Japanese Police Make First Arrests for Crypto Mining Hijacks

Crypto Mining Hijacks. Japan’s National Police Agency makes its presence felt as the popularity of cryptocurrency in Japan continues to grow

After making a number of arrests related to hijack scams, Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) has posted warnings for internet users and website administrators on its Cybercrime Project home page and twitter accounts.  The scams snare people by installing mining software on the computers of unsuspecting website visitors, which then parasites the computer’s processing power to mine crypto and forward it to the scammer’s wallets.

The NPA carried out a number of ‘cyber patrols’ which confirmed several websites had been installing cryptocurrency mining tools on the computers of site visitors without their knowledge. The NPA say the patrols identified 16 people which it suspected of installing malware on other’s computers. The 16 suspects, aged from 18 to 48, included students, company employees, and the self-employed. Three people were arrested, the NPA says, and Japanese prosecutors are preparing cases against the others.

Prior to this, nobody had been arrested for crimes related to cryptocurrency mining in Japan, and this is the first instance of a crackdown on ‘hijack mining’ which is conducted without notifying or confirming consent from website visitors.

Under these circumstances, the NPA is calling attention to the mining issue on its website, warning site admins that mining tools installed without explicit notice to website visitors may be in violation of the law.

In addition, the NPA encouraged vigilance on the part of visitors to websites, alerting potential victims to look out for the telltale signs of illicit mining tools making their computers run slower, and to refrain from accessing websites again if their computer’s anti-virus software detected a cryptocurrency mining tool.

With cryptocurrency becoming popular in Japan, an increase in related crimes is inevitable. However, a key focal point in the debate in Japan revolves around what countermeasures should be undertaken to protect ordinary internet users from such crimes.

Criticism has rippled among Japanese netizens on the NPA’s warning about mining tools, with some taking the position that websites that display advertisements without asking for visitor consent should also be against the law, and asking the NPA to clarify a “line of demarcation” on what actions are considered a crime@BPI

$3 Billion Blockchain Tron Kicks Off Token Migration

Tron Kicks Off Token Migration. Created by former Ripple representative Justin Sun, Tron aims to build infrastructure for a "truly decentralized internet" that can host decentralized applications (dapps). The project, which started on the ethereum blockchain and launched its own blockchain in late May, has positioned itself as a competitor to its former host.

As such, the token migration is an intermediary step in what Tron has called its progression towards "independence," or in other words, the completion of its departure from ethereum and the activation of its mainnet technology.

Though the token migration is now a key part of the realization of Tron's technology, the original iteration of the project's roadmap did not include a token swap, much less the launch of an original Tron mainnet.

Sun initially intended for the project to remain on ethereum, however, according to a May Mediumpost, "network issues" triggered the decision to "detach" from the protocol.

He wrote further:

"This is the only way to propel the industry into a stage of large-scale, rapid growth...Independence from ethereum is our answer to the calling of the blockchain era."

The implementation of the network is likely to be contingent upon the success of the events of the upcoming week, which Tron told CoinDesk users can watch via its blog and social channels.

Whether the protocol will measure up to Sun's claims after the activation, however, remains to be seen.

Implications for token holders

For token holders, the swap merely means that the placeholder ERC-20 TRX tokens Tron distributed during its development phase will be switched out for native "TRON-20" TRX tokens.

Likewise, the swap means the balance of tokens in users' ethereum wallets will subsequently be transmitted to their Tron wallets.

Unlike other projects, such as EOS, which provide users with the option to carry out the swap manually,  Tron's migration process will be facilitated wholly by exchanges. The process commences on Thursday, and users will have until June 24 to deposit their ERC-20 TRX tokens to one of 30 participating exchanges.

Users who already hold their tokens on a participating exchange do not need to take any action.

From June 22 to June 25, users will be unable to withdraw their TRX from exchanges. On June 24, the exchanges will take "snapshots" of users token balances to ensure the sums transfer correctly, and on June 25, both TRX deposits and withdrawals on exchanges will be frozen. Users will still be able to trade TRX during this period.

According to Tron, the completion of the token migration on June 25 will mark the point at which the Tron mainnet will become "fully independent" from the ethereum blockchain.

Following "Independence Day," users will be able to resume deposits and withdrawals on June 26 in time for Tron's "super representative election."

Similar to EOS' block producer election, this process requires users to stake or "freeze" their TRON20 TRX tokens to vote for block validators to operate in Tron's delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus system@BPI

Mesin ATM Bitcoin Sudah Ada di Berberapa Negara

ATM Bitcoin  di Berberapa Negara. Produsen ATM uang digital yang berbasis di Praha, Ceko memasang 10 mesin ATM yang tersebar di seluruh stasiun kereta bawah tanah di kota-kota Eropa.

Produsen pencetak ATM bitcoin General Bytesresmi meluncurkan peta ATM bitcoin tersebut di situs perusahaan dengan menampilkan 10 lokasi berbeda di setiap pemberhentian yang ada. ATM ini didirikan di ibu kota Ceko yaitu Praha yang berpenduduk 1,3 juta orang.

Mesin ini dapat digunakan untuk membeli bitcoin maupun untuk membeli mata uang digital lainnya.

Namun, Praha bukanlah negara satu-satunya yang memasang mesin ATM buat uang digital. Menurut Coin ATM Radar, ATM bitcoin ini pun juga sudah dibangun di seluruh negara Amerika Serikat. Menurut data dari Coin ATM Radar, AS terhitung sebagai negara terbanyak dengan mesin ATM bitcoin yakni mencapai 1.960 ATM bitcoin.

Los Angeles merupakan kota terbanyak pencetak mesin ATM di AS yaitu 250 mesin ATM bitcoin pada 2014, Chicago punya 170 ATM, dan 120 mesin ATM untuk New York dan juga Atlanta. Tak hanya itu, Washington D.C. dilaporkan memiliki 60 lebih mesin ATM bitcoin serta sebuah perusahaan di Texas yang diketahui telah memasang 20 mesin baru pada akhir tahun.

Negara kedua terbesar pencetak ATM uang digital yaitu Kanada. Kemudian ada juga sebanyak 46 mesin ATM bitcoin di Ceko serta 3.150 lebih mesin ATM yang tersebar di 70 negara berbeda.

Investor lebih mudah

Mesin ATM bitcoin ini mengizinkan para investor untuk membeli mata uang digital  sendiri langsung di tempat, baik untuk paper money maupun online wallet. Uang digital tersebut dapat tersimpan secara aman.

ATM ