WTF Jäger des verlorenen Bitcoin-Schatzes darf auf Müllkippe nicht ausgraben Bild: Steve Buissinne, gemeinfrei (Creative Commons CC0)
2013 warf ein Informatiker aus Wales versehentlich eine Festplatte mit Schlüsseln für 7500 Bitcoins weg. Gerne würde er diesen Schatz nun auf der Müllhalde ausgraben. Doch die Kommune verweigert das.
Das Internet ist voll von heißen IT-News und abgestandenem Pr0n. Dazwischen finden sich auch immer wieder Perlen, die zu schade sind für /dev/null.
Irgendwo auf einer Müllkippe der walisischen Stadt Newport soll eine Festplatte mit den privaten Schlüsseln für 7500 Bitcoins begraben sein. Weggeworfen hatte die der Informatiker James Howells bereits Mitte 2013, wie er zahlreichen britischen Medien erzählte. Schon damals waren die eine Stange Geld wert, zum aktuellen Kurs wären es sogar rund 76 Millionen Euro.
Howells hatte den Berichten nach bereits 2009, also in der Frühzeit des Bitcoin, mit dem Mining begonnen. Zu der Zeit war der sich stetig anpassende Schwierigkeitsgrad noch so niedrig, dass man auch mit einer handelsüblichen CPU was reißen konnte. Und die Belohnung für jeden eingetragenen Block lag bei 50 Bitcoins. Den fürs Mining genutzten Laptop hatte Howells irgendwann zerlegt und die Komponenten verkauft; die Festplatte mit den Schlüsseln kam in die Schublade – bis sie bei einem Umzug versehentlich in den Müll geriet.
Kein Backup, kein Mitleid?
Gerne würde Howells nun im großen Stil die Müllhalde umgraben, um die immer wertvollere Festplatte – der Bitcoin liegt derzeit fast bei 12.000 US-Dollar – wieder in Besitz zu nehmen. Bereits mehrfach hat er bei der Kommune angefragt, wie Wales Online schreibt. Aber die Zuständigen wollen nicht, dass die Müllhalde gelootet wird. Derlei aufwändige Ausgrabungen seien nicht möglich, weil die Kosten in die Millionen gingen und erhebliche Konsequenzen für die Umwelt zu befürchten seien, erklärte ein Sprecher der Stadt. Abgesehen davon sei es wahrscheinlich, dass die Festplatte dank Müllsickerwasser und ähnlichem längst der Kontaktkorrosion zum Opfer gefallen ist.
Hey @NewportCouncil what if i ran for council leader at the next local elections and pledged to give 50% of my Bitcoin ($50 million) to the City to sort this place out.
Generell sei es Privatpersonen auch verboten, die Müllhalde zu betreten, Schatzsucher machten sich strafbar, betonte der Sprecher. Howells führt private Investoren an, die die Ausgrabung finanzieren, beklagt, dass man ihn nie wirklich angehört habe, und verspricht der Kommune einen Anteil von 10 Prozent des Bitcoinschatzes. Vergeblich. Bisher lehnt Newport das Ansinnen ab. Inzwischen hat Howells sein Angebot auf die Hälfte des Schatzes nachgebessert – und überlegt, für den Stadtrat zu kandidieren. Die Festplatte korrodiert unterdessen weiter. Und der Bitcoin steigt und steigt. (axk)
Weitere News zum Thema
Original article and pictures take www.heise.de site
With Altcoins Diving, Bitcoin Helps Crypto Market Sustain $200 Bln Cap
A big dip across the altcoin board hasn’t dented the cryptocurrency market as a whole.
The last few days have been adventurous for the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin price reached up towards $7,500, while almost $10 bln worth of trading was accounted for, more so, the market cap of the cryptocurrency world reached a record $200 bln.
However, since those momentous numbers were hit a few days back, more interesting happenings have occurred. There has been a slip back on a lot of the altcoins, while Bitcoin has remained steady, but even with that altcoin dive, the market has maintained over $200 bln.
The king of crypto
The usual volatility that dogs the cryptocurrency world has sunk its claws deep into the altcoin market, all the while Bitcoin has remained relatively stable, as well as managed to help pick up the slack.
On Nov. 2, seven of the top 10 Cryptocurrencies took a massive dip while Bitcoin only continued its upward trend. The ones that didn’t dip include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum Classic.
During that time, Bitcoin’s sway of the market reached $125 bln of the $200 bln, and it was this more than 60 percent hold of the market that managed to keep the cryptocurrency ecosystem above $200 bln.
Showing the trend
Bitcoin’s dominance across the entire market shows that it is indeed the go-to digital currency as the crypto-ecosystem continues to explode. Little else seems to really matter when it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrencies as nothing is even keeping up with Bitcoin.
However, this could only be temporary as Bitcoin is heading towards yet another controversial fork. Bitcoin price is still mainly driven by speculation, and it is very likely we will see a price correction around the time of the SegWit2x hard fork.
This will be when the altcoins have their time to shine as many investors will start to diversify their funds into other coins that will be more stable over the time of the proposed hard fork.
Miles behind
Altcoins of course still have a major role to play in the market, but their dominance is waning and their influence even more.
