, so they are “recognized as criminal proceeds from the operation of the site.”

Since Ahn’s arrest in April, the price of bitcoin has risen significantly. The 191 bitcoins are worth approximately 2.13 billion won (~$2 million) at the time of this writing based on bitcoin’s price on Bithumb, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

South Korean Court Rules Bitcoin Has Economic Value

Maekyung quoted a lawyer explaining:

The recognition of virtual currency as an object of forfeiture means that it will be transferred to the national treasury and used as a national budget.

What do you think of the new court’s ruling? Let us know in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Bithumb.


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Tezos Foundation President Vows to “Step Back,” Then Back Pedals

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It’s perhaps what one might expect from the infamous ICO that was Tezos.

Tezos is one of those blockchain startups that gripped the crypto community, first for its ability to raise $230 million in an ICO and then for how quickly they let it all slip away. Now Johann Gevers, the head of the startup’s Swiss Foundation who is also at the center of the battle with Tezos co-founders Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, is backing down, promising in a blog post entitled “Moving Tezos Forward” to “step back” from the foundation that controls the Tezos proceeds once the project is moving forward again — only to confuse matters by removing the post.

Reuters got ahold of it, with the news agency reporting that the ICO funds are no longer frozen, paving the way for Tezos to pay its service providers. Gevers said in the now deleted post:

“I have consistently communicated … my intention to step back from the Foundation as soon as things are on track with a new board that is independent and has the support of the Tezos community.”

Gevers confirmed that he removed the blog but said that the plans are still in motion, according to a statement captured by a Reddit user –

“I was advised to take down this post for prudential reasons. Both I and the Tezos Foundation remain committed to communicating with the community within the constraints imposed on us, and will follow through on the plans outlined in yesterday’s post.”

Gevers chose Medium as the platform for the blog post because the Breitmans retain control of the website properties, which is a sign that the turmoil between these parties hasn’t lessened any.

Tezos 2.0

Meanwhile, Tezos is doing what it can to move forward, and after suffering the defection of board member Guido Schmitz-Krummacher has announced the appointment of another. Lars Haussmann is taking Schmitz-Krummacher’s seat after the latter stepped down amid the battle for control between the Breitmans and Gevers.

But the damage has already been done, and swapping out board members adds little solace to buyers of the Tezzie tokens, as they’re called, who were the victims in a stalled project that was at the mercy of bitter infighting. A pair of class-action lawsuits were lodged against the startup, focusing on the company’s failure to register the Tezos token with securities regulators.

Adding insult to injury, Kathleen Breitman — while investors were unable to access their funds from the Tezos ICO — suggested that the bitcoin and Ethereum directed toward the project are considered a charitable donation, not an investment, which only infuriated investors more.

Based on his original blog post, Gevers hopes the Tezos project can pick up where it left off, but whether or not that will materialize will depend not only on the company’s management but also on the Tezos community, who till now have been left out in the cold.

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What the New Force in Healthcare Means to Ethereum

Call them the three new amigos of healthcare: Bezos, Buffett and Dimon shook the worlds of technology and healthcare on Jan. 29.  Together they are forming a separate company to do battle with high patient healthcare costs and unacceptable levels of patient satisfaction.  Everybody who read their cryptic announcement is speculating about who will be […]

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Proxy Card Launches Proxy Wallet in Partnership with eBitcoin Foundation

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This is a submitted sponsored story. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the content below.

As cryptocurrencies march towards the mainstream, financial services must evolve without jeopardizing cybersecurity.

A result of a strategic partnership between Proxy Card and eBitcoin Foundation, Proxy Wallet has developed a secure, hybrid wallet which employs multi-factor authentication. This means it is impossible for anyone except the user to access their account. There are no node sync times, no expensive hardware wallets, and it’s on-the-go and ready to use 24/7. 

This State-of-the-Art Proxy Wallet will be the only one featuring ground-breaking “eBitcoin multi-transfer”, allowing users to interact with each other using live chat. This intends to add an exciting social element, while attracting younger traders and investors and offering businesses a multi payment solution.        

In short, Proxy Wallet brings with it new technologies, including cryptocurrencies, to the masses.

