A hacker who claims to have ties to the group Anonymous has stolen sensitive data from sites hosted on the darkweb site Daniel's Hosting, ZdNet reported. The hacker took down 7,600 websites On May 31, news broke online about a hacker who stole and published data from Daniel's Hosting, the largest free hosting provider on the darknet. The hacker operating under the alias "KingNull" - claims to belong to the Anonymus collective. Allegedly, during the hack of DH on March 10, he obtained information that made it possible to take down 7600 websites published on darkweb. This fact forced the hosting provider to terminate its services and prompted users to move their sites to new servers. Data leak may help track down the identities of those managing illegal sites on DarkNet According to ZdNet, the stolen data includes 3,671 email addresses, 7,205 passwords and 8,850 private domain keys attached to darknet websites Under the Beach, a web threat company, confirmed ZDNet's findings and commented on the attack as follows: "This information could greatly assist law enforcement in tracking down individuals conducting or participating in illegal darknet activities." The hosting company warned its users to change their passwords immediately as they can be used to take over their accounts with other providers. Daniel Hosting was reportedly the main place where illegal cybercrime-related websites were maintained. According to the company, many customers were running politically motivated sites and they may reveal their identities to law enforcement. The ZdNet report noted that the hacker did not steal IP addresses associated with users. At this point, Daniel Winzen, chief executive of Daniel Hosting, has not set a date for the service's restart. Hacker's alleged links to Anonymus group Information that the hacker is allegedly affiliated with the group Anonymous would not be surprising. The collective launched "Operation Darknet" in 2013 targeting Freedom Hosting, which was at the time the largest web host on the TOR network. The operation was meant to prevent the distribution of child pornography. Recent data released by Crystal Blockchain Analytics showed that the total value of Bitcoin sent on the Darknet increased by 65% in the first quarter of 2020. This has drawn the attention of authorities to illegal transactions on the TOR network. Tags hacking attack bitcoin darkweb daniel hosting dark web Darknet
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Hacker steals database from largest web hosting provider on the Dark Web
Brazil is processing more and more documents on blockchain
Brazil has authenticated around 156,000 documents via blockchain in the last four months. This is a record high and indicates that the adoption of DLT technology in the country is accelerating. A statement released by the Association of Notaries and Registrars of Brazil (ANOREG) indicates that documents were authenticated through the e-Notary system. The authentication process allows citizens to sign and send documents through electronic platforms, such as WhatsApp or email, to relevant parties, including government institutions. Notrachain system The Brazilian blockchain system runs on Notrachain, the national blockchain network of notaries. This system enables the verification of documents in a virtual format. Notrachain supports services such as sales, divorce, donations, inventories, shares, wills, deeds, powers of attorney, among others. The e-Notary system is a product of the National Corregeduría de Justicia (CNJ) Law of 2020. In addition, this system minimizes the movement time of citizens throughout the country. Users can now perform routine tasks via video conferencing on any supported electronic device. Otherwise, they would have to move around. Pandemic accelerates blockchain adoption The statement added that the use of blockchain for document verification has gained momentum during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. There was a jump of at least 24% per month in 2020. According to the statement: Demand for a blockchain-based digital document authentication solution grew even faster, at a monthly average of 163%, reaching its peak in the last month of February 2021, when more than 71,000 pages were authenticated. ANOREG adds that the success of the e-Notary system will encourage wider adoption of the technology. Moreover, in addition to streamlining operations, blockchain reduces costs and minimizes unnecessary administrative procedures. Brazil is a country open to blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Just two weeks ago, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) approved two cryptocurrency ETFs. The first is based 100% on Bitcoin, and the second consists of five cryptocurrencies. Both ETFs will appear on the Brazilian stock exchange. The QR ETF will be listed on B3 with the ticker QBTC11. The other, offered by Hashdex, will have the ticker HASH11. The HASH11 ETF is expected to begin trading later this month, while the QBTC11 ETF is expected to begin trading in Q2 2021. Tags Blockchain Brazil Documents e-Notary Notrachain
Is Facebook looking to ban cryptocurrencies again?
Elijaboom, a Twitter user, wrote on social media that the Facebook app is not allowing him to send the insidebitcoins.com link to a friend in Turkey. He noted that it looks like the reason is the word "Bitcoin". Is Mark Zuckerberg going to war against cryptocurrencies again? Mark Zuckerberg and company are hitting BTC again? Facebook, the social media giant, although itself planning to issue Libra - its digital currency - is still trying to censor Bitcoin and cryptocurrency related sites, it seems. It appears that related posts are in violation of the community's guidelines. The Facebook user in question received an error message when attempting to post a link, followed by a warning from which he learned that he could not post a link due to a violation of community guidelines. It is unclear whether Facebook has again updated or changed its community guidelines prohibiting the promotion of cryptocurrency content. The last public update on this issue was on June 26, 2018, when the platform introduced a complete ban on advertising about digital currencies and ICO initiatives. The origins of the disagreements Facebook's problems with cryptocurrencies began during the ICO boom in 2017. Many ICO projects used ads on social media platforms to promote their tokens. Unfortunately, a good portion of them turned out to be duds or outright scams. And that's why Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company was blocking ads for cryptocurrencies. Then, at the same time as the company announced plans for Libra, the ban was formally lifted. As you can see, however, the issue is not entirely clear. Does an attack on cryptocurrencies make sense? Facebook has over 845 million regular users. Many of them communicate with their friends almost only through the portal. However, such a restriction, concerning cryptocurrencies, would be a slight blow to the market. Another thing is that it would again be associated with censorship and scandals concerning the use of data by Facebook. And this is something that the company does not need. It's hard to say whether the incident described on Twitter (a platform that is very open to BTC) was just a single incident or if it's part of Facebook's new policy. We will know the truth soon enough. If you experience similar problems, please write to our editors. Tags facebook bitcoin Facebook Mark Zuckerberg cryptocurrencies ban on facebook
The number of bitcoin ATMs continues to grow.