There are only two cryptocurrencies over $10 bln. Ethereum still sits in second place with a total valuation of just under $28.5 bln. Bitcoin Cash is still third, but its cap lost nearly $1.3 bln after its own value was inflated by speculation then dropped.
A drop in the bucket
The market cap of the cryptocurrency market does look impressive, but relatively it is still small fry. What needs to be marveled at is rather the speed of its growth. Going from under $20 bln on Jan. 1 all the way to $201 bln on Nov. 5 is incredibly remarkable.
When the market cap starts flirting with the trillion mark, it will then be attracting some major attention.
Original article and pictures take www.btcethereum.com site
Why Bitcoin Will Continue to Grow in 2016 #infographic
Despite a string of scandals and off-putting volatility in the marketplace over the years, 2015 will go down as the point Bitcoin became anchored in the mainstream. Traders were more than pleased in October when it was finally ruled by the European Court of Justice that Value Added Tax (VAT) would not be applied to the cryptocurrency. By November the dollar price was back over $400 leaving the previous crash in its rear-view mirror. And the overall market cap surpassed $6 billion on November 4th!
According to a new infographic from BargainFox.co.uk growth will most certainly continue in 2016, as we reach the 7th year since Satoshi Nakamoto founded the technology as a response to the global financial crisis.
Indeed, unlike traditional currencies that are at the behest of government policy and banking institutions, bitcoin is traded across a decentralized peer to peer network that anyone with the internet can connect to. With no authority meddling with its creation or value, it's worth whatever the market dictates and can allow transactions all over the world without delay or ridiculous fees. What's more is despite publicly logging every transaction, it is virtually impossible to hack and no user information is stored in the blockchain anyway.
But what's drawing the average person to give it a try? The simple answer is why wouldn't they? Now that capital venture investment is at an all time high of $469 million and has experienced consistent growth since the currency's inception, developers have been able to make bitcoin a lot more accessible. Trades can be made through mobile apps, purchases are now no more complex than a credit card transaction, and there are even ATM machines in major cities across the world.
When exchanges like BitStamp grow by 160% in one year, it's clear that bitcoin's popularity is on the rise.
2015 also marked a huge jump in the number of merchants (stores, restaurants and other service providers) who offer bitcoin as one of their payment options. In 2014 it was 65,000, it's now over 100,000. This includes mega corporations like Expedia, Time Inc. and Microsoft. As well as online stores like Overstock, TigerDirect and NewEgg.
If online, sites allow you to easily pay during the checkout process. If in a physical store or establishment you may be asked to use a simple mobile app or their own interface, which is not too dissimilar to a credit card machine.
"Adopting bitcoin as a payment method is another way we’re responding to our customers’ diverse needs,” said Soren Mills, Chief Marketing Officer for Newegg North America. “Working with BitPay to implement a bitcoin payment option at Newegg was a seamless process and our partnership gives us the capabilities we require for high-volume e-commerce.”
BitPay is currently the leading payment processor and offers merchants a number of benefits, not least a cheaper transaction fee than the likes of Visa and Mastercard. This is no more than 1%, and once a bitcoin payment is received it can be automatically converted to their chosen currency, so they can accept it without necessarily investing in it themselves.
Another clear sign of bitcoin's growth is its daily transaction value of $289 million. This is way more than Xoom ($15 million), and more than Western Union ($216 million). Paypal only accounts for $397 million in transactions each day. Could we eventually be in a world where bitcoin is bigger than Paypal?
Though that may be a little while off, if these 33 indicators from Bargain Fox are anything to go by, there's no sign of bitcoin's growth slowing down.
Why Bitcoin Will Continue to Grow in 2016 #infographic #Finance #Bitcoin
<p> <a href='http://www.visualistan.com/2015/12/why-bitcoin-will-continue-to-grow-in-2016.html'><img src='https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4f/1e/8a/4f1e8a83983d2d3abc8150fa97181efa.jpg' alt='Why Bitcoin Will Continue to Grow in 2016 #infographic' width='640px' border='0' /></a>You can also find more infographics at <a href="http://www.visualistan.com">Visualistan</a></p>
Original article and pictures take www.visualistan.com site
There is a slight difference between how to buy bitcoins and where to buy them. How to is all about the wallet and exchanges and the typical sources. Where to buy bitcoins digs a little deeper into some of the alternatives to exchanges and setting up your own shop that takes bitcoins.
Some larger areas have bitcoin ATMs. The prices are comparable to exchanges. This is a convenient process. Looking at the prices for the middle of November 2017, these are the prices at a bitcoin ATM in the United States. The dollars are US dollars. 0.01 costs $90.80. 0.001 costs $9.08.
Another source for bitcoins is eBay. A typical posting reads something like this, “0.001 bitcoin to your wallet. Pay with Paypal.” The seller wants a selfie of you holding your passport or driver’s license so they can compare your face to the ID and your name with the Paypal account. This 0.01 bitcoin costs $19.99. This is on a day when a bitcoin is selling for $8.
Another eBay seller is offering 0.01 bitcoin for $95. This seller has the same rule about the selfie with ID and matching the name with the Paypal account. On the market, 0.01 bitcoin is selling for $80.