Further details:

  • Bio-metric Authentication 
  • The ability to Store, Send, and Request funds from anyone
  • Easy integration with any ERC-20 compliant tokens

Special Feature

Proxy Wallet also has special features unique to eBTC such as allowing eBitcoin (eBTC) holders to make up to 249 payments in a single transaction saving heaps of time, energy, and costs.

In the joint statement, Proxy Card and eBitcoin Foundation also announced the following;

  1. First 10,000 users will receive 10 Proxy tokens upon wallet activation. 
  2. Proxy Card plans to reduce the total PRXY Tokens total supply from 300m to 50m. (date to be confirmed).
  3. Proxy Card will generate a new token named ePRX with the maximum supply of 50m and will conduct Token Swap to existing PRXY holders at 1:2 rate (Token Swap date to be confirmed).
  4. To acknowledge the strategic partnership with eBitcoin Foundation, Proxy Card will conduct 1:1 snapshot to eBTC holders. (ePRX snapshot to eBTC holders date to be confirmed).

Proxy Wallet is available for free download on their website, www.proxycard.io, and on their main strategic partner, eBitcoin’s website, www.eBitcoin.org.

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Crypto experts to discuss the future of blockchain in Israel on March 28 at Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Israel

On March 28, Tel Aviv will host Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Israel, a large conference dedicated to blockchain, cryptocurrencies and ICO. Speakers will discuss the future of the crypto industry, and blockchain companies will present their new developments.

Why Israel?

Blockchain community said that Israel is the startup nation. The country started to develop blockchain in 2015, and a year later, according to the audit company Deloitte, there were about 500 fintech startups.

In addition, according to the Bloomberg 2017 Innovation Index report, the economy of Israel is among the Top 10 most innovative world economies. It is not surprising, since the country allocates 4.25% of annual GDP to research and development.

Such a development of fintech is facilitated by the Israeli authorities. The country has a state incubator supporting startups. And Investment Law allows foreign companies to reduce the rate of tax deductions to 10%, which makes the state attractive for foreign entrepreneurs. In addition, the Israeli Venture Capital Industry ranked 5th in the world for venture capital availability.

Israel is also one of the countries where cryptocurrencies have no defined legal status, but are still subject to taxation. Israel Tax Authorities issued a statement saying that any business connected with cryptocurrency should pay taxes on profits. Thus, cryptocurrencies in Israel are in fact included into the legal field. In addition, the authorities have intentions to protect the interests of investors and entrepreneurs by controlling the ICO. To do so, the national securities regulator ISA has created a special committee aiming at finding out whether the securities legislation is suitable for ICO regulation.

Activities and participants

Guests of Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Israel are entrepreneurs, developers, investors, founders of blockchain startups, lawmakers, marketers, miners, traders, lawyers and crypto enthusiasts.

The event will be held in the format of ‘conference+demozone’. The conference discussions will focus on the blockchain development in 2018. Being top experts, the speakers will share their experience of integrating blockchain into business, talk about the regulation of cryptocurrencies and tokens in Israel and abroad, as well as advise in which startups it is better to invest.

The demozone will bring together companies of the crypto industry from around the world, demonstrating their achievements and developments, as well as presenting their services.

Event organizer

The event is organized by the international company Smile-Expo, which has been carrying out events from the Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference network since 2014. Currently, its portfolio includes 16 countries. And Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Moscow, held in November 2017, was the largest one in the CIS according to the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Follow the news of the event and the program updates on the official website of � Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Israel.

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PR: BCShop.io Aids Ethereum Business Adoption

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release.

Blockchain revolution is happening. Sure, we are in first days yet, in “stone age” of cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, practical business solutions are already emerging. One of the most known and functional is Ethereum blockchain.

Ethereum not only enables online payments; it is also capable of running any decentralized application’s programming code. As such, it can greatly help businesses by making transactions more efficient. Here are some of the ways it does so:

Ethereum ensures data security and accuracy

Ethereum keeps business transactions secure as they are encrypted and employed in a closed peer-to-peer system. This ensures that they are protected from fraud, theft, and privacy violations.

