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The trading platform LocalBitcoins introduces new rules from May 25th. In order to act on the platform in the future, one must follow the know-your-customer rules and prove his identity in certain cases. In addition, they released changes in terms of use and privacy policy.

Update at LocalBitcoins: Bye, privacy!

After the policy changes caused a stir last month, LocalBitcoins is now making it official. The company now bowed to regulatory pressure and released new terms of service and privacy policy on May 9. According to the official announcement, the Helsinki-based company feels qualified to revise its customer privacy policy. As LocalBitcoins says, the changes in the Terms of Use are in accordance with upcoming EU directives. According to this, users must be over 16 years old and have only one account per person. In certain cases one must identify oneself also with his identity card. For example, when acting over a certain volume, suspected of misuse of the account, in investigations by authorities regarding suspected fraud and to recover the account in case of loss.

Also privacy conditions are styled

In addition to the terms of use, the privacy policy also received a revision. Here, LocalBitcoins grants above all the right to pass the data on to partner companies. These include Jumio Netverify (verification of ID data), Mixpanel (data tracking in trades), Sentry.io (fixing bugs) and Google Analytics (collecting information on how services are used). In addition, they are still working with several other companies to improve their communication services. Another noteworthy point is the deletion of accounts. As can be seen from the homepage of LocalBitcoins, this is only possible from May 25 on if the account was not used for Bitcoin transactions. Otherwise, the company reserves the right to store the data for up to five years. If you do not agree with the changes, LocalBitcoins recommends the following:

"If you already know that you will not agree to the changes, we recommend that you remove all bitcoins from your wallet and - after May 25 - delete your account."

The points listed here are just an excerpt, the entire changes can be read here, here and here.

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Bitmain has released a new ASIC Miner. The hardware uses the Equihash algorithm, which can also be used to mine ZCash. In the ZCash camp this triggered the discussion about the centralization of mining.

Coming soon: Bitmain Antminer Z9 for Zcash & Equihash

According to the official announcement, the first devices arrive in June. The Antminer Z9 comes exactly one month after the release of the ethereum-based ASIC-Miner. Bitmain tweeted the following:

"We are pleased to announce the release of the Antminer Z9 Mini. It's a miner that can be used to mine # Equihash-based cryptocurrency. To prevent a bulk purchase and to offer more individuals worldwide a chance, we have set the orders to one device per user. [...] "

Bitmain and the centralization of mining

By setting the order quantity to one unit per user, Bitmain tries to counteract the centralization of mining. The problem of key mining farms, where individual companies have control over the distribution of new cryptocurrency, is a hot topic in the crypto scene. The discussion also started in the ZCash community. ZCash founder Zooko Wilcox comments:

I tried to find out about the current status of crypto-mining. problem is, in my view, let's say you have a big, profitable mining farm. Why do not you just reinvest all the profits to upgrade? In other words, why have not professional and well-equipped GPU mining operations long since driven small miners out of business? One thing I've learned is that GPU mining is absolutely essential for the ZCasher in Venezuela. If Venezuelans try to import ASIC miners, they risk being stolen or confiscated by the army, which controls all imports in the country. "

He addresses another sore point in the debate - with a price of $ 1,999, the Mining device for people on a budget is definitely out of the question.

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Security firm Trend Micro has identified a new virus that spreads via Facebook Messenger. Among other things, he operates mining and collects access data for crypto trading venues. The FaceXWorm has gained access to third-party computers via a manipulated Chrome extension.

FaceXWorm: The most important thing about the new mining virus in Facebook Messenger

The malware is similar to the mining virus Digmine and spreads through messages in Facebook Messenger. However, FaceXWorm is much more advanced and can do more damage than Digmine. The corresponding Chrome extension is now blocked, the number of affected computers was manageable, according to the security researchers. However, this technology continues to pose a risk and can reappear in a modified form at any time.

How does FaceXWorm get on my computer?