If you are at the beginning of understanding bitcoins, be careful. Another seller is selling a gold plated physical bitcoin in a protective acrylic case for $11. The seller makes it clear that it is a commemorative coin. That’s a good thing because there is no such thing as a real physical bitcoin. However, someone not very knowledgeable about bitcoins might think that they are actual coins.
If you start accepting bitcoin for a service you offer or when you sell your car, you will become part of the movement toward having people become more familiar with using bitcoin.
When it comes to spending bitcoin, more stores are accepting them. Overstock, Intuit, Microsoft, and DISH network accept bitcoin as a payment method. eGifter sells more than 200 different gift cards accepting bitcoin as payment for the card. There is no additional fee for paying with bitcoin.
One of the reasons for brick and mortar store to be slow in adopting bitcoin as a payment type is the volatility of bitcoin. There were fears of selling an item one day and having bitcoin plummet the next day. This could cut into the store’s profit margin. Another factor is that every transaction requires verification and this can take up to 30 minutes.
If you purchase bitcoin and keep it in your wallet, it is very easy to convert it into cash or withdraw it to your bank account. An exchange such as coinbase is connected to your bank account and that is one way to withdraw money into your bank account. This is a way of using your bitcoin currency while you wait for more businesses to accept it as payment.
Original article and pictures take the-bitcoin.info site
Are you the person who moving forward to get interested more on the online networking braches and also have some business tricks in the online community? Are you the one who are stronger business activates in the online communities and have to maintain a profit gaining business that leads you to the certain successful most profitable path? This page will clearly explain something new about the word money and what its need and also why it is to be keep safe, more over the alternate way to produce safety for your money with the help of virtual money.
Money- the king slayer
There is big black market has move on with our society with unimaginable condition. More people running their life more furiously without mercy. The human mind is enclosed of love, care, satisfaction, helping tendency and some more positive habitual actions. But now everyone lost all their positive actions and developing lots of negative attitude because of earning more money. Since money becomes everything for the people they come forward to go any edge for the money. This money will bring them to the most aggressive ay in order to make them survival. Since there is a sign that tells that money will be the only user that helpful to survival of life. Most people are thought about their family future. In order to stable their family they involve in mischievous things for others. More over the concept is to damage the other only for the survival of the own shelter.
Easy way available:
If you are not comfort to move on to get more profit and increment through the real world, then you can go on with the virtual world. By moving on with Imaginary world you can gain some virtual money that can be used for some more real life processes by the real money transaction process. By using that virtual money we can use the online wallet usage and also the cash transfer through wallets and also for all the inline works. Moreover we can perform all the process through that money. Now a day most networking corporate are interested on using that virtual money because of the reason that virtual money makes an illusion between the people that used to gain more profit economically and also business successively. Among those a speculated way is bit coin.
About that:
Bit means the discrete virtual memory that memory will be used as the money in this method, by using the wallet we can provide much amount of money can be stored digitally that totally made the every transaction in the safety manner. In order to maintain the safety we can convert our cash into the bit coin and can be saved in the wallet. And the money is transferred to different wallet that will be quite easier for transaction.
Verdict:
If you feel forward to make your money as safe one and also easy to handle then you can go on with the bit coin.
Original article and pictures take bitcoinis.fun site
A bitcoin wallet is software that connects you to the bitcoin network. This is the first step in acquiring bitcoin. You know how it is when you send someone an email. You have to have an email address, a password, and a way of connecting to the network. It can be webmail or a program such as Thunderbird or Outlook.
You open up your email program and send an email to someone, using the email address that they gave you. The email is sent using your email address. If someone gets your password, they can log into your email account and send out messages pretending they are you.
With bitcoin, you also need software to connect to the network. Your wallet is the software that allows you to connect to the bitcoin network. You have a public key and a private key instead of an email address and a password. You have to protect your private key because if anyone gets access to your wallet, they can clean it out. Think of it as leaving a tangible wallet stuffed with cash out where anyone can pick it up and empty it.
You can have a hot wallet or a cold wallet. A hot wallet is connected to the internet. It can be sitting on your computer, tablet, or phone. A cold wallet is kept offline. It gives a whole new meaning to cold storage. All it means is that it cannot be accessed on the internet.
Your wallet is a node on the bitcoin network. It can be a full node or a lightweight node. A full node loads every bitcoin transaction to your wallet. At bitcoin.org, the latest bitcoin core information is available. This is the entire history of all bitcoin transactions to date. As of November 2017, it is big – 145 gigabytes. Some people have reported that it took several days to download the full node. It also takes up a lot of space on your computer. It would not fit on a phone.
A lightweight node is also referred to as an SPV wallet or node. SPV stands for simplified payment verification. In this mode, you download only a part of the bitcoin core. It is still connected to the full node but it receives just the transactions that are necessary and that are relevant to your node.
You can also have an online wallet, a wallet in the cloud. Often bitcoin exchanges, those places where you can set up an account and buy or sell bitcoins, have wallets where you can store your bitcoins as you accumulate them. When you buy bitcoin on an exchange, you may want to leave some bitcoin cash in the wallet on the exchange and transfer some to another one of your wallets.