The cryptocurrency user community is growing rapidly. All indications are that 2019 will bring even more growth. More real applications of digital currencies, positively affect their long-term value. One of the indicators that can be relied on to check the current interest in this market is the number of bitcoin ATMs (bitcoin cash machines) that are installed around the world. A good start to 2019 Already in the first week of 2019, 34 new bitcoin ATMs were installed. We can monitor the current statistics, among others, in the Coin ATM Radar service, which records new installations. This service allows users to find out where bitcoin ATMs are located around the world. This is obviously very useful for cryptocurrency users who spend a lot of time on the go. Official statistics show that there are 4153 such devices installed globally. According to the data, bitomates are installed at this moment in 75 countries around the world. Coin ATM Radar service also allows users to search for devices by the cryptocurrencies they support. It's worth noting that the rise of bitcoin ATMs comes at a time when many people see the cryptocurrency market as quite weak. Of course, bitcoin is still far from its highs. Its price currently sits at $4,000, which is about 80% below ATH. However, the fact that bitcoins are becoming more and more popular makes us think positively regarding the mass adoption of bitcoin. Despite the fact that 2018 brought price drops on exchanges, this did not stop the growth of bitcoins. We are talking about a solid growth, at the level of 100%. At the end of 2017, the number of such devices around the world was about 2,000. At the end of 2018, there were already more than 4,000. It is also worth noting that in December, the Bitcoin thread on Reddit reached 1 million subscribers, which indicates that interest in cryptocurrencies continues to grow. What else besides bitcoins? Of course, for those who are interested in withdrawing their digital assets into fiat currencies, there are other solutions as well. Cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bitbay or Bitclude also provide such an option. After converting your cryptocurrencies into traditional currency, for example, we can send our funds directly to our personal bank account. Tags bitcoin ATM btc ATM bitcoin ATMs bitcoin ATMs Bitcoin ATMs btc ATM btc ATMs bitcan platform
ERGO Hestia will use blockchain technology to settle accounts with customers
ERGO Hestia in cooperation with the Billon company are implementing a pilot solution based on blockchain, which allows the immediate transfer of money to customers without knowing their bank account number. The service will be available to, among others, customers who are due a refund of the premium, for example, for unused insurance period after the sale of the car. The solution enables a quick transfer of money to a client whose account number is not held by ERGO Hestia. Thanks to the introduced service, which uses electronic money, a phone number is enough to do it. "By using blockchain technology, customers will save a lot of time. The solution is intuitive, the whole process on the client's side takes a minute and allows the client to decide where the returned funds will go." - says Oskar Jedynasty, Director of the Automation Department in ERGO Hestia's IT Department. The blockchain solution is based on the service provided by Billon Solutions, the first entity in Poland to obtain an e-money institution license issued by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. The digital zlotys are stored in the distributed ledger technology (DLT) developed by Billon, which, unlike other blockchain systems, enables transactions with real currencies issued by central banks. "I am delighted that ERGO Hestia is joining companies using electronic money based on Billon's distributed ledger. Our solutions help companies that need to transfer money to a recipient - a client or partner - without knowing their details. The company can send the money securely and in accordance with legal requirements, and the customer is satisfied that they received their money back right away." - says Jacek Figuła, Billon's head of sales. About ERGO Hestia: ERGO Hestia Group is a pioneer of the most innovative solutions in the insurance sector. For nearly 30 years, it has remained a reliable and dependable partner offering the highest quality products and services. Every year, it provides protection to over 3 million individual customers and several hundred thousand companies and enterprises. The ERGO Hestia Group consists of two insurance companies: STU ERGO Hestia SA and STU na Życie ERGO Hestia SA. The Group companies offer insurance for individual customers in the area of property and life insurance, as well as for industry and small and medium-sized businesses. Our insurances are offered under 4 brands: ERGO Hestia, MTU, mtu24.pl and You Can Drive. Sopockie Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń ERGO Hestia was established in 1991. Thanks to its dynamic growth it has achieved the position of the largest insurance company among those created in the free market economy in Poland. The main shareholder of the ERGO Hestia Group companies is the international insurance concern ERGO Versicherungsgruppe AG, owned by the largest reinsurer, Munich Re. The President of the ERGO Hestia Group since its inception is Piotr Maria Śliwicki. About Billon: Billon has unlocked the potential of blockchain by creating a new, efficient and scalable distributed ledger technology (DLT) for business. We combined national currency transactions, document recording, and identity management in a single system. We have solved the obstacles preventing mass deployments of other blockchain protocols, and our technology already supports software solutions for banks, incentive and loyalty programs, micropayments, and RODO-compliant document and identity management. In doing so, we give businesses the necessary tools to digitally transform, take advantage of digital trends and make money transfers instant and intuitive, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy. Billon was founded in the UK in 2015 based on an earlier research project from Poland. Its growth has been supported by numerous R&D grants, including from the EU's Horizon 2020 framework programme Today it employs an international team of over 80 people in its offices in London and Warsaw. The company is licensed as an electronic money issuer by the FCA in the UK and by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) in Poland. In the implementation of its technology Billon works with leading business partners in the market, such as Credit Information Bureau in Poland, Raiffeisen Bank International in Austria or FIS in the United States. For more information, visit www.billongroup.com. Tags Billon Blockchain blockchain insurance distributed ledger dlt ergo hestia finance
How will bitcoin's exchange rate behave in a U.S.-China war?
The US election is virtually decided. In theory, Joe Biden has more electors behind him, so he will be sworn in at their convention as the new US president. The world has breathed a sigh of relief, as a large number of analysts believe that he will pursue a more peaceful US-China policy. But is war between the two superpowers really no longer a threat? And if it does happen, how will the Bitcoin exchange rate behave? Joe Biden wins the election in the USA. What does it mean? Joe Biden has the reputation and image of a nice, older gentleman. "The perfect vice president" - even his critics described him. Probably in private he is just like that. But soon he will be at the head of a superpower that has its interests all over the world. Today those interests are threatened especially in Asia, where the power of China is most keenly felt. But is it really up to the president to decide what will happen in US politics in the next four years? It is a mistake to think of any contemporary political leader of a country as an early medieval king whose country is his private property. Jacek Bartosiak, a Polish geopolitics expert, noted this during an interview on Radio Wnet. "The biggest politicians are just agents of big structural forces and their interests," - he said during the interview, which concerned the change of US policy if Biden wins the election (it took place before the election itself). Thus, Biden's victory does not rule out anything. What is more, today it is forgotten that it was during Barack Obama's term of office that the U.S. made the so-called pivot to the Pacific. Already then the Washington elite understood one thing: as a result of globalization China became too strong, while the U.S. started to lose a lot. Something had to be done about it. Donald Trump's actions were only a continuation of this type of thinking and acting, albeit in a more aggressive manner. Moreover, Biden himself - also during the Obama presidency - spoke of China's power as a great challenge for the US. Are preparations for war already underway? The aforementioned Bartosiak also mentioned during an interview he gave to the historian Piotr Zychowicz that "war is in the air. If someone suggests that it is just 'scaremongering' it is enough to listen to other politicians and experts. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, for example, wrote an article that was published in the prestigious American periodical devoted to international relations, Foreign Affairs, in which he described the risk of an armed conflict between the U.S. and China as "particularly high. He even feared that war would break out before the election itself. "Is Australia prepared for an armed conflict with the region?" - Paul Dibb, professor emeritus of strategic studies at the Australian National University, former deputy defence secretary and head of the defence intelligence agency, asked in The Australian. "The likelihood of a surprise attack is greater in an era of rising nationalism, territorial claims and increased armaments. Our territorial defenses must be better prepared for high-intensity conflict so that they are ready to contribute militarily outside our territory but in the region of engagement of our interests. This involves deploying our forces throughout the Indo-Pacific, including North Asia." - Dibb explained. The flashpoint of the war need not specifically be China's trade disputes with the US. The Middle Kingdom competes in the region with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines over a disputed 3.5 million square kilometer portion of the South China Sea. It's not just about controlling flows. This is an area rich in fossil fuels. It is also home to a huge fishery. In addition, let's remember that Taiwan still maintains a political separation from mainland China. President Xi Jinping - now 67 years old - may dream that it is during his reign that the Middle Kingdom will finally be reunited. The U.S. will not be able to look on such actions passively. Finally, it is worth recalling that the fruit of rivalry - initially only economic - between the superpowers has almost always been war. It is enough to mention just the first, almost classic, examples: the Peloponnesian War, the Franco-German War of 1870, World Wars I and II. Even the Cold War itself was really a collection of minor armed conflicts involving "pawns" belonging to the USSR and the USA. Finally, it is worth adding a brief lesson from history. The president who won his re-election with promises to keep the US out of the war was Franklin D. Roosevelt. As we know today, it was ultimately during his presidency that the United States became involved in World War II (after the attack on Pearl Harbor, of course, but which the US elite could have avoided by apparently looking for a reason to send troops to the Pacific and then to Europe). Bitcoin in wartime Now let's move on to something rather important, looking from an investor's perspective. How would bitcoin behave if war broke out between the US and China?