The worm spreads over the Chrome Messenger launched Facebook Messenger. The victims first receive a message from a friend's account with a link. This leads to a page that at first glance looks like YouTube but is on a completely different server. Then Chrome requests to install an extension. This is supposed to represent a codec to play the desired video. If those affected install this program, FaceXWorm can start working. He immediately connects to his command-and-control server (C & C) and executes malicious code.

What can FaceXWorm do?

Like all mining viruses, it can also use the computing power of the affected PC without being asked to dig for cryptocurrency. For this he uses a veiled version of the Coinhive script. In addition, the worm has a few other things in mind:

Steal credentials: If FaceXWorm detects that the user opens login pages to Google, MyMonero or Coinhive, it launches a feature. This stores the access data as you type and sends it to your C & C server.

Cryptocurrency Scam: The software recognizes when the user navigates to one of 52 interesting trading platforms or enterprises search words like Blockchain or Ethereum. Then she redirects traffic to a separate page offering a "lucrative" ethereum deal.

Intervene in crypto transactions: When a victim opens a crypto trade page, the worm registers it and inserts its own wallet address into the recipient field. So far, this method was only once successful, $ 2.49 have so unexpectedly changed the owner according to Trend Micro.

Manipulate referral programs: The software is able to unnoticeably redirect the user to their own referral pages when he or she navigates selected websites in the crypto area.

How can I protect myself against mining viruses?

As with most viruses, one's own attention is the most important precautionary tool. Unquestionably, links received from friends without any comment should not just follow suit. A look at the URL, which opens with a questionable link, is worthwhile. If it does not match the target page, the alarm bells should ring. The same applies to browser extensions that supposedly need to be installed to see certain content. When in doubt, you can always google the name of the program with the addition "virus" and see what's behind it.

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The major US bank Goldman Sachs will soon trade Bitcoin futures. It joins the CBOE and will be the next major bank to trade in futures.

Bitcoin Futures: Goldman Sachs is doing the honors

Now Goldman Sachs is the honor. Although the US major bank is not quite up to cryptocurrency. But after all, according to the New York Times, they will soon begin to make the detour via Bitcoin futures. As a reminder, you do not have to deal directly with crypto contracts with future, ie futures contracts. Rather, one can speculate on specific price developments and bet on whether the price increases or falls. This makes Goldman Sachs the first Wall Street bank to take such an action - one can assume that it is well-calculated. The bank thus dares to strike a balance between direct involvement and complete reservation. Rana Yared sees the situation realistically: "I would not consider myself a true believer who wakes up and thinks Bitcoin will take over the world. There is a certain amount of skepticism from everyone involved." However, with the planned Bitcoin futures, they want to meet customer wishes without being exposed to the high volatility of the cryptocurrency: "It is not a new risk that we do not understand.

Goldman Sachs joins CBOE

After initial concerns, it has now apparently been recognized that it is time to act. While warning of the dangers of bitcoin last year, Goldman Sachs has been increasingly dealing with matter in recent months. So we reported on April 24 that the banking giant has expanded its expertise with a well-known trader. Bitcoin futures seem to be a lucrative business. Thus, the American derivatives exchange CBOE celebrated record sales of futures contracts in the week of April 28th.

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From the research: Bitcoin and the control of money https://ift.tt/2JtpgKk

Prof. Dr. Aleksander Berentsen and Fabian Schär from the University of Basel see the possibility for Bitcoin or cryptocurrency to establish themselves in the payment system. Among other things, they record the way in which money is controlled.

From the research: Bitcoin and the control of money

Is Bitcoin good for the currency? Theoretically yes. This finding is shared by researchers from the University of Basel. In their paper "The Case for Central Bank Electronic Money and the Non-Case for Central Bank Cryptocurrency" Prof. Dr. med. Aleksander Beretsen and Fabian Schar, among others, different types of money from the point of view of the structure of their control. It turns out: Among the competition Bitcoin is unique. To understand this uniqueness of Bitcoin, says Schär and Berentsen in their paper, it helps to understand the way money is controlled. To do this, they list the three elements of representation, transaction and production.

Physical money

Cash is physically represented, it is tangible. In the form of coins or notes, the objects stand directly for the exchange value they promise. This does not require a central directory, who has how much cash and at what time, does not matter for the transaction with cash. To use cash, you do not have to log in to any central instance. In this sense, Berentsen and Schär call cash as a decentralized payment system that manages without a third party. However, not in the production: Here are in almost all cases central banks or treasuries or governments at work. The same applies to gold: this is also physically represented and it is independent of the instance in the transaction. (Here one must note, however, that gold is accepted as a medium of exchange only conditionally). In contrast, the manufacturing process is in principle accessible to everyone. The advantage of cash is above all its anonymity and its accessibility. However, a third party is needed here for the production - without central bank or treasury, there is usually no cash.

Virtual money

For virtual money, researchers distinguishing between deposits with private banks and electronic money from central banks. Correspondingly, virtual money has no physical representation - it exists only in the accounts of the banks, as an entry in an accounting system. However, this means you can transfer it better than cash - no one really has to be there to exchange. In most countries, researchers say homes and businesses use private banks to make electronic payments. There are credit cards, debit cards, checks and online banking. The banks compete for the deposits of the customers - therefore one can consider the money in the production here also as competitive. It is a centralized payment system - the banks are the intermediaries. With virtual money from central banks, however, public access is limited. In Switzerland, therefore, only about 200 intermediaries have accounts with the Swiss Central Bank. The money of the central banks is thus monopolized, transactions take place in a centralized payment system. Virtual money has the advantage that you can make quick transfers with it. In addition, it offers the possibility to ensure the exchange even without the presence of exchangers. However, it is not accessible to everyone.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin, on the other hand, behaves differently. Ownership is decentralized orally, Blockchain is the accounting system that oversees the transactions, the miners are the accountants. Cryptocurrency that combine the advantages of virtual money transactions with the independence of decentralized transactions, according to Berentsen and Schär. Moreover, it is competitive in manufacturing. Bitcoin retains the advantage of cash and can do away with its disadvantage: it does not need an intermediary, is a pseudonym and can cross national borders. In the latter aspect, it takes advantage of "virtual" money that it does not have to be issued by central authorities. So it is independent in the manufacturing process and also still competitive.

Conclusion

So far the theory. As Berentsen and Schär agree in their paper, Bitcoin is currently struggling with some difficulties. So it is still the scaling question that needs to be answered appropriately. In addition, there is a lack of acceptance in the population. Potential exists, however.

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Zimbabwe: Bitcoin now also from the machine https://ift.tt/2IRMXvt

Zimbabwe now has a Bitcoin ATM. It is the first ATM in the country where you can trade both Bitcoin and Litecoin. Golix, the largest stock exchange in the country, set it up.

Zimbabwe: Bitcoin now also from the machine

Zimbabwe's inflation rate in 2009 was already so high that the country's own currency was temporarily suspended. On September 30, 2015, the demonetization of the Zimbabwe dollar followed - he was now worth nothing. In order to bridge the currency gap, one accepted, among other things, the US dollar. But here too there were problems. Ultimately, the country's central bank is unable to print the US dollar itself. Apart from that, the economy of the South African country is so badly damaged that only a few US dollars come to the country from abroad. In short, there were (and are) too few US dollars in Zimbabwe. This absolutely led to people standing in front of empty ATMs and not being able to withdraw anything. Even if it succeeded, the bank account was charged many times higher than actually paid.

Bitcoin helps Zimbabwe in the crisis

For many people, these factors were the trigger for using cryptocurrency. Instead of paying high fees to the banks, they were also able to send their money home from abroad - even if they had much higher costs for purchasing cryptocurrency in international comparison. In this context, Golix, the country's largest stock exchange, set up a Bitcoin ATM in April 2018. This will allow people in Zimbabwe to buy and sell both Bitcoin and Litecoin directly at the vending machine. The machine is currently in Harare, the capital of the country. According to local media, the Golix operators also want to use the machine to reach people who were previously deterred from moving in the digital space to buy Bitcoin. Out of necessity, Zimbabwe is evidently becoming a progressive country on the way to the decentralized Blockchain state.

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Thailand: Ministry of Finance advises on cryptocurrency http://ift.tt/2ELcaXJ

A committee from various authorities intends to work out a common guide to cryptocurrency in Thailand soon. The population should first be informed about the risks of trading in cryptocurrencies. In Blockchain, on the other hand, you can see potential, as the Bangkok Post recently reported.

Thailand: Ministry of Finance advises on cryptocurrency

Somchai Sujjapongse of the Thai Ministry of Finance does not consider it acceptable to allow any Bitcoin transactions without simultaneous warning and regulating the trade. Therefore, a working group of Bank of Thailand employees, the Ministry of Finance and the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be formed in February of this year to prepare for regulation of cryptocurrency trading. The first step should be to educate your own population in a timely manner. Anyone who deals with cryptocurrency must do so at their own risk and be aware of it. The high-ranking employee of the Ministry of Finance says he has no high opinion of Bitcoin. However, one can not necessarily assume that the blockchain technology is also dangerous. This could be very useful, says Somchai Sujjapongse. At the moment it is still too early to assess how to regulate the trade in detail. For this one must first agree with other countries. It should also be clarified in principle wherever crypto treaties in Thailand may remain legal in principle. The Ministry of Finance spokesman for the Bangkok Post also contacted a managing director who is currently raising funds for his Thai start-up via Initial Coin Offering (ICO). His company J Ventures is engaged in the development of software. Although there is no law yet, which regulates this form of crowdfunding, notes Sujjapongse. But the CEO should not cheat on his investors, he warns the CEO of J Ventures.

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Russia and Ukraine: Positive news in crypto http://ift.tt/2s5C45P

The crypto-climate is improving. Both the central bank in Russia and representatives of the Ukrainian cyber police have commented positively on the subject.

Russia and Ukraine: Positive news in crypto

While the news on cryptocurrencies in Asia was negative in the past week, there are also positive things to report. Both the Ukrainian cyber-authority and the Russian central bank found a positive tone in matters. After the Ukrainian government published a report on assets in cryptocurrency last week, a local authority has said that a competent authority is in favor of legalizing cryptocurrencies: "De facto, you can count cryptocurrency to digital money. A unit that contains a value and is stored on an electronic device In addition, it is accepted as a means of payment and control over its use is ensured by cryptographic protection. existence and circulation of cryptocurrency should be based on a pyramid scheme, cyber police are supporting the idea of ​​legalizing the use and mining of cryptocurrency in Ukraine. " explains Serhiy Demediuk, chairman of cyber police Ukraine. The central bank in Russia is also positive Similar sounds came from the Russian Central Bank, albeit somewhat more restrictively. Olga Skorobogatova, for example, spoke in favor of mining permission, but advised miners to sell their cryptocurrency abroad: "We are in favor of prohibiting mining within the Russian Federation. For us, this is definitely an activity to be promoted. to do so outside the country. " The statement is absolutely based on a bill by the Ministry of Finance to allow citizens to trade cryptocurrencies on licensed stock exports. However, despite the outsourcing of sales overseas, profit realization would still take place in Russia, which would not protect miners from taxes. The current events clearly indicate that the climate for cryptocurrency in both Ukraine and Russia is more pleasant than the repeated statements made last year suggest.

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Monero's open source iOS wallet http://ift.tt/2saUVfQ

Monero is far behind other cryptocurrency when it comes to wallets. A big step is there before the mobile Wallet, Cake Wallet, which has found its way into the iOS AppStore.

Monero's open source iOS wallet

A few days ago, an iOS wallet was announced on Reddit / r / Monero. The developers asked the community at the same time for important features. It was unanimously requested to publish the code so that it could be checked for security. In fact, the developers agreed to open the code for review. The review process has already started. Until the first estimates arrive, you should not transfer any significant sums to the mobile wallet. If you want, you can play with smaller amounts and test the software. But you should always be careful when dealing with the wallet, because even if the code available on GitHub has no errors, there is no guarantee that this code will be the same one using the app in the Apple AppStore. Cake Wallet is free and, like all projects in the Monero community, is funded by contributions.

The cake wallet design

The GUI is, as so often at Apple, trimmed to pretty. Cake Wallet is a Light Weight Client, a wallet that does not store the entire blockchain. This would occupy a reliably large amount of space for a mobile phone. You connect the wallet to a remote node to access the blockchain. This is a trade-off between usability and security because the remote node can see the IP address of the user. With the upcoming Kovri update this attack vector is eliminated. So far, integrating Monero into existing wallets has been difficult. Different providers (Ledger, Coinomi ...) have been working on a Monero integration for quite some time, but so far without a hardware wallet or a wallet was available.

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FedEx continues its blockchain plans for logistics http://ift.tt/2BRQIgk

Global shipping giant FedEx has embarked on integrating blockchain-based platforms into its day-to-day work by joining Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).

FedEx continues its blockchain plans for logistics

Freightwaves, a cargo shipping news agency, said FedEx has begun developing a set of industry standards for blockchain usage within BiTA. The company, which is also a founding member of the organization, has already started testing some blockchain platforms. FedEx is also part of the BiTA Standards Board.

The aim of the Blockchain pilot program is to store data for conflict resolution, said Dale Chrystie, vice president of strategic planning and analysis. The project aims to identify what data is needed for a permanent ledger to reduce disputes between customers shipping and receiving goods through FedEx.

FedEx sees great potential

The shipping giant also wants to use Blockchain to save its records, he said, adding:

"We have millions of records in our system every day and we consider Blockchain a secure chain of evidence that could change the logistics industry. We believe that it is advancing in this area and will optimize the entire data exchange in a very secure way."

Kevin Humphries, FedEx senior vice president of IT, told the agency that blockchain platforms should enable customers to more efficiently track packs. This is true not only while they are in possession of FedExs but also before and after the company picks them up. While FedEx has so far sketched only a subset of possible use cases, Humphries is "hopeful that Blockchain will have many use cases."

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The black month of bitcoin and the cryptocurrency http://ift.tt/2nEROqT

The black month of bitcoin and the cryptocurrency: all fall to lead before regulations and prohibitions

The black month of bitcoin and the cryptocurrency

Everything looked rosy in the cryptocurrency segment at the end of 2017. Bitcoin surpassed $ 20,000 in mid-December, and the fever spread to other cryptocurrencies with notable growths such as Ether, Ripple or IOTA. However that was a critical moment in a segment that has been shaken by losses in the last month. Bitcoin is already under $ 8,000 in its darkest week since April 2013, and the rest of cryptocurrency is not going too well either. Black month for cryptocurrency, a very dark week for bitcoin These are the data that CoinMarketCap shows us, one of the most popular indexes when it comes to consulting the price of these cryptocurrency. There 99 of the first 100 are in the red, and an analysis in other indexes such as LiveCoinWatch allows showing how in the last 30 days many cryptocurrencies have dropped 50% and have seen their value reduced to less than half.

In the last column you can see how most of the crypto treaties have fallen sharply in their value. Source: Livecoinwatch. If the month of the cryptocurrency in general has been bad, this last week has been especially for bitcoin, which has lost more than 25% of its value these days and faces what is its largest loss of weekly value since April 2013 The red numbers accompaniment a market that has lost much of its market valuation in the last 30 days: from the 800,000 million dollars that were reached we have passed to just 365,000 million dollars now. It remains unclear if bitcoin is a bubble and will explode -we'll see who pays in case it explodes- but the truth is that the falls to sack of which we spoke two weeks ago have not relaxed, but have been accentuated. Potential prohibition risk in India In fact, the cycles that some analysts were talking about suggested that this decline at the beginning of the year would end up disappearing at this time. This happened in 2015, 2016 and 2017, but in 2018 the thing, at least for now, is not being met. The absencey becomes absolute again and everything can happen - those who believe that this is a passenger allude to the history of notable falls of bitcoin - but today the data is there and shows how cryptocurrency continues to fall noticeably. In that fall probably have had to see the latest news that have affected this segment, and that not all have been negative. Rumors that South Korea would ban these virtual departments dissipated this week. However on the other hand the Minister of Economy of India, Arun Jaitley, affirmed a few hours ago measures that could affect its use in this Asian giant: "this government does not recognize cryptocurrency as a legal currency, and will take all necessary measures to eliminate the use of these crypto treaties when financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system ". Those comments do not clearly specify what India will do in this sector - that mention of illegitimate activities is confusing - but the fear that investment or use of these virtual treaties is effectively prohibited has grown after these statements. Jaitley, yes, shown interest in the chain of blocks and the application of this technology. To that news was added the concern that exists among investors in the face of rumors that the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency could have been artificially "inflated" by the Bitfinex exchange and the Tether company, which is liable for the creation of a cryptocurrency with the same name. Both were cited judiciously by regulators in the United States, something that has also contributed to these widespread declines in the cryptocurrency market. Volatility once again demonstrates the high investment risk in this market.

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BitFury wants to anonymize Bitcoin transactions http://ift.tt/2rZQdBu

Blockchain start-up BitFury recently announced its Crystal detection software. It is designed to aggregate multiple individuals' wallets from different vendors and help to de-anonymize all transactions in the Bitcoin ecosystem. BitFury could support all investigating authorities or tax offices with its software and actively combat crime. The recipients' Bitcoin addresses are compared with the entries in social networks, forums, in Darknet and other websites.

BitFury wants to anonymize Bitcoin transactions

Recently, BitFury, which started as a mining company several years ago, introduced several software tools called Crystal. Most cybercriminals use wallets from multiple vendors to hide their identities. The software attempts to group the individual bitcoin addresses into groups based on the activity in the blockchain and the entries on the web. Not only parts of the Bitcoin blockchain should be deanonymized. The in-house crawlers (search programs) scour the web for pertinent forums and social networks to make connections between the individual accounts of the criminals. A targeted search for key terms is possible to examine Darknet marketplaces and determine who owns those accounts. This means that all users who care deeply about their privacy are at great risk, according to the three scientists who published the white paper in early January. Incidentally, the white paper by Dmitry Ermilov, Maxim Panov and Yury Yanovich can be obtained from here. The tools are available to the public but only from March 2018 against payment. For all financial service providers or providers of online wallets, the automatic assessment of transactions should be interesting, which should determine whether the money is submitted for legal or illegal purposes. If the sender of the transaction has deposited his Bitcoin address in the Darknet or in relevant forums, the software should raise the alarm immediately. BitFury also wants to create graphics that visualize the relationships between the accounts and help distinguishing the good from the bad guys. BitFury It remains to be seen how effectively the self-developed automatic "bitcoin address clustering" of the software can de-anonymize the transfers. Because of the lack of interest from various authorities and private companies, the project will certainly not fail. That being said, many Darknet users have avoided other coins like Monero, which track so far no one can successfully follow. In addition, private transfers can also be realized via DASH or other cryptocurrencies. The DASH plays in the underground so far in contrast to the Monero or the BTC does not matter much.

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SBI Ripple Asia: Blockchain consortium of brokers

Under the leadership of the SBI Ripple Asia joint venture, Japanese brokers are launching a consortium to further advance the blockchain adaptation in the sector. Blockchain solutions are designed to increase efficiency and better serve customers. Furthermore, SBI Virtual Currencies would like to exclusively list ripple as a cryptocurrency.

SBI Ripple Asia: Blockchain consortium of brokers

Eighteen Japanese brokerage companies have launched a consortium to advance blockchain technology in their businesses. Participants include the online trading platforms SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities, as well as conventional brokerage firms such as Noruma Securities and Daiwa Securities. The main organizer and the driving force behind the project is SBI Rippe Asia, a unit of SBI Holdings. In addition to the focus on blockchain technology and its potential applications in stock market issues, other technological innovations should also be considered. Intensive cooperation between all companies involved in the joint project should reduce costs. One project that the consortium wants to follow more closely is a shared log-in mechanism for customer accounts that uses biometrics and other personal identification information. In addition, artificial intelligence should be used to track trading activities. This could be especially helpful to retail investors who do not always have to re-enter their personal information whenever they create an account. The overall flow of stock trading would be so much more efficient. SBI Ripple Asia is a joint venture between Japanese investment company SBI and DLT payment service provider Ripple. SBI Ripple Asia was founded in early 2016 to introduce the use of ripple products and services to the Asian market. The company had already initiated a bank consortium early last year to work on propagating ripples technology in Japan. The partnership is underlined by the announcement of the SBI Holding, initially in the soon-to-start Exchange SBI Virtual Currencies want to list exclusively the Ripple token XRP. The Exchange is intended to be a reliable crypto exchange for both institutional customers of the financial services provider and individual investors in cryptocurrency in Japan. The XRP is particularly suitable here, since the focus of application of the crypto currency is in the institutional area. For example, SBI VC is also considering joining the xRapid ecosystem - a network that is currently growing. from Blogger http://ift.tt/2nr5g2m via IFTTT

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Sawtooth Hyperledger: blockchain solutions for businesses

Hyperledger Foundation launchers Hyperledger Sawtooth, a new blockchain development platform. It is aimed initially at companies that want to develop their own blockchain applications.

Sawtooth Hyperledger: blockchain solutions for businesses

With Hyperledger Sawtooth, developers want to give businesses a way to develop their own blockchain applications. For these they provide a kind of framework, which developers can access. To relate the platform, the application domain is separated from the core system. This allows developers to program the applications in their own language without having to know the main chain. Hyperledger Sawtooth is modular in design. Sawtooth's design allows you to choose the rules for transactions, smart contracts, and consensus algorithms and customize them for your own needs. The platform offers a variety of examples of transactions that developers can use as models. Available languages ​​include Python, JavaScript, Go, C ++, Java, and Rust. Since there is no centralized service, transaction patterns or other confidential information should not be able to go outside. In addition, the developers want to make the parallel execution of transactions possible with this outsourcing.

Sawtooth uses alternative consensus mechanism

As a consensus mechanism, Sawtooth works with the Proof of Elapsed Time, which is based on the proof of work. It should work by taking advantage of the scaling capabilities of the proof of work while changing the algorithm so that the process uses less energy. Hyperledger Sawtooth returns to the basic capabilities of hyperledgers. With their help, users can construct transactions, track information in the supply chain, and exchange goods. As application areas the developers lead finances, the health system as well as supply chains. For supply chains, the use of Iot sensors should make it possible to track the entire delivery path. The object in question is there before equipped with a sensor to later trace the route from the starting point to the transport, ownership and other parameters. This application would be conceivable, for example, in the fish trade or in the medical sector - depending on the taste of the proportional companies. from Blogger http://ift.tt/2E1nQYn via IFTTT

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SEC stops alleged scam ICO

The US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has suspended an Initial Coin Offerig that is allegedly fraudulent. It is an ICO of the AriseBank from the US state of Texas. Investors who have probably been victims of fraud should contact the SEC.

SEC stops alleged scam ICO

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stopped the ICO from being the self-proclaimed "first decentralized bank in the world". The reason given is that AriseBank and its co-founders Jared Rice Sr. and Stanley Ford have offered and sold unregistered investments. According to the AriseBank have their ICO on social media channels, through public support by legitimate personalities and other distribution options have promoted and so have taken a total of about 600 million US dollars of the targeted 1 billion already in a period of two months. As part of their cryptocurrency token sales AriseCoin, Rice and Ford have made AriseBank the first decentralized bank of their kind to offer their customers a range of banking products using over 700 different currencies. For this an algorithmic trading platform was developed, which carries out automated trades in different crypto treaties. The SEC also notes that AriseBank has falsely claimed to have bought a deposit-insured bank (FDIC insured), which allows it to insure customers' accounts. In addition, customers were promoted a VISA card issued by Arise to spend each of the 700 cryptocurrencies. The court in charge accepted the requirements of the SEC and set about freezing the affairs of AriseBank and Jared Rice Sr. and Stanley Ford. Thus, the SEC intervened to protect the digital conventions before they could be embezzled. In addition, the SEC asked potential victims of the fraud to contact them and to coordinate further action. from Blogger http://ift.tt/2rSwLq9 via IFTTT

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Facebook & Instagram: Advertising for crypto conventions & ICOs prohibited

The new Facebook and Instagram policy violates the publication of any advertisements for cryptocurrencies, ICOs, and other digital financial products that are "often associated with misleading or fraudulent practices." For many advertisers, this is a setback in view of the large market share and the intensive use of social networks.