Paper wallets are also popular. You can print out your public and private keys and a QR code and store that piece of paper as if it were cash. With the QR code, it is easy to scan in and use online. The security depends on how well you store this valuable piece of paper.
If you have several wallets, it is easy to transfer your bitcoin from one to the other. Some users keep a lightweight wallet on their phone for easy and quick transactions. Typically, they keep it like pocket change, keeping just enough to have walking around funds.
They may keep some in a hot wallet on their home computer as well. They store the majority of their bitcoins in a cold wallet. When it comes to a cold wallet, it is possible to store your wallet on a USB stick. If you have a lot of bitcoin, you might want to consider a hardware wallet that encrypts the information. If someone gets your USB stick, it is possible that they can take your bitcoins. With a secure encrypted hardware cold wallet, that is not so easy.
Original article and pictures take www.moarcoins.com site
Using the Raspberry Pi to Control a Bitcoin ASIC Mining Rig
As the total hashrate of the Bitcoin network continues to rise mining for Bitcoins using GPUs is quickly becoming obsolete. In order to stay involved in Bitcoin and continue mining without losing money on electricity I decided to order a few of the ASICMiner USB Block Erupters.
BTC Guild recently started reselling the Block Erupters as individual units eliminating the need to participate in a larger group buy which has made it much easier to purchase these tiny ASICS. You can also purchase them directly on Amazon, or you can buy some Bitcoins and buy them directly from BTC Guild, or on the Bitcoin auction site Bitmet as well.
Adafruit recently posted a guide explaining how to use the Raspberry Pi and PiMiner as a headless controller for Bitcoin ASIC miners. This seemed like a cool use for the Pi and reason to get the soldering iron out so I decided to order the parts and put it together.
Parts Used
Below is a list of all of the parts I used for this project. You don’t necessarily need a model B Pi, the model A would work just fine if that’s what you happen to have on hand. You don’t need a very big SD card either but if you need to purchase one you might as well buy an 8GB card since the prices are so cheap now.
The Block Erupters are one of the few ASICs that you can purchase without having to wait for a pre-order. With a power requirement of only 2.5 watts each these are a good option for anyone looking to stop mining on their GPUs and move to a more power efficient mining rig.
The three ASICs below are from the saphire batch and produce about 330 mh/s each. I ordered these from BTC Guild and received them in about a week.
If you don’t have any Bitcoins to use for the ASIC purchase on BTC Guild’s store you can easily acquire some through Coinbase.
Cooling Solutions
The Block Erupters use a passive heatsink for cooling. After running for a few minutes the heatsink gets extremely hot, you can easily burn your hand on them if you are not careful. While using a fan isn’t required doing so keeps the error rate low and will probably extend the lifespan of the miners.
The Arctic Breeze fan works good for this project since it has an adjustable gooseneck that allows it to be pointed where it is needed. This fan is almost completely silent too, I can barely even notice it when is running.
This image shows how far you can bend the fan, it keeps my miners nice and cool.
USB Hub Compatibility
When I first looked at doing this project I was planning to use an Anker 10 port USB 3.0 hub that would allow the ASICS to sit vertically into the hub. As I started researching this hub I found that many users reported issues with using the Raspberry Pi with the Anker hub. As I began reading I discovered that the Pi has several known issues with USB 3.0 hubs in general. More specifically it seems that the Pi has issues enumerating USB 1.x/2.x devices on 3.0 hubs. Since the Block Erupters are USB 1.1 devices they fall into the scope of this bug.
Several people were reporting success with the D-Link DUB-H7 hub, and it is also listed on the RPi verified peripherals wiki page. I decided to purchase this hub to avoid any potential compatibility issues and I can confirm that it does work well with the Pi.
Why I Like The Adafruit Pi Box Enclosure
There are quite a few different enclosure available for the Pi but the Adafruit Pi Box is a good fit for this project since the top portion of the case can be removed providing easy access to the GPIO pins on the Pi. If you happen to have access to a 3D printer or a Full Spectrum Hobby Laser you can download the SVG file and make your own case.
If you purchase this case from Adafruit it comes as a kit that can be assembled very easily.
Here is what the case looks like after it has been assembled. This video shows how the Pi Box is assembled.
Adafruit LCD Kit
Adding the LCD to this project is optional but besides being very cool it gives you an easy way to check on the status of the ASIC miners. Adafruit provides some python code that displays several screens of information on the LCD such as hash rate, errors, current Bitcoin prices, and network difficulty.
So if you plan to run these miners without a monitor connected to the Pi then the LCD makes perfect sense. I also enjoy soldering electronics so the fact that the LCD comes as a kit adds to the general fun level of the project for me.
I ordered the RGP Positive kit which has a muli-colored backlight (7 different colors). Adafruit also sells the same display as RGP negative, or blue/white.
Here is what the Adafruit kit looks like.
The picture below shows what the entire board looks like after assembly. The soldering difficulty level was pretty easy, the entire board took less than 30 minutes to build.
The main screen shows the number of accepted shares, rejects, and average hash rate.
Displaying the current BTC price, and the daily high and low price.
Listing the number of devices and the hardware error rate. When using a fan the error rate remains below 1%.
Overall Performance
I’ve been running my ASIC mining rig for about a week now with very few issues. The cgminer monitoring script seems to occasionally crash which results in the LCD locking up. The monitoring script runs as a separate process so it does not stop cgminer from running when it dies. Aside from debugging the python script a simple solution would be to setup a cron job to periodically restart the script.
Comments
Are you using the Pi to control your Bitcoin mining system? If so do you have any tips to share? Leave a comment below to assist other miners.
Original article and pictures take www.samkear.com site
Using Bitcoin as Money Just Got a Lot Harder In Europe
On Friday, several of the most popular Bitcoin debit cards—basically prepaid cards, topped up with cryptocurrency—stopped working in Europe after Visa Europe terminated services for WaveCrest, a prepaid card issuer.
Prepaid cards are an important way for people to use Bitcoin to pay for things, even if the retailer doesn’t accept cryptocurrency. Customers deposit their Bitcoin into an account with the Bitcoin debit card company, and the company converts it into fiat money—payments with these cards are processed by established players like Mastercard and Visa.
After Visa Europe’s decision regarding WaveCrest on Friday, Bitcoin debit card companies Bitwala, BitPay, Cryptopay, and others announced on Twitter that cards in Europe would stop working effective immediately, and customer funds will be returned.
With high fees and slow confirmation times already putting a damper on the use of Bitcoin for small purchases, the loss of prepaid cards in Europe is yet another hit to Bitcoin’s potential future as a currency. However, much to the chagrin of Bitcoiners, it’s one imposed by an established financial player instead of technical limitations.
It’s unclear why Visa terminated WaveCrest’s services, but Daily Beast reporter Joseph Cox reported on Twitter that Visa’s reason was non-compliance with membership regulations. A Visa Europe spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
“We have already notified our partners and cardholders of Visa’s requirement to close these accounts and our first priority is to ensure the safe and timely return of all funds,” Brent Almeida, CEO of WaveCrest, told Motherboard in an emailed statement. “We deeply regret the inconvenience that this has caused to all of our customers affected by this decision.”
Bitpay stated that its cards in the US will still work. WaveCrest’s website states that cards in the US are issued by MetaBank, and in Canada by Home Trust, under licenses from Mastercard and Visa. BitPay announced in a subsequent statement that the company is already in talks with alternate card issuers in Europe.
For now though, in Europe, it looks like the dream of using Bitcoin to pay for groceries or clothing—instead of holding on to it as an investment like a brick of gold—has hit a pretty big bump in the road.
Original article and pictures take bitnewsbot.b-cdn.net site
US Marshals Service to Auction Off $54 Million in Bitcoin
The U.S. Marshals Service has announced that it will auction off more than 3,800 bitcoins later this month.
The auction will take place on Jan. 22, according to a representative from the service. The event marks the first time since 2016 that the U.S. Marshals Service has held a bitcoin auction, after the agency sold off 2,700 bitcoins – an amount worth about $1.6 million at the time and now valued at about $51 million – in August of that year.
At press-time prices, the 3,813 BTC up for grabs is worth roughly $54 million.
The forthcoming auction follows a similar structure, according to the agency, with the stash of 3,813 bitcoins being divided into multiple auction blocks.
The Marshals Service explained:
“The auction will take place during a six-hour period Jan. 22 from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. EST. Bids will be accepted by email from preregistered bidders only. The 3,813 bitcoins are offered for sale in 11 blocks: five blocks of 500 bitcoins, five blocks of 100 bitcoins and one block of approximately 813 bitcoins.”
Prospective participants much register with the Marshals Service by noontime EST on Jan. 19, the agency said, a requirement that includes a $200,000 refundable deposit. The winner of the auction will be notified that same day.
The service had previously held several auctions in connection with bitcoins seized from the now-defunct dark market Silk Road. Over that months-long process, the Marshals Service auctioned more than 144,000 bitcoins.
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at news@coindesk.com.
UnoCoin Users Can Now Top Up Their BookMyShow Wallet With Bitcoin
It appears bitcoin adoption continues to thrive in India these days. Albeit there is no official regulation for bitcoin in the country just yet, the popular cryptocurrency has become an accepted form of payment for many service providers. Thanks to the UnoCoin mobile wallet, Indian residents can now top up their Bookmyshow wallet with bitcoin.
BookMyShow Now Accepts Bitcoin Topups
India is banking heavily on mobile applications being the future of finance. With so many mobile users compared to regular computer owners, it is not surprising to see such a shift take place right now. This is also part of the reason why mobile bitcoin wallet services are becoming so popular in India these days, with UnoCoin being one of the market leaders. The company continues to make inroads to bring bitcoin payments to other services as well.
As the name of this particular app suggests, BookMyShow is a popular mobile tool that allows users to order tickets for movies, plays, concerts, sports, and other events in their city. This one-stop mobile solution makes it easy for users to organize their social life as well as keep their tickets on them at all times. One of the main problems with paper ticket sis how they can be lost, stolen, or simply forgotten. Everyone has their mobile device on them at all times, though.