Genesis block excavated 12 years ago
Today is the 12th anniversary of the digging of the first block (aka genesis block) in the BTC network. That's when - just over a decade ago - the Bitcoin project took off in earnest. What was the beginning of BTC? To be honest, it is difficult to fully recognize January 3, 2009 as the only start of BTC. The formation of the cryptocurrency was a process. Recall that before that, Satoshi Nakamoto (yes, we still don't know who he is!) actually announced his manifesto, in which he described the ideas behind Bitcoin. However, it was 12 years ago that the first block with the first Bitcoins was dug up. Let's take another look at the dates. As we already mentioned, on January 3, 2009, the network of the most popular cryptocurrency in years was launched. A little earlier, on October 31, 2008, Nakamoto published a document explaining how his digital currency would work. However, the above is still not enough (which does not diminish the value of today's anniversary). For it should be remembered that Bitcoin was the result of years of research by crypto advocates or even economists. Cryptocurrencies are actually the dream come true of many circles - economists from the Austrian School or cypherpunks. On the occasion of this holiday, we recommend you our article on the genesis of Bitcoin, which you can find here. Block Genesis According to the data we can get via blockchain.info, the first block with the number #0 was dug exactly on January 3, 2009. The first transaction in the history of cryptocurrencies took place at 18:15 (server time) and guaranteed a reward of 50 BTC. Today, that would yield more than $1.7 million. Back then, practically nothing. Bitcoin was not part of the trade anywhere. It is worth mentioning that Satoshi Nakamoto waited as long as 6 days for another dug block with the number #1. Currently, bitcoin is not only skyrocketing in price. Yesterday it broke through the $30,000 level on the chart, and right now it costs more than $34,000. That's not all. The cryptocurrency has become part of pop culture, with the BTC theme appearing in top TV series (e.g. "Altered Carbon" - unfortunately, it was not given how much 1 BTC costs in this bleak, dystopian future), books or songs (the cryptocurrency was rapped about, for example, on one of Eminem's recent albums). There was also a boom in BTC among institutions in 2020. Many companies began to invest their reserve funds in cryptocurrencies. It all started with MicroStrategy, but Michael Saylor's company was also followed by such giants as Square, Guggenheim Partners, and Ruffer Investments. PayPal, which introduced crypto services for its customers in the U.S., certainly also made its contribution. Tags bitcoin genesis blockchain btc nakamoto
The Minister of Finance appoints the Crisis Management Team
While it is not uncommon for politicians and officials to suggest that when it comes to coronacrisis, the worst may be over, preparations for a darker scenario can be seen in the background. The Minister of Finance is currently establishing a Financial System Crisis Management Team. Will 2021 be the year of a new crisis, related to the banking system? Crisis Management Team in the Financial System The Minister of Finance has just appointed the Crisis Management Team in the Financial System. This one is supposed to react in case of indications related to a threat to the stability of the national financial system. The news has already been confirmed in the Minister's order. "The Crisis Management Team in the National Financial System in the Ministry of Finance, hereinafter referred to as the "Team", is established in order to ensure efficient and effective crisis management, within the competence of the Minister of Finance, Funds and Regional Policy, in the event of the occurrence of reasonable indications related to a threat to the stability of the national financial system". - was written in the document. It is known that the chairman of the Team will be a member of the management of the Ministry of Finance, while exercising substantive supervision over the tasks carried out by the Department of Financial Market Development in the Ministry of Finance. Today the position was filled by Deputy Minister Piotr Nowak. "The tasks of the Team include planning and coordinating intra-ministry anti-crisis actions and cooperation with financial safety net institutions in the event of a direct threat to the stability of the national financial system". - it was further written. It is worth adding that the Financial Stability Committee on Friday shared the assessment of threats to the financial system arising from the pandemic shock experienced in the economy. What awaits us in 2021? As the main source of risk today, the Committee recognizes the reduced profitability of banks. The reason for this may be the potential credit losses that banks may experience due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this is not the end of the story. The Committee is also concerned about the weakness of some institutions and the possibility of a "contagion" effect on other market participants. So will 2021 turn out to be even worse in some respects than the current year? It is possible that the COVID-19 pandemic will be over in just a few months. However, healing the economic damage will be more difficult and lengthy. Is the worst ahead? We'll find out soon enough. Tags banks crisis pln Poland
Bitcoin and Wall Street: the story of a love affair
In the winter of 2013, executives from one of the largest banks in the United States, Wells Fargo, traveled from San Francisco to New York for a meeting at the headquarters of one of America's largest investment funds, Fortress Investment Group. The meeting was to be the beginning of a collaboration between the two institutions to create the country's first legally regulated bitcoin exchange. The meeting on the 47th floor of Fortress' Manhattan headquarters was initiated by its vice chairman, Pete Briger. His fascination with bitcoin began less than a year earlier, in January 2013, during one of the business and recreational ski trips to the Canadian Rockies organized by Fortress. Bridger invited several other financiers and entrepreneurs to a hotel owned by a New York fund. Among them was a well-known Argentine businessman, Wences Cesares - by then an expert and advocate of bitcoin technology, and since March 2014, the founder and CEO of the online bitcoin wallet, Xapo. While skiing, Cesares told Briger about his fascination with bitcoin. At the time, it was still a very niche technology, known primarily in computer fascination circles. On a relatively wider scale, it was recognized only as the currency of the black market online bazaar Silk Road. Cesares explained to Briger that Bitcoin is actually something much bigger - a technology with enormous potential and a wide range of applications, critically also for the banking sector. You can call someone living in Jakarta using Skype," Cesares recounted. "You can see and hear them - all through a synchronous Internet connection. Real magic, it's just amazing. But when you want to send them one cent in a similar way, it turns out to be impossible. It's ridiculous," he says. Sending one cent should be much simpler than exchanging audio-video messages." Briger's initial attitude was somewhat skeptical. His experience in the investment industry had developed a sense of distrust and inquisitiveness. But that same experience also taught him to see all sorts of dysfunctional systems, and the longer he thought about it, the more clearly he saw them in modern banking systems. Bitcoin, in turn, began to appear to him as a potential remedy for this type of situation. Back at the ski resort, Pete contacted one of his most trusted deputies at Fortress, Bill Tanona, by email, asking what he knew about Bitcoin. Upon returning to San Francisco, Pete opened his own account on the Mt.Gox exchange, and there he quickly cashed in the equivalent of $100,000 in his own bitcoins. Back at the company, meanwhile, he had regular conversations with Tanona and several other associates about how Fortress Investment Group could also get involved in this young, emerging market. Even before the summer of 2013, Briger had invited his old Princeton University colleague and associate from his time at Goldman Sachs, Dan Morehead, to join him. The man, given his own office in a skyscraper occupied by Fortress in downtown San Francisco, was to help the firm scout out potential investment opportunities related to cryptocurrency. He himself soon also recruited a professional team of traders whose job it was to buy up sizable sums of bitcoin for an investment fund he hoped to set up. It would make bitcoin much more accessible to significant investors as well. Briger quickly realized that gaining trust in such a controversial new asset was not going to be an easy task. He did manage to get the first meeting with Wells Fargo executives in the summer of 2013, but the timing of the meeting determined only one kind of reaction to the bank's suggested proposal for cooperation in this field - refusal. The fact was that less than a few months earlier federal agents had seized accounts managed by Wells Fargo and belonging to the largest bitcoin exchange at the time, Mt. Gox. A report by law enforcement officials to the U.S. Senate in the fall of the same year - in which they pointed out, among other things, that bitcoin can be both a valid and useful technology that can be successfully used for legitimate purposes - made the bank again decide to look at cryptocurrency with a slightly kinder eye. Its representatives once again contacted Briger expressing their willingness to resume talks about working with Fortress on Bitcoin. The talks took place this winter on the 47th floor of Fortress' Manhattan headquarters. Briger explained to the arriving delegation what
Corporations, blockchain and CSR - how can blockchain help?