In addition, Ethereum provides a system for the accurate maintenance of records. It prevents them from being modified after they are added to the ledger and it adds a timestamp, making the ledger more reliable and accurate than databases and spreadsheets. This in turn enables the company to earn the trust of both their employees and clients.

Ethereum makes it easier for businesses to increase their reach

With Ethereum, businesses are able to save on the costs incurred from sending and receiving payments from other countries. They are also able to minimize the delays that are usually experienced with international transactions, in turn making more people and companies want to work with them.

Ethereum makes it easier to form agreements

Unlike traditional contracts that must be notarized, Ethereum enables the creation of smart contracts without the need for middlemen. These smart contracts define and enforce the terms and penalties that come with the agreement.

How to Integrate Cryptocurrency Payments into Your Business

There are indeed many benefits to enabling cryptocurrency payments into your business. It ensures that your transactions are kept secure and accurate. It allows you to save on costs, particularly when making or receiving payments from other countries, as well as on the costs incurred from middlemen. In addition, it enables you to create smart contracts, which helps ensure the enforcement of business agreements, in turn preventing business conflicts. In summary, cryptocurrency use can help you provide better customer service and can give you a competitive advantage.

There are many platforms that will allow you to integrate cryptocurrency payments into your business. You just need to sign up for a merchant account at your chosen cryptocurrency wallet. However, the manner by which businesses use cryptocurrencies today tend to inconvenience users. The underlying issues can be easily improved, though, and this is what BCShop.io offers.

BCShop.io is an innovative platform for e-commerce and e-payments where one can offer products and services in exchange for cryptocurrencies: Ethereum and tokens. It also provides an easy-to-use interface so that even cryptocurrency newbies will have no difficulty learning about and using the platform.

If you want to try and get a feel of using Ethereum payments for your business, then you can do so at public testnet version: https://testnet.bcshop.io/ for free. As an example, several business cases were already implemented, bitcoin.com and ICOAlert.com are worth to mention among others. For more information, visit https://bcshop.io/.

Contact Email Address
32mve32@gmail.com
Supporting Link
https://bcshop.io/

This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

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Portfolio Chiefs Quit World’s Largest Asset Manager to Launch Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund

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Two senior portfolio managers have tendered their resignations at BlackRock ahead of launching a cryptocurrency hedge fund.

Michael Wong, a senior portfolio manager who led BlackRock’s fixed income asset allocation division, and fellow fixed income specialist Adam Grimsley left the world’s largest asset manager to found Prime Factor Capital. The duo will be joined at the firm by Nic Niedermowwe, an Oxford-trained mathematician, according to a Financial News report.

“There are a myriad of issues faced by investors hoping to get into cryptocurrencies,” Niedermowwe told the publication. “Many don’t know how it works, how to install them, how to allocate — whether they just buy bitcoin or a range of cryptocurrencies — compliance issues, while storing them securely is a big concern.”

The fund aims to achieve £10 million of assets under management (~$14 million), a relatively small amount compared to many cryptocurrency hedge funds. BlockTower Capital, for instance, recently announced that it had raised $140 million, while former Fortress manager Mike Novogratz had planned to launch a $500 million fund before shuttering those plans in favor of opening a crypto-focused merchant bank.

Though minor in terms of assets under management, however, the creation of Prime Factor Capital is another example of portfolio managers at entrenched firms jumping ship to chase the outsized returns available to skilled cryptocurrency investors.

This trend has been exacerbated due to the hesitance of large firms to bet on this burgeoning asset class and outright hostility of some financiers toward its very existence. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, for instance, has called bitcoin an “index of money laundering,” while Vanguard founder Jack Bogle recently advised investors to “avoid bitcoin like the plague.”

“The market is still at an early stage,” concluded Niedermowwe. “It’s rare for a big institutional asset manager to commit to a new asset class, particularly if they don’t feel the market is there. It’s not surprising that they’re biding their time. We view this as an opportunity.”

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Lisk Price Spikes 65% on BitFlyer Listing

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The Lisk price surged more than 65 percent following its listing on Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer.