BookMyShow is a mobile application available in many different countries, yet India is the first region where bitcoin payments are integrated. It appears the UnoCoin wallet and BookmyShow app have worked out a partnership that integrated both services in the UnoCoin app. This also means this new bitcoin offering works within India’s borders, for the time being. Depending on how successful this new partnership is, BookMyShow may roll out this functionality to other countries around the world, though.
A service like this will help put bitcoin on the radar for consumers. Not only is it a more than viable payment solution to replace traditional finance, but it also empowers users as they can take back full financial control. Combining bitcoin with a mobile app that focuses on the social aspect is a smart decision. Some people will start to talk about how they booked tickets for an event through bitcoin, which will get the ball rolling for future bitcoin adoption in India. All things considered, this is excellent news for bitcoin.
JP is a freelance copywriter and SEO writer who is passionate about various topics. The majority of his work focuses on Bitcoin, blockchain, and financial technology. He is contributing to major news sites all over the world, including NewsBTC, The Merkle, Samsung Insights, and TransferGo.
Original article and pictures take s3.amazonaws.com site
Un corso a Torino per imparare a comprare e vendere Bitcoin
Sabato 20 Gennaio 2018, dalle 9 alle 13, presso la sede dell’Accademia Formaweb, in Via Venaria 37/C a Torino, il direttore de ilBitcoin.news Marco Cavicchioli terrà un corso in aula durante il quale vi mostrerà come si acquistano e vendono i Bitcoin, e le altre criptovalute.
Il corso è dedicato a chi muove i primi passi in questo settore, quindi è aperto a tutti: non serve alcuna specifica competenza per potervi prendere parte. Il programma del corso è il seguente:
Cosa sono e come funzionano i Bitcoin
Quali sono gli strumenti da usare per utilizzare i Bitcoin
Quali sono gli strumenti da usare per investire in Bitcoin
Come si investe sul Bitcoin.
L’aula è piccola, e i posti a disposizione sono pochi, quindi è consigliabile iscriversi subito prima che si esauriscano. Per iscrivervi contattate direttamente l’Accademia Formaweb tramite la pagina ufficiale del corso sul loro sito, mentre per eventuali altre informazioni a riguardo contattate Marco Cavicchioli.
Per conoscere meglio il docente potete guardare le sue “lezioni di Bitcoin” su YouTube.
Iscriviti al nostro canale Telegram:
Original article and pictures take www.ilbitcoin.news site
UK threatens to shut down popular Bitcoin investment site BitConnect
It turns out Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin might have been right to suggest popular Bitcoin investment platform, BitConnect, has been running a Ponzi scheme after all: the UK Registrar of Companies has threatened to shut down the dodgy platform and dissolve its operation.
BitConnect has two months to prove “cause to the contrary” until the decision has been formally enforced, according to an official filing on the British Companies House website. Should the company fail to comply with these terms, the government agency will strike off its registration and seize its assets.
“Upon dissolution all property and rights vested in, or held in trust for, the company are deemed to be bona vacantia, and accordingly will belong to the crown,” the document reads. Many have speculated that BitConnect likely stashes its funds abroad, though there is no evidence to back this up.
You can see the full letter of notice in the image below:
While the notice makes no mention of the people behind the shifty Bitcoin investment platform, another filing [PDF] reveals BitConnect was registered by a British man going by the name of Ken Fitzsimmons. According to the same filing, Fitzsimmons holds 75 percent or more of the shares in the company.
Curiously, the name of Fitzsimmons doesn’t appear anywhere on Bitconnect’s site – and nobody seems to know what his involvement in the investment platform is.
Unfortunately, details about Fitzsimmons continue to remain scarce at this point.
Shortly after the UK Companies House strike-off notice began circulating Reddit, the price of BitConnect Cash (BCC) took a dip from $287 to under $230 – though it has since climbed back up to $245. Here are some stats from Coin Market Cap:
Meanwhile, BitConnect has carried on promoting its platform to new investors. In fact, the company hosted a cheesy suit-and-gown networking event in Thailand on October 28.
Despite action-packed program featuring “acrobatic performances, dance and live entertainment,” the keynote offered little insight into the company’s plans for the future and its current financial situation.
Instead, the highlight of the celebratory gala night became this cringe-inducing hyping performance by one of the event hosts:
Those interested to see the full BitConnect presentation in Thailand can check out this video.
Following the abrupt disappearance of suspicious Bitcoin investment platform Bitpetite two weeks ago, the cryptocommunity has grown increasingly distrustful of BitConnect, with numerous people calling respected crypto influencers to chime in on the situation with their expertise.
Eventually, Ethereum’s Buterin responded to the requests, suggesting the fishy Bitcoin investment site could indeed be running a Ponzi scheme.
Yeah, if 1%/day is what they offer then that's a ponzi.
Since then, Redditors have began noticing a slew of major red flags on BitConnect’s site, including this schematic that uses a picture of a pyramid to explain the platform’s revenue structure.
Here is a screenshot from the post in question:
Say what you will, but this is not a good look for BitConnect and its investors.
In the meantime, we have contacted BitConnect to ask whether the company has any intentions to appeal the strike-off notice from the UK Companies House, and will update this piece accordingly if we hear back.