Draper University hosts free online bitcoin course
Founded by investor and winner of the high-profile Silk Road property auction, Tim Draper, Draper University (Draper) is hosting a free online course for anyone wishing to explore the fascinating Bitcoin currency and technology. The course is provided in partnership with ZapChain, a social network of people involved in the development of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The course is aimed at a wide range of beginners and those not yet completely familiar with the basics of Bitcoin technology. According to its creators, after completing the online training you will be able to use the revolutionary cryptocurrency with ease. It is not just about working with basic applications to make payments using bitcoin, but also more advanced tools allowing us to introduce bitcoin payments to our own business. To sign up for free training just fill out the symbolic form on the university website (you can do it at this address) giving your name and email address. Lectures are conducted by people for many years connected with the world of cryptocurrencies. Among them there are well-known programmers and engineers from the famous Silicon Valley, which has been the center of the American new technologies industry since the 50s of the last century. There are also businessmen who manage companies operating in the bitcoin-related sector, sometimes supported by tens of millions of dollars of investment capital. Divided into 7 sections, the course is over 7 hours of different types of audiovisual material divided into over 63 lectures. In the first section of the course alone we will explore topics such as: What is Bitcoin? What is a public transaction ledger? What are transactions using the public transaction ledger? Bitcoin as a protocol and as a currency. Why is trust so important when dealing with financial institutions? How does bitcoin address trust issues? Each section concludes with a special quiz to keep us up to date on our progress. Draper University is a Silicon Valley business school that aims to build modern entrepreneurs from the ground up by developing creativity, innovation, management skills and teamwork. Photo: draperuniversity.com The bitcoin.pl portal does not give permission to reprint this article. Tags bitcoin Draper course beginner training university University Draper University lectures
A complete ecosystem for every cryptocurrency holder
There are already a whole bunch of sales platforms that bring together sellers and customers. Creators compete in streamlining purchasing processes and introducing more and more new facilities for users. One of such platforms has certainly been heard of by all of us. Created by Jeff Bezos, Amazon currently generates revenues of $200 billion per year and employs over half a million people. This now powerful sales platform was created from a small online store that sold books. Entrepreneurs from Silesia want to repeat such huge success by introducing considerable innovation to their platform. OneMillion Shop - Marketplace with payments in cryptocurrencies The entrepreneurs mentioned above are Krzysztof Perek and Marcin Walkowski. As a result of a meeting years later, they developed the idea to create a unique place for cryptocurrency holders. In 2016, the market was poor in exchanges or exchange offices, let alone sales platforms with payments in digital currencies. This lack was especially evident during the great bull market of 2017, when masses of people after earning a lot of cryptocurrency had nowhere to cash them in. Until now, in order to make purchases with cryptocurrency, you had to transfer it to an exchange, convert it into fiat currencies - FIAT, then withdraw to your account and transfer the seller for the goods. Mostly on each of these steps there was a commission, which for larger amounts can be burdensome. The OneMillion Shop platform is designed to simplify the complex sales process and keep costs to a minimum. It features goods and services from many categories. By paying with cryptocurrency, we can buy everyday products, electronics, garden equipment, and even luxury cars and planes. Sign up for the OneMillion ecosystem and receive 10 MONx Tokens for free. REGISTER Merchants don't have to worry about the risks associated with highly volatile digital currencies. After a successful payment, they are automatically converted into traditional currencies and sent to the merchant. The scale of operation is not yet comparable to Amazon, but the speed at which this platform is growing is impressive. Every day, sellers from Poland are joining it, and as the creators announce, soon OneMillion Shop will open to all of Europe. Given that last year the value of the e-commerce market surpassed that of the traditional market, and that the capitalization of cryptocurrencies is consistently growing, a marketplace with payments in digital currencies is a project we believe in very strongly. The OneMillion team's main task will be to attract this capital to the OneMillion Shop. Part of a larger ecosystem OneMillion Shop is a key platform for the project, but it is part of a vast ecosystem. In the whitepaper provided by the developers, we can read about all the other OneMillion platforms and services. The OneMillion ecosystem was created to enable all the possibilities of cryptocurrencies. Among other things, the ecosystem includes cryptocurrency trading automation software - OneMillion Trading Systems and affiliate program platform - OneMillion Partners. In the ecosystem, we will also be able to take tax and legal advice or stokenize our company. The advantages of an ecosystem By bringing all platforms into one environment, synergies are created that save users time and money. With complementary elements working together, there is no need to go outside the ecosystem. Commissions within the system are kept to a minimum. Traders can multiply their cryptocurrencies on OneMillion Trading Systems (they don't even need to open an account directly on the exchange), convert them into traditional currencies and withdraw them to their bank account, or purchase goods with them in the OneMillion Shop marketplace. Anyone can get advice on how to account for their cryptocurrency trading income as needed. Sellers on OneMillion Shop have similar opportunities. In addition to the new sales channel, they get access to all OneMillion services. Entrepreneurs can additionally take advantage of the tokenization service, which is not only a way to fund a venture, but also a tool to simplify many processes. MONx Token - the glue that binds all platforms together The glue that binds all platforms together in the OneMillion ecosystem is the proprietary MONx Token. The project whitepaper describes the Token's economics in detail. An economy that employs many mechanisms to increase value. Token is used on all platforms of the ecosystem. We can use it to pay for services, or hold it with the idea of making money until it goes public. The main idea is that the value of MONx increases proportionally as the number of users in the ecosystem increases. Every new store selling on OneMillion Shop, every OneMillion Trading Systems user or affiliate program partner generates demand,
Blockchain will improve Turkish international terminal operator's supply chain
TradeLens a blockchain shipping platform developed by IBM and Danish logistics giant Maersk has signed a deal with a major Turkish international terminal operator. TradeLens is a global supply chain management platform. It is designed to handle containerized cargo and streamline logistics. It was launched in April 2018 by IBM and Maersk. It works by providing open APIs. These interfaces on immutable and secure search and sharing of supply chain data using blockchain. Turkey's YILPORT Holding operates 22 terminals (including 6 inland terminals) in 11 countries. In July 2020, it began the process of integrating data from its Gebze and Gemport terminals in Turkey. Now that the integration has been completed, the company will have access to the data flows. This will allow for more efficient management of assets and containerized cargo. The data exchange between Yilport and the platform will have six main API messages. These will be "entrate in, gate out, vessel load, vessel discharge, actual load date list and actual discharge date list". Furthermore, via TradeLens, container shipping data is available on the blockchain for various stakeholders along the supply chain. We are talking about shippers, agencies, port operators, customs authorities or financial service providers, among others. The IBM and Maersk initiative engages in the coordination of various government agencies and customs authorities from around the world. In doing so, it attracts clients from Indonesia, Thailand, Azerbaijan, the United States and Canada, among others. Blockchain in the world In recent times, blockchain technology is booming and is recommended as a key tool. Many industries and businesses as well as organizations are drawing from it. We recently informed you that some governments are using it to fight COVID-19. The World Economic Forum recently released a report on implementing blockchain-based solutions in supply chains. It stated that if these innovative solutions were implemented before the pandemic, it could improve many commodity markets with respect to personal care supplies and medical supplies, for example. The aforementioned forum also published a toolkit to help with the introduction of blockchain. These are intended to help governments and businesses adapt their supply chains to the current economic climate and global trade turmoil. Tags abc blockchain Blockchain blockchain transportation
Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain - key market news April 1-7 [video].
In today's news: ✅ IF THE PRICE OF BITCOIN HAS RISEN THEN NATURALLY THE QUESTION ARISES - WHY? ✅ BITCOIN IS RISING NOT ONLY ON THE CHART BUT ALSO IN GOOGLE TRENDS ✅ NEW WAYS TO MAKE PASSIVE INCOME IN CRYPTOCURRENCIES ✅ UP TO 61% OF COMPANIES ARE INVESTING IN BLOCKCHAIN! ✅ BITCOIN IS EXPECTED TO COST 150,000 USD BY 2023. IF THE PRICE OF BITCOIN HAS RISEN THEN NATURALLY THE QUESTION ARISES - WHY? There have already been several theories on this subject. If something is happening then somewhere must lie the genesis of this phenomenon. But is this really the case? Analyst Tone Vays claims that Bitcoin's recent rise is the result of pure speculation. At the same time, he blames the media for looking for cheap sensationalism. Others, on the other hand, transfer the source of the current mini-boom to the international level, seeing Brexit or the Russians as the main reasons for the increases. https://bitcoin.pl/dlaczego-kurs-bitcoina-rosnie/?fbclid=IwAR0OwjXjpjOQ2wkpuPk6Yb6oeUo5Hck6PqTlvWJlaJ9CRHvhG5w8xoGcsxo BITCOIN GROWS NOT ONLY ON THE CHART, BUT ALSO IN GOOGLE TRENDS The search term "Bitcoin" in Google during the last days has increased by almost 300%. The jump in the popularity of the cryptocurrency on the Internet is correlated with the increase in the rate on exchanges. According to Google Trends, the number of searches for information about Bitcoin (BTC) on the web tripled after the cryptocurrency's exchange rate surged overnight from April 2 to 3. https://cryptoprofit.pl/bitcoin-rosnie-nie-tylko-na-wykresie-ale-tez-w-google-trends/ NEW WAYS TO EARN PASSIVE INCOME IN CRYPTOCURRENCIES So far, the most popular way to earn passive income on cryptocurrencies has been 'hodling' and hoping that the price of the asset will rise in dollars or any fiat currency. Staking is another option, however, here you need to know how to configure your wallet and the rate of the cryptocurrency being staked can be volatile. Recently, Nexo has become the latest cryptocurrency company to capture the interest of its customers by providing an account for stablecoins DAI, PAX, USDC, USDT and TUSD that earns 6.5% interest per annum! https://cryptoprofit.pl/jak-pasywnie-zarabiac-na-kryptowalutach/ UP TO 61 PERCENT OF COMPANIES ARE INVESTING IN BLOCKCHAIN! 61 percent of well-known companies in the digital services market around the world are investing in blockchain technology. This data comes from a report by Okta shared by Cointelegraph on April 2. In the "Digital Enterprise Report," Okta surveyed 1,050 decision makers from IT, cybersecurity and engineering companies operating in global markets and with revenues of $1 billion or more. https://cryptoprofit.pl/61-firm-inwestuje-w-technologie-blockchain/ BITCOIN TO COST 150,000 USD BY 2023. Josh Rager, a technical analyst and cryptocurrency investor, noted that based on bitcoin's price trend to date - calculated since 2011. - it can be deduced that the e-currency will reach a new ATH in 2023. He even gives a fairly specific date. The peak of the next bubble is expected to take place in July 2023. That's when the major cryptocurrency could cost as much as $150,000. https://bitcoin.pl/bitcoin-ma-kosztowac-150-000-usd-do-2023-r/ Tags bitcoin news Blockchain daily news daily news from the cryptocurrency market crypto news cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies news cryptocurrencies news news bitcoin news