Facebook & Instagram: Advertising for crypto conventions & ICOs prohibited

Bad news for all companies who want to advertise their services or products on Facebook or Instagram. According to the company's previous guidelines, a new one was added yesterday, according to the blog entry. Since you want to avert any damage from its users, since yesterday, no videos and banners are allowed, which act on crypto currencies, ICOs or other digital financial products. In addition, the users of Instagram and Facebook are called to report even advertising that attracts them negative.

Although you want to continue to deliver advertising to the Facebook and Instagram users, as it says in the blog post. But not as far as digital financial products are concerned, because these are currently often offered "not in good faith". The social network operating company has narrowed the scope of content until it is better able to distinguish legitimate from misleading advertising. Until then, such ads are also prohibited in the company's own advertising network, the "Audience Network". Once it is possible to better distinguish the advertisements in terms of their seriousness, the locked-out business area should be narrowed down again. Whether ads for products from the crypto sector will be allowed again remains to be seen. Further details will not be published in yesterday's blog post by Rob Leatherr (Product Management Director).

from Blogger http://ift.tt/2np6n2y via IFTTT

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Russia wants to find crypto-miner

According to various Russian media, the Moscow Ministry of Communications and Mass Media wants to develop its own detection system for crypto-miners. The signals from the ministries are very uneven. In part, there is talk of tax relief, either from increased electricity tariffs or a maximum electricity quota, which may not exceed the miners in the Russian Federation.

Russia wants to find crypto-miner

Currently, according to media reports, preparations are under way for new bills, which will probably be tabled in the Russian parliament on 1 February. In addition, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Mass Media (Minkomswjas) wants to recognize miners because of their power consumption and the data volume typical of their activity. Also, the approximate extent of mining cryptocurrencys will presumably be recognized. How this should be technically implemented is unfortunately not carried out in the publications available online. Already in October 2017, Russian regulators announced such recognition systems. Given such exceptional power consumption, it would not be difficult to forget the miners, the new measures were announced in the fall.

According to the news agency RIA Novosti, executives of the Ministry of Energy have now announced that they consider the identification as possible as well as very time-consuming. The ministry proposed to limit the measures to those who carry out mining on a commercial scale and then on a very large scale. There are also people who consume a lot of electricity per month in other ways. What the power is consumed, you can not see from the outside. The inspection of the data streams is also very time-consuming. One can not automatically call every user of streaming services a miner, just because it transmits a lot of data. As soon as the data is encrypted, for example, with a Virtual Private Network (VPN), the discovery of the miners is almost impossible.

There are also considerations that crypto-miners are released from the payment of taxes for two years after registration. In principle, they are not expected to pay sales taxes, but after the expiration of the two-year period income taxes due to the increase in value of their wallets. Also regarding the tax break, the situation is not assessed uniformly. Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev told RIA Novosti that he could see no reason for a multi-year tax break. The Ministry of Telecommunications and Mass Media currently varies between a quota system on the one hand and special electricity tariffs for miners on the other. A spokesman for the Department of Energy, on the other hand, slowed expectations at a meeting last week. So far no one has been able to explain to him why there should be deducted tariffs for this group of people. Within the Russian Federation, prices are already extremely cheap, which has greatly boosted mining there.

At the moment it there remains to be seen whether at the end of the deliberations of the treaties a relief, a neutral regulation or even a kind of state blockade policy will emerge. If Ministers agree to a blockade, this, by its very nature, should have a very strong negative impact on the cryptocurrency market.

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