Clarification: As pointed out by readers, BitConnect also listed on Companies House’s registrar as BITCONNECT INTERNATIONAL PLC.
Neither of the filings – for the PLC or the LTD – mention how BITCONNECT PLC will be affected in the event that Companies House proceeds with BITCONNECT LTD’s removal from the registrar – or how it will affect the company’s operation in the UK.
Update: It has been brought to our attention that, in addition to the other two instances in which BitConnect appears on the UK company registrar, BitConnect has also been listed on Companies House as BITCOIN AMR LIMITED.
One thing to keep in mind is that, prior to assuming the name BITCOIN AMR LIMITED, the company used to be registered as BITCONNECT PUBLIC LIMITED – not to be mistaken with BITCONNECT LTD.
According to the documents, BITCONNECT PUBLIC LIMITED (now BITCOIN AMR LIMITED) and BITCONNECT LTD were two separate entities, registered under two different company numbers: the former was logged under company number 10944876, and the latter – 10278342.
BITCONNECT INTERNATIONAL PLC, on the other hand, also has its own company number: 10948031.
The filings do not outline what the connection between the three separate companies is – or whether there is one to start with.
Looking through the names attached to the companies though. It appears that a person named Le Thi Thannh Huy is involved in both BITCOIN AMR LIMITED as well as BITCONNECT INTERNATIONAL PLC.
Interestingly, the documents suggest this is not the same person. Despite the similarities in name, the filing suggests the person named Thannh Huy involved in BITCOIN AMR was born in 1978, while the one involved in BITCONNECT PLC was born in 1984.
Weirdly enough, both of them appear to have indicated a correspondence address on the exact same street; the exact street numbers are not the same, however.
Additionally, BITCOIN AMR says there is a Mr. Santoso, born in 1981 who is also director in the company. Coincidentally, BITCONNECT PLC lists a person named Wardah Santoso as a director in the company. Unlike Mr. Santoso though, Wardah Santoso was born in 1983.
Just like Thannh Huy and Thannh Huy, Mr. Santoso and Wardah Santoso live on the same street.
U.S. Regulators and Blockchain Advocates to Discuss ICO Implications on October 12
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared this summer that initial coin offering (ICO) tokens were subject to federal securities laws. Just recently, the regulatory agency announced that it would hold an investor advisory committee meeting on October 12 to discuss the implications of blockchain technology for securities markets.
The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee Plans to Discuss the Implications of ICOs
In two weeks, the SEC intends to hold a committee meeting to discuss blockchains and initial coin offerings (ICOs). The meeting will be held at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington D.C. and will be open to the public. In addition to the discussion, the organization has added two new members to the investor advisory committee; Allison Bennington and Mina Nguyen. The committee was established through Section 911 of the Dodd-Frank Act and has nineteen members.
“Agenda: October 12, 2017, a meeting of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee,” explains the SEC announcement. “Discussion regarding blockchain and other distributed ledger technology and implications for securities markets.”
SEC’s Prior Warnings
The meeting this October follows the regulator’s recent warnings about ICOs and startups selling ERC-20 tokens. This year, the ICO market has raised billions so far despite having any regulatory infrastructure. Three weeks ago, the SEC agency warned of ICO schemes again and forced four firms to shut down token sale operations. The regulator even called the crowd sales “‘pump-and-dump,’ and market manipulation schemes.” Additionally, the SEC chairman, Jay Clayton, explained during a panel discussion this month that ICO investors don’t truly understand the risks involved with token sales.
U.S. regulators warn a few ICOs are “‘pump-and-dump,’ and market manipulation schemes.”
The Meeting’s Participants Will Include Blockchain Advocates
The meeting will include a few speakers from other regulatory departments and the blockchain industry. This includes the former financial tech advisor at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Jeff Bandman; the president of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Michael Bodson; the co-founder of the blockchain company Chain, Adam Ludwin; and a representative from Nasdaq. Ludwin has presented blockchain topics to U.S. congressional leaders and members of the Federal Reserve in the past.
The SEC’s meeting in October should bring more light to how U.S. regulators perceive the nascent ICO industry and how they plan to protect investors and apply legislation to these popular token sales.
How do you think the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will handle ICOs? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, U.S. SEC logo, and the blog Ofnumbers.
At news.Bitcoin.com all comments containing links are automatically held up for moderation in the Disqus system. That means an editor has to take a look at the comment to approve it. This is due to the many, repetitive, spam and scam links people post under our articles. We do not censor any comment content based on politics or personal opinions. So, please be patient. Your comment will be published.
U.S. Bitcoin Futures Markets Pump Up ETF Optimism – Bitcoin News
10:25 AM
U.S. Bitcoin Futures Markets Pump Up ETF Optimism
Finance
Many individuals and organizations believe that the launch of bitcoin-based futures markets have ‘opened the doors’ for bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF). Now that Cboe’s derivatives markets launched, new ETF filings have been sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from financial firms such as Vaneck and REX.