Lisk Price Makes 65 Percent Advance

Wednesday has been brutal for the cryptocurrency markets. The Bitcoin price dropped below the $10,000 barrier, while the cryptocurrency market cap entered sub-$500 million territory for the first time since Jan. 17.

One token, however, bucked this trend and posted a strong advance against the dollar. Lisk, a blockchain platform that stores decentralized applications in sidechains (as opposed to the main blockchain, as Ethereum does), saw its price soar during intraday trading.

Shortly before 6:00 UTC, the Lisk price was trading at roughly $21.50 on Bittrex. At this point, it experienced a near-sudden spike, and within the span of 25 minutes, the Lisk price was valued at $36.27, which represented an increase of more than 65 percent. Just as quickly, however, the Lisk price dropped back below $30, but it continues to trade well above its previous level. At present, Lisk is valued at $26.56 on Bittrex, which represents a single-day increase of about 24 percent and translates into a $3.1 billion market cap.

lisk priceLSK Price Chart

Binance accounts for a plurality of LSK trading, where the token trades against Bitcoin, while South Korea-based Upbit’s LSK/KRW market provides Lisk with its largest fiat trading pair. Most of LSK’s remaining volume is concentrated in BTC and ETH trading pairs.

lisk priceSource: CoinMarketCap

BitFlyer Listing Behind Lisk Surge

Lisk’s rally appears directly tied to the token’s listing on bitFlyer, Japan’s highest-volume cryptocurrency exchange.

The addition was notable — and unexpected — since the exchange previously only supported five altcoins: Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Monacoin.

lisk priceSource: Twitter/bitFlyer

Being listed on bitFlyer not only introduces Lisk to one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency markets but also provides the token with a new fiat trading pair since bitFlyer supports JPY trading.

The listing appears to have strained bitFlyer’s server capacity, as the exchange reported multiple outages in the hours immediately following the announcement that Lisk trading had gone live.

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Bitcoin Futures Prompt CFTC to ‘Reconsider’ Relaxed Approach to Derivatives Markets

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The launch of Bitcoin futures contracts is prompting US regulators to reconsider their hands-off approach to new derivatives products.

On Wednesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — the top US derivatives regulator — will hold a public meeting to discuss the self-certification process by which exchanges are allowed to list new products without prior approval from the CFTC.

As CCN reported, Chicago derivatives exchanges CBOE and CME used the self-certification process to fast-track the launch of their Bitcoin futures products, which were listed in December following months of anticipation. Other exchanges, including Nasdaq, are reportedly planning to launch cryptocurrency-based futures products as well.

Both CBOE and CME consulted with the CFTC before self-certifying the products, but the commission was nevertheless criticized by many market participants — including the Futures Industry Association — for not exercising a stricter posture toward these nascent products.

At Wednesday’s meeting, which will be chaired by Commissioner Rostin Behnam, the CFTC will review how it approaches the oversight of new products.

“The Commission must reconsider its historical regulatory approach to new products,”. Behnam plans to say at Wednesday’s meeting, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Previously, CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo acknowledged that the CFTC should eye cryptocurrency derivatives with more scrutiny, and he said the agency has implemented a “heightened review” process that exchanges must undergo before they can launch cryptocurrency derivatives in the future. However, he also said that he hopes “the market impact of Bitcoin futures” does not “compromise the product self-certification process that has served so well for so long.”

The WSJ report notes that substantially altering the self-certification process would require Congressional action, which is not likely to occur at any point in the near future.

Despite criticism of the Bitcoin futures roll-out, the markets have operated in an orderly manner, and both exchanges have settled the first round of expiring contracts without incident.

At least one top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee has expressed a desire to strengthen the CFTC’s ability to combat alleged fraud in the Bitcoin markets, but Republicans — who control all three branches of the federal government — have resisted calls to expand the authority of regulators.

“So far, it appears that the CFTC’s principles-based regulatory standards and the self-certification process have operated as intended,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) said. “At this point it is still early and is unclear what, if anything, needs to be changed to improve the process.”

“Considering we are already seeing exciting potential uses for distributed ledger technology in agriculture trade, I am hesitant to encourage the government to look for ways that could potentially stifle further innovation,” added Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS).

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