Tesla stops accepting Bitcoin. Price drops $3,000
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that the electric vehicle company will no longer accept payments in BTC for its products. Tesla is backing away from accepting BTC as a payment method In a Wednesday tweet (May 12, 2021), Elon Musk announced that Tesla has suspended bitcoin payment for its electric vehicles. The CEO cited bitcoin's massive consumption of electricity as the reason. Tesla first announced that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in February 2021. Soon after, the company suggested that it would start accepting BTC as payment for its products. Ending in March, the automaker revealed that U.S. customers can already pay for cars using the original cryptocurrency. Tesla accepting bitcoin was met with harsh criticism from environmental advocates. This is because they said that the move goes against Tesla's clear stance on managing global emissions. Meanwhile, there is no clear consensus on Bitcoin's energy consumption, although some critics like to espouse the "ocean boiling" narrative. Bitcoin's price is falling. Is it time for DOGE? After Musk's tweet, the price of Bitcoin immediately dropped, losing $3,000 in less than 15 minutes. Bitcoin was trading at nearly $55,000 and fell below $52,000 within minutes. In the news we can read: Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use <1% of Bitcoin's transactions/energy. Interestingly, Elon Musk just yesterday took a poll on Twitter asking his followers if they would like his company to accept DOGE. 78% of the 3.9 million respondents supported such an idea. Looking at Musk's reasoning, however, Dogecoin could suffer the same fate as Bitcoin. This is because DOGE also uses the same proof-of-work (POW) consensus. Tags bitcoin btc doge Elon Musk Tesla
$45 million in crypto stolen from single investor via SIM-swap
Hackers know many ways to get in where we wouldn't want them to. Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about hacks using the so-called SIM-swap. This time, the victim was a whale who had 45 million in cryptocurrencies stolen. This may be the most serious such attack in history. Biggest SIM-swap crypto theft The victim is Josh Jones, the founder of Dreamhost. According to his statements, the total damage of the hack reaches $45 million. The investor stored $30 million in Bitcoin Cash (approximately 100,000 BCH) and another $15 million in Bitcoin (1500 BTC). Several crypto-influencers got involved in helping, here is a tweet from one of them: Translation of the tweet: "SHOCKING. 1M (most likely influenced by emotion, the author accidentally added an extra zero). BCH SIM hack worth $30M from one Chinese whale (he claims $15M in Bitcoin was also stolen from him). He is currently asking miners for help. I am talking to top BCH mine owners about this. " Is there any chance of recovery? According to subsequent tweets from Wan, the hackers are separating the stolen digital coins into smaller portions and "will most likely run them through a transaction mixer soon to cover their tracks. The implication is that this is indeed a real hack." According to Wan, the only way for an investor to recover would be to deliberately cause a double release online, but that would certainly not please the rest of the community. If Whale had kept his digital coins in cold storage, the hack would not have happened. SIM-swap attacks are only possible if hackers come across a device tied to the 2FA of some exchange or wallet. The only thing left for us to do is to learn from others' mistakes and never, ever keep more crypto on hot wallets than we can lose. Hot wallets should only be used to store funds we need for now, such as for trading. All the rest of your crypto savings are recommended to be stored on hardware wallets such as Ledger. Tags hackers SIM-swap SIM-swap hacking
The amount of BTC stored on exchanges is falling. Whales are accumulating.
A recent report suggests that the amount of BTC stored on exchanges is falling, while whales are accumulating more and more coins. The amount of BTC held on exchanges is falling In a recent report on investor behavior, popular research firm Digital Delphi examined the amount of BTC stored on exchanges. It was shown that if the amount of bitcoin held on trading platforms is increasing, it can put selling pressure. However, this is not necessarily the case, especially when the market is bullish. Retail investors often "leave BTC on exchanges, and investors use BTC as collateral for deposits." Alternatively, when the price of an asset rises while BTC held on an exchange falls, this usually means an accumulation bias. The report points out that in mid-February, BTC held on exchanges reached a record high of 2.96 million. Since then, the trend has reversed and the number has dropped to below 2.6 million. Digital Delphi argued that the reason for the decline in BTC stored on exchanges is that investors are likely preparing for HODLing. Moreover, the report highlighted a significant decline in speculative interest and pointed to a growing mentality of HODLers. "In contrast to the upward price trend in 2019, which coincided with an increase in BTC on exchanges, this current trend is characterized by a divergence. This suggests more sustainable BTC price growth compared to 2019, as the data points to a holder base with longer time horizons." Whales not slowing down Digital Delphi's data confirmed previous reports suggesting that bitcoin whales, or addresses containing between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC, continue to accumulate cryptocurrencies. The company said whales have been experiencing a buying spree since early 2020. Their market share is up 9% from a year ago. Whales' accumulation has also been influenced by red-hot money printing machines in the US. "There has been a 7% increase in whale shares since the March expansion of US dollar M2 supply. According to the report, this only confirms that "Bitcoin serves as a hedge against dollar inflation." It is worth mentioning that prominent US investor Paul Tudor Jones III purchased BTC earlier this year to protect himself precisely against rising inflation. Tags study digital delphi report whales
Bitcoin not very suitable for payments, but Lightning Network solves that problem
Samson Mow, chief strategy officer at Blockstream (CSO), says bitcoin (BTC) is poorly designed for making everyday payments, but Lightning Network solves that problem. Mow - who is also the co-founder of former cryptocurrency exchange BTCC - made the comments in an interview with the SFOX blog on August 15. Bitcoin + Lightning Network = new quality Mow admitted that he doesn't see an everyday use for Bitcoin, joking that he himself still uses credit cards rather than cryptocurrency in his daily life. In his view, BTC is used for something else: "It's more of a store of value and a means of transferring wealth. It's not something you use every day for payments." Mow said that for payments, we have the Lightning Network: instant and virtually free - designed exactly for everyday payments. He recalled that it takes an average of ten minutes for a transaction to clear on the BTC network, but that's an average. In practice, everything can take up to three hours. As we know from late 2017, the transfer of cryptocurrency can extend up to a day.... And while Mow is still using credit cards, he notes that Lightning Network as a network could change this whole situation once it begins to be more widely used. There's Bitcoin, and then there's everything else He argues that bitcoin is in a class of its own. Since the disappearance of its creator, no person or entity has fully controlled it. He said: "Someone invented the phrase" Bitcoin was born a virgin ". None of the altcoins have that. They are all copies of the concept of Bitcoin [...], without that kind of virgin birth [...] someone is able to assert power over the network and control the roadmap of the project or have any other influence on it all ". Mow also noted that Facebook's LibraCoin has now become a topic of debate. He sees that the project's goal is also to speed up transactions. However, he suggested that the social media titan "should just use Bitcoin." The Lightning Network is indeed thriving and there is a chance that in a few months, as Mow wants, it will become widely used. Tags bitcoin bitcoin Lightning Network Blockchain Lightning Network
According to the report, only 19% of all bitcons dug up are actively traded
Less than one-fifth of mined bitcoin is actively traded, while the remainder is held by long-term investors, according to a recent report by cryptocurrency and blockchaib market analysis firm Chainalysis. Only 19% of bitcoin is actively traded Data released by the company shows that only 19% of all bitcoin mined to date is changing hands. 20% of bitcoin is lost, ending up in dead and forgotten wallets (not to mention the BTC wallet owned by anonymous bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto). About 60% of bitcoin in circulation, is held long-term by various market participants. "Moreover, these entities - whether people or businesses - have never sold more than 25% of the bitcoin they have ever received, and have often held onto these BTC for many years," - the report said. More interesting data from Chainalysis Of the 3.5 million bitcoin that are currently actively traded, 96% of the volume comes from so-called retail investors. Typically, a "retail" investor refers to any market participant not affiliated with a financial institution, but in the Chainalysis report, this is defined as any entity that trades $10,000 or less in a given time period. As a result, the majority of transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges (more than 625,000), each week since 2018, occurred in amounts between $10 and $1,000. In contrast, 125 thousand transfers were made in amounts between $1,000 and $10,000. Chinalysis cross-referenced this data with the number of professional traders. This study included institutional traders, but did not exclude whalers who operate independently of institutions. It showed that of the 340,000 weekly active traders, 4% (about 14,200) are professional traders and they are responsible for 85% of the "dollar value of BTC sent to exchanges." "For this reason, professional traders are the largest contributors to large market movements, such as those seen during Bitcoin's dramatic price drop in March as the Covid-19 crisis intensified in North America. However, professional traders are few in number, having traded such amounts making just 39,000 transfers per week in 2020," - the analyst firm said. Tags bitcoin btc Chainalysis
Electrum - lightweight bitcoin wallet
Electrum - the lightweight bitcoin wallet Electrum is a lightweight wallet. This means that you do not need to download an extensive data chain to use it and the wallet will use data stored on a remote server. Electrum is also a deterministic wallet. Thanks to this feature, private keys are created based on a 128-bit base value (seed value). For us, this means above all that we do not need to make regular backups of our wallet, because one, once made, copy will archive our current addresses as well as all those that we generate using it in the future. INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION Download the Electrum wallet from https://electrum.org/download.html. Install it in the chosen location and run it. During the first run of the wallet, the p [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]