U.S. Regulators Revealed They Would Not Approve Certain ETFs Until Futures Products Existed — Now They Are Real
U.S. Bitcoin Futures Markets Pump Up ETF Optimism
The idea of bitcoin exchange-traded funds has been a ‘holy grail’ mission for many bitcoin proponents and businesses. Many firms from the U.S. have applied to the SEC regulators office but have been either denied, or the company withdrew its application. Back in September news.Bitcoin.com reported on a few ETFs withdrawing their filings because the SEC revealed it would not review ETFs based on exchange traded bitcoin derivatives products until they exist.
“On a call with the [SEC] staff on September 20, 2017, the staff expressed the view that it is the Commission’s policy to not review a registration statement for a fund where the underlying instruments in which the fund intends to primarily invest are not yet available,” explained Vaneck at the time.
ETF Filings Sent to the EDGAR System Started This Week
However, now that Cboe has launched its futures instruments, and CME Group will begin its derivatives trading next weekend, ETFs are going to try for approval again. Cboe’s futures have been going wild and reached a high of $18,900 for contracts that expire in January on December 10 and 11. Vaneck applied for a bitcoin ETF the day after Cboe’s launch, and REX initiated its filing three days prior.
“Vaneck Vectors Bitcoin Strategy ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to achieve total return,” reveals the ETF summary which needs approval from both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The REX funds will be called the Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF which will utilize the principal listing exchange for each fund based off of the Cboe BZX index.
“The Funds are actively managed and are not expected to invest directly in bitcoin. As such, the Funds can be expected to perform differently from the performance of the bitcoin,” explains the REX filing. REX originally filed for the same ‘long and short’ funds back in August.
Although the REX Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF seeks to provide “short” exposure, the Fund does not promise or seek to provide any specific negative multiple of the performance of bitcoin or Bitcoin Derivatives (as defined herein) over any specified period of time.
Other filings will likely follow by re-filing again with the SEC and CFTC such as the Winklevoss attempt ‘COIN’ and the Proshares Trust II. The COIN fund was set to be listed on the Bats exchange but was rejected by U.S. regulators, and Proshares is attempting to have its ETF products sold on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Now that futures markets have started to trade publicly, ETF filings may get a second chance at redemption from regulators.
What do you think about the ETFs trying for a second attempt? Do you think the futures markets have opened the door for these types of funds? Let us know in the comments below.
Images via Pixabay, SEC, Vaneck and REX logos.
Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.
Top 3 Bitcoin MLM Companies that Pay in Bitcoin for 2018
Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Here’s the Top 3 Bitcoin MLM companies that Pay in Bitcoin for 2018. Featuring Noble 7 Crowdfunding, iCoin Pro, and Mindset 24 Global.
Mindset 24 Global: Kevin Harrington’s (Shark Tank)First MLM that Pays in Bitcoin
Everyone needs “mindset,” especially when you want to create a successful business online. What better person to run Mindset 24 Global than Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank and “As Seen on TV” brands.
photo credit: Business Insider
Kevin is one of the co-creators and investors in the company and will offer a vast library of mindset videos.
Mindset 24 Global has several packages you can start at and when you make a sale, you get paid instantly in Bitcoin.
~
USI TECH
USI was founded in 2017 by a group of Forex traders and engineers that created the first ever fully automated trading system that can return you up to 150% ROI on your Bitcoin.
Everyone knows that Bitcoin is going through the roof and it’s not going anywhere. Now, beginners and advanced investors can relax with their investment knowing that USI can get you phenomenal ROI whether the market is going up, down, or sideways.
140% returns on your Bitcoin and 35% commissions down 12 levels and it’s free to promote. This is what we’ve been waiting for guys!
Here’s what a member said about USI:
“Hi everyone, so after a crazy 5.5 months with USI Tech, I honestly couldn’t give it a higher recommendation! I’m averaging close to $10,000 USD profit per month with this company and passively earning over 2 Bitcoin per month now with this company. Simply outstanding results. “
(Europe and Asia Only)
iCoin Pro – First Ever Cryptocurrency Training Platform that Pays in Bitcoin
Founded by Paul De Sousa, an avid cryptocurrency investor, and partner Lloyd “Bigg” Dotson, a financial investment expert, iCoin Pro is one of a kind.
iCoin Pro is an educational platform that offers training modules from beginner to advanced about, you guessed it, cryptocurrencies.
Each module has a quiz as well, so if you go through all the modules you get a certificate of completion. iCoin Pro is more than cryptocurrency education, they offer flagship training which shows you step-by-step how to earn daily from the booming cryptocurrency market. They also pay in Bitcoin or regular (FIAT) currency.
Thanks for reading my review: Top 3 Bitcoin MLM companies that Pay in Bitcoin for 2018
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Erik Christian Johnson is a Entrepreneur, writer, full-time Network Marketer and Blogger. He shares tips on various topics including: Network Marketing tips, how to work full time from Home, and God. He is also the #1 recruiter in his primary business. His blog is summed up as being: "edgy personal development with a twist of financial freedom."
Income disclaimer:
The owner of this blog may receive compensation when products and services featured herein are purchased. Results are unique. Your results will vary in your business. It's the law that I tell you that I might make some money and that you may or may not.
Health Disclaimer:
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional.
Original article and pictures take www.erikchristianjohnson.com site