Bitcoin and gold will become the foundation of a new monetary system
In a recent episode of the Keiser Report, controversial journalist Max Keiser spoke with Mark Valek, author of the report" In Gold We Trust". It turned out that Valek not only believes in gold, but also sees huge potential for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Max Keiser has been promoting Bitcoin for many years and believes that the cryptocurrency has great potential for growth, but also to play an important role in the global economy. On top of that, he himself created his own token, MaxCoin, 5 years ago, but it did not take off in the market. Despite this, Keiser continues to talk about digital currencies on his show. The New Deal: Bitcoin and Gold The aforementioned Valek said that he believes that a new economic order is about to emerge. "We have landed at a point where we are almost at the end of the road in terms of yields and interest rates. And central bankers now have a desire to change the system in a new way. We are at the threshold of this new paradigm (...)" - he notes. Gold and Bitcoin could play a hugely important role in this new paradigm: "People are starting to question the monetary system. [...] It is a mistake to neglect the technological progress that is happening with cryptocurrencies. Of course, gold is a physical metal while Bitcoin is a man-made system, but in terms of 'hard' money, Bitcoin is an even more powerful money than gold." He added that the strength of BTC today is the belief of young people in it. For some of them, having a cryptocurrency in their investment portfolio is a sure rescue for the crisis that more and more experts expect. According to Valek, today, some people are even buying BTC already just because in a few decades when they retire, the digital currency can ensure their survival when the current system goes down in ruins. Altcoins Keiser himself is downright fanatical about the oldest cryptocurrency today, at times exaggerating his adoration. In August, he said he expects altcoins to collapse and BTC to completely dominate: Bitcoin's dominance [is] 68.2% - [going] towards 80% - as alts die in favor of BTC. The era of alts and forks [from] 2014-2017 is over. Don't be the last to convert alts to BTC." Tags bitcoin bitcoin vs. gold bitcoin adoption bitcoin gold Max Keiser Max Keiser gold bitcoin gold
Africa will define bitcoin's future, Jack Dorsey believes
Africa will define the future of Bitcoin (BTC). At least, that's what Jack Dorsey suggests. In a November 27 tweet, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and payment platform Square, said he will return to Africa in 2020. All this after spending some time traveling in Nigeria and Ghana earlier this month. Dorsey highlights Bitcoin's potential in Africa "Africa will outline the future (especially of Bitcoin itself!)" - commented the businessman, revealing that he plans to spend up to a few months on the continent next year. During his trip to Nigeria, Dorsey also attended a Bitcoin meeting, where he once again outlined his support for digital currencies and the blockchain. The tech mogul has become famous for integrating the cryptocurrency with Square. Moreover, he has similar plans for Twitter. When asked if he is thinking about his own currency in the footsteps of Facebook, he countered that he is not and believes that BTC is a better option than Libra. He also publicly endorsed Lightning Network as a payment solution that allows Bitcoin users to send funds instantly within the network. Africa and Bitcoin Dorsey's comments come at a peculiar moment in history. For Africa is increasingly recognizing that blockchain and cryptocurrencies can help it with its so-called financial inclusion. Nigeria, for example, is regularly among the most active countries in terms of Google searches for "Bitcoin". Close on its heels, however, are countries like South Africa in this discipline. Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, is expected to become a giant metropolis as early as 2050 with a population of over 32 million people, increasing its role in the cryptocurrency market. According to the World Economic Forum, it will be the most populous city in the world by 2100. In total, by the next century, 13 of the world's top 20 cities by population will be located in Africa. Authorities so far have not been particularly hostile to BTC. This month Ghana revealed that it is considering issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) , something that fits in with China's plans. Nigeria has yet to adopt a formal cryptocurrency policy. Tags Africa bitcoin bitcoin jack dorsey
Bitcoin to become part of new payment standard developed by W3C
The W3C consortium, which has developed standards such as HTML and CSS, is currently working on a new Web payment standard in which Bitcoin will play an important role. The W3C, which has developed standards such as HTML and CSS, is currently working on a new Web payments standard in which Bitcoin will play an important role. The Web Payments Working Group, which has been formed for this purpose, is for the time being mainly concerned with gathering information on existing payment systems, user interface solutions and planning further work by issuing various working drafts and similar documents. One such document is the "Web Payments Use Cases" which describes the payment process in a fairly detailed way, and which will be the basis for further design work. One of the payment cases described is paying with Bitcoin. It is very important that in the work of the consortium shaping the future of the Internet, Bitcoin is mentioned early in the design stages. On the one hand, this is natural, because Bitcoin by definition is the money of the Internet, but on the other hand, the consortium can undoubtedly be subjected to pressure from operators of traditional payment systems. The Web Payments Working Group is not creating any new digital payments network, but is trying to integrate existing and emerging systems into Web applications in a more efficient and secure way. A standardized workflow should facilitate payment automation, improve security and enhance user experience," the W3C document reads. Sounds nice, but surely such broad integration will require a lot of work. The group's final recommendation is scheduled to be released in November 2017, and the recommendation is just a prelude to releasing a standard. The creator of the World Wide Web and HTML, Tim Berners-Lee tried to introduce a micropayment standard for the Web as early as the end of the last century, but it's fair to say he was ahead of his time. He eventually abandoned the work, due to complicated and ever-changing banking regulations. Back then, the idea of paying online was not as popular as it is today. This time will be different, and Bitcoin could become a model system, due to the lack of legal restrictions, openness of the protocol, independence from banking institutions, and by not requiring any additional infrastructure. It is easy to imagine that a lightweight (no blockchain) BTC wallet for small expenditures could simply be a part of a web browser or thanks to new web applications bitcoin payments will be available in practically every online store/service which will want not only their website but also their payments to be W3C compliant. If this happens, the currently contentious work on increasing block sizes will have to accelerate as the number of transactions on the bitcoin network may increase many times over. Tags bitcoin btc e-commerce payments electronic payments payment processor W3C
Andreas Antonopoulos: the future of ETH is uncertain
Andreas Antonopoulos recently got in on the future of Ethereum. In a new interview with Real Vision, he said that the vast number of potential use cases for the network makes it difficult to know exactly what lies ahead for the revolutionary project. Andreas Antonopoulos: I don't know what the future holds for ETH Andreas Antonopoulos said that Ethereum is a very versatile project. However, this means some potential problems. - The cost is that for the system to evolve, it needs to have a much faster iteration. On this path, [ETH] will stumble repeatedly. You will see spectacular and catastrophic losses," he said. He added that Ethereum "is the go-to for exploring the farthest areas of innovation that Bitcoin doesn't want to venture into or shouldn't because it would undermine its core function of generating sound money that is resilient even to state-level attacks." - The future of Ethereum is obviously much more uncertain than Bitcoin. And that's because Ethereum's use cases are much more open. It is a programmable blockchain with so many different possibilities (...). Is it an ICO, as it was in 2017? Is it other tokens, as was the case shortly before and shortly after? Is it decentralized finance (...)? Are they non-exchangeable tokens? The answer is simple: all of the above," he replied. Accept the good and the bad - The bottom line is that we need to accept both the good and bad sides of unfettered, wide-open innovation. Right now we're seeing the greatest level of innovation in cryptography, distributed systems, and financial services that we've seen in the last 300, 400 years... And at the same time, we're seeing the most audacious fraud and Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, and theft taking place. A lot of naive buyers and investors are getting scammed. There is a lot of defensiveness," he explained his point of view. In other words, Antonopoulos points out that Ethereum has an uncertain future. It could develop into a new type of Internet, but it could also get lost in innovation. Today, however, 1 ETH costs as much as $1,541, up more than 3 percent from 24 hours earlier. On a 7-day basis, the cryptocurrency has dropped 5 percent. Tags Andreas Antonopoulos Antonopoulos ETH Ethereum ethereum Antonopoulos
Advancing democracy requires blockchain, says Daniel Hardman of Everna
Daniel Hardman, chief architect and director of information security at Everny, believes that blockchain can help democracy in general, especially in the process of counting citizens' votes. In an interview he gave to Cointelegraph, he explained how the new technology can improve political voting, for example. Blockchain and the development of democracy - Essentially, blockchain can provide a way for voters to reliably and securely register for [the] voting system, and once votes are cast, it can be a mechanism for proving whether someone was eligible to vote, Hardman told Cointelegraph. - Blockchain could provide some functionality that would help with control, he added. Note that the problem is not at all contrived. Recently in the US, Republicans were hesitant to accept the victory of President-elect Joe Biden, and this despite the fact that the electoral college verified the results of the US election and recognized the victory of rival Donald Trump. According to the expert quoted above, blockchain has some features that "would enable a more robust audit. - Essentially [with blockchain] you would be able to put an end to any concerns about tampering," Hardman said. With public blockchains, such as Bitcoin (BTC), for example, each transaction is recorded on an immutable public ledger, making audits more reliable and transparent than fully centralized processes. While this model seems transparent and immutable, however, how would authorities know if the votes came from citizens who only voted once? - What you want is what's called comprehensive verification, Hardman explained. - You need to know that a person can only register once, and that means that when someone comes to register, you do what you would do today in a physical election mechanism, which is check their driver's license, for example, he added. Fingerprints He continued by saying that "a blockchain-based voting system can include certain elements to prevent voter fraud and malware, such as biometric voter identification." - If you know that John Smith of 123 Main Street in Pennsylvania has a particular fingerprint, it will be difficult for someone else to cast a vote on his behalf, Hardman explained. Tags Blockchain democracy voting
Bitcoin's latest mining difficulty correction reaches second highest level ever!
On May 5, the last pre-halving correction of Bitcoin's mining difficulty took place. It brought the increase expected by many analysts, to the second highest level in BTC history. Bitcoin mining difficulty adjusts automatically every 2016 blocks or once every two weeks. The entire process is based on available computing power. One step away from ATH On May 5, 2020, the Bitcoin network once again adjusted to the current situation. After the March drops, the difficulty was drastically reduced by 15.95%. Yesterday, the difficulty level was readjusted to 16.10T, an increase of 0.92%. Thus, we are now very close to the record level of March 9 (16.55 T). This is the second time ever that the 16 T level has been exceeded and the last sweep before the upcoming halving. After the drastic March drops in the price of BTC, many miners capitulated and the power of the Bitcoin network declined. As the number of miners increases, the difficulty increases. For many, this is a positive sign as it shows the strength of the network. The charts above show the difficulty of BTC mining and the hashrate of the network, respectively. Each difficulty adjustment is cyclical, which is why the graph looks like a multi-level graph. After the halving, which will take place on May 12, only 900 new Bitcoins will be delivered to the market each day, instead of the current 1,800. The reduction in supply has generally had a positive effect on the BTC exchange rate. Unfortunately, with the reduction in the reward for mining a block, expect a drop in hashrate as miners' earned income will drop. What may dissuade them from capitulating is the price of Bitcoin. Currently, the average mining time per block is 9 minutes 55 seconds and the hashrate oscillates around 115 EH/s. While the May 5 rise was not spectacular (1% increase), history has seen rises of 100% or even 302.22% (Bitcoin's beginnings), which is certainly a good sign for the upcoming halving. As for more significant declines, for that matter, the March difficulty drop of 15.95% mentioned in the article was the second largest in Bitcoin's entire history. Tags hashrate computing power difficulty of digging
Inflation is falling...but is it really?
According to new preliminary data from the Central Statistical Office, inflation in our country is falling, but only seemingly. In April (3.4 percent), it was lower than in March (4.6 percent). However, this is a result of a drop in fuel prices by about 20 percent. Food prices went up by 7.5 percent. Inflation is falling... seemingly When looking at inflation data, it is always worth delving into the details. Apparently, the inflation rate declined, as in March it amounted to 4.6 per cent. However, such a relatively low inflation rate - which is again within the NBP inflation target - was determined last month by a decrease in the price of fuel for private means of transport. On the other hand, energy carriers rose by 5.2 per cent, while food prices increased by as much as 7.5 per cent. Why are we emphasizing these data? Well, each of us can do without fuel (especially now, in the era of lockdown), while the vision of forced starvation does not sound so appealing, right? Of course, we're still far from having to deny ourselves food, but food price spikes should worry us. - The April changes in prices were most painfully felt by families that are not motorized and spend a relatively large part of their income on groceries, Polsat News noted. The phenomenon of rising food prices was already visible in March, when the inflation for this type of products amounted to 8%. The most expensive products were then: pork (by 27%), fruit (by 20%) and cold meat (by 15%). Poland against the EU background All this will start to provoke Poles to look for tools that will help them save the value of their savings. Especially that, compared to the European Union, inflation in Poland is quite high. Out of the entire European Union, it was Poland and Hungary that saw the highest increase in prices in March - by 3.9%. Generally, in the entire European Union, prices are growing the most strongly in Central and Eastern Europe. Poland and Hungary are followed by the Czech Republic (3.6 percent). In France and Germany, inflation is less than 1 percent: Spain, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus. Tags
Bitcoin's price is dependent on the stock market, Tom Lee suggests
Tom Lee, one of the most well-known analysts in the cryptocurrency industry, said that the stock market needs to reach new highs on the charts before Bitcoin's price can enter a full bull market again. In two tweets that Lee published on September 25, the founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors reassured cryptocurrency fans. He believes that concerns about the state of the Bitcoin exchange rate, which has scored a major dive, are exaggerated. Bitcoin's exchange rate is falling The largest cryptocurrency has fallen 15 percent this week, causing many investors to express a lot of concern that the bears are just coming back into the market and now we're facing a downturn again. "[The market] is overbought and needs weaker sentiment. Our [Bitcoin Misery Index] has been saying that since July." - Lee concluded. As some investors have noted, the S&P 500 index lost value just before the drop in Bitcoin, which happened exactly on Tuesday. For Lee and Fundstrat, the two events are closely related. "The [Bitcoin] decline followed the [stock] sell-off," - he continued in a further tweet. He added that this "reinforces our" unpopular" opinion which is that Bitcoins do not do well in an environment "without macro trends." Lee also stated: "There are new highs needed on the S&P 500 before BTC can [re] take off. Why? We think crypto is retail and therefore a risk." Why it's falling. Bitcoin's correction to $8,000 has led many to float numerous theories as to the reason for the decline. Some explain it by technical analysis alone. Others - the disappointing start of Bakkt, which we wrote about in more detail here. There is also a third group - fans of macroeconomics and geopolitics - that sees the reason in the scandal in the U.S. related to the potential impeachment of Donald Trump, who allegedly pressured the Ukrainian authorities to provide him with hints on the son of his main competitor in the race for the White House - Joe Biden. Meanwhile, Lee told BTC supporters to wait to make new purchases until his Bitcoin Misery Index (BMI) suggests an even more pessimistic mood. At the time of writing these words, BTC costs just over $8,400. You can always check the current exchange rate of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at bitcoin.co.uk. Places where you can buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies include BitBay.net cryptocurrency exchange. If you don't have an account on BitBay yet, this article will show you how you can create one efficiently: LINK. Tags bitcoin price btc price bitcoin price bitcoin price bitcoin exchange rate btc exchange rate
Pornhub opens up to XRP
Some time ago, the portal with videos for adult viewers, Pornhub, began to have some problems. Companies such as Visa and Mastercard withdrew from cooperation with it. In response, they started promoting cryptocurrency payments. As of now, the porn platform also accepts the service of paying for its services in exchange for Ripple tokens - XRP. However, this is not the end of the story. You can also pay the company in other digital currencies for access to your premium account. Pornhub is accepting more and more cryptocurrencies According to The Block, Pornhub is now accepting payments in XRP, USDC stablecoins, Dogecoins (DOGE) and Binance Coins (BNB). This brings the total number of cryptocurrencies accepted in Pornhub's premium subscription payment system to 16 now. The decision to open up to XRP in the first place is puzzling. After all, there is an ongoing court dispute in the background regarding Ripple Labs, the company that issues XRP. The controversy eventually caused the token to be removed from more than a dozen cryptocurrency exchanges. As you can see, and in the case of XRP, there is now light in this dark tunnel. Pornhub's problems Recall that the portal Pornhub has problems arising from the content that could be found on it. It turned out that the videos published on the platform were not sufficiently filtered, and as a result, it was possible to post videos with pedophilic content or containing scenes of beating women. In response, Visa and Mastercard no longer want to cooperate with the company. It is known that in the case of Mastercard the blockade is permanent. Visa, on the other hand, has only suspended its services and is investigating the matter. This move by Visa and Mastercard initially caused Verge, the hardfork of Dogecoin (DOGE), for example, to rise to prominence. The cryptocurrency has long been one of the payment methods on the platform. Only that so far few people have used it. That may now be changing. Responding to Pornhub's troubles, Mark Wittenberg of the Verge Core Marketing Team appealed to models in the porn market to consider adopting cryptocurrency as an alternative to Visa and Mastercard services. - If any model on Pornhub needs help getting familiar with [new] payment options, it's our role as a global community to help. We should embrace decentralized payments," he said. Tags ripple pornhub XRP
What are funding rates?
The term funding rates comes up quite often in futures terminology. Today, we will take a look at what is behind this term. What are funding rates? Funding rates are periodic payments. They are made to traders in long or short positions. They are based on differences between prices on futures and spot markets. Depending on the type of open position, traders will either receive "funding" or have to pay a fee. Funding rates in the cryptocurrency market help counteract the disparity in the prices of the two markets. Fees typically scale several times throughout the day. The most common practice with exchanges such an open position fee is charged every 8 hours. This is the case with Binance and BitMEX. Funding rates have two components: interest rate and premium. The interest rate is usually fixed - the platform determines it as a percentage of the value of each position. Their values usually fluctuate around several tenths of percent. Premium, on the other hand, is a variable value. Its value results from the mentioned difference between the price difference on the futures market and the spot price. In simple terms, a high spread between markets increases the premium value, while a low premium indicates a relatively low spread between the two prices. Funding rates in periods of high price volatility can develop in a dynamic way. What does the fee process look like? When the funding rate is positive, the price on futures contracts is higher than on the traditional market - then traders of long positions "pay off" their short positions. As we wrote earlier, the fee is charged on the exchanges usually every 8 hours. Geco.one offers an interesting alternative which also results from the withdrawal from the orderbook. In this case the fee is charged from the open position only once every 24 hours. How does this process affect traders? Funding rates can have a huge impact on a trader's final performance. With high leverage, a trader paying a funding rate may suffer a loss that may even lead to liquidation of his position (despite trading in a relatively stable market). On the other hand, fundraising can be profitable in markets with limited range. Traders often monitor funding rates and incorporate this mechanism into their trading strategies. Above all, funding rates are meant to encourage traders to take positions that keep futures contracts in the same price horizon as spot markets. Tags Binance bitmexx funding rates geco.one
Kaspersky Lab implements blockchain for its voting system
Kaspersky Lab wants to take advantage of what happened in the US recently. It's about the Iowa primary scandal, specifically the fact that the voting system turned out to be so faulty that after 24 hours the winner of the election was still unknown. Iowa, we have a problem! On February 3, Iowa held a vote to help determine the presidential candidate in the Democratic camp. Helping the process was the IowaRecorder app, which was developed by Shadow Inc. a company that had already worked with Hillary Clinton's staff. The year 2016 was marked by attacks by Russian hackers on Democratic Party servers. However, it turned out that the Democrats did not need cyber criminals from Moscow to compromise themselves in the eyes of Americans. Their contractors from Shadow Inc. were enough. The application did not work as expected and as a result, within 24 hours it was not clear who had won the primary. Success was self-proclaimed by Pete Buttigieg and then Amy Klobuchar. The media claimed that their pet - Bernie Sanders - had won. It was not until 3 days later that it was revealed that the electoral votes were distributed as follows: 14 went to Buttigieg, 12 each to Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, 8 to Joe Biden and only 1 to Klobuchar. The biggest losers turned out to be Shadow Inc. and... the Democrats. The result was clear: modern people power needs better systems for counting and recording votes. The issue became a topic of public debate. According to security experts, the incident (though that's probably too weak a word for what took place there) in Iowa highlighted the risks of relying on current digital systems. "When something as important as an election is involved, frankly, the abuse is in allowing proprietary software," said Joshua Simmons, a board member of the Open Source Initiative, which promotes open source software. "Licensed open source software ensures that security researchers can access everything and improve the software before it is used," he added. Kaspersky Lab goes to the aid of democracy Unsurprisingly, Kaspersky Lab, a company based in Russia, is going to the aid of democracy. Blockchain could help in creating a new voting system. "Open source is an important step in creating transparency, nurturing trust and building more resilient systems," - Simmons previously quoted said. But how does the Russian giant want to improve voting? Through its already existing Polys program, which will be augmented by blockchain for this. What would this look like? Polys users - and thus voters - would be assigned unique QR codes or tokens. The next step would be to scan them and cast a vote for a specific candidate. The process itself would still provide democracy participants with complete anonymity - just like voting with paper ballots. This is because the vote would then be encrypted. What's more, there is an additional option in all this that is not possible today. Once you mark your favorite with a cross and put your ballot into the ballot box, you don't actually know what happens to it. You have no certainty that someone will not manipulate your correctly cast vote. In a world where we vote using blockchain, things would be different. Voters would be able to verify that their vote was registered on the blockchain. This method obviously reduces the likelihood of fraud that comes with ballot tampering. It introduces a kind of control of vote counters by citizens. As if the advantages were not enough, it is worth adding that it solves the problem of accessibility to polling stations. This issue was recently discussed in India. Today, still a large part of voters have difficult access to places where they can vote. Thus, it is not uncommon for them to give up this privilege. Such a system may also encourage younger people to participate in the celebration of democracy. Roman Aleshkin, Polys project manager, explained to the media the advantages of such a model: "(...) we understand the problems and inconveniences that [our clients] face when organizing paper-based voting. As we see it, voting on our Polys platform can solve some of these problems, providing more opportunities for remote participation and even increasing youth turnout." An opportunity for democracy Today there is increasing talk of a crisis of democracy. The Edelman 2020 trust barometer, which we have cited in the past, measures people's trust in institutions. It recently showed that citizens form their trust in the state based on competence and ethical behavior. But the report found that neither business nor government is perceived as competent and ethical. The Iowa scandal certainly won't improve that score. Thus, blockchain systems could improve this state of affairs. Will the European Union bet on blockchain? However, Kaspersky Lab is still a Russian company. In the context of the 2016 hacking scandal, it cannot inspire full confidence in the US, especially in the realm of politics and voting. If you would
By 2020, the number of active BTC addresses has doubled
According to Coin Metrics, the number of active addresses on Bitcoin's network has increased by more than 105% this year. In its latest report called "State of the Network," the company said the number of active addresses has doubled this year, reaching 1.2 million. A healthy marketplace Why is this important? It is proof that the market is healthy. The healthiest since 2017. More active addresses means more people are using cryptocurrencies - or at least buying them. Coin Metrics credits Bitcoin's success this year with flooding the market with institutional investors including Square, MicroStrategy and PayPal. This is not surprising given that, in fact, institutions already own about 5% of the current BTC supply. Soon after [institutional investors invested], the price of Bitcoin began to rise. In a rapidly changing world, Bitcoin is increasingly being advocated as a hedge against inflation and a form of digital gold. - we can read in the report. Bitcoin will grow in 2021 Coin Metrics also noted that this year the market capitalization of BTC has increased by more than $300 billion, and the number of addresses holding at least 0.01 BTC by more than 700,000. According to the company, next year we can expect even higher returns on investments in the oldest cryptocurrency. In many ways, Bitcoin is at its strongest, but it is closing in on 2020. Bitcoin is on the verge of reaching unprecedented highs in 2021. You can always check the current exchange rate of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at bitcoin.co.uk. Places where you can buy BTC and other coins include the BitBay.net cryptocurrency exchange. If you don't have an account on BitBay yet, this article will show you how you can create one efficiently: LINK. Tags Active BTC addresses bitcoin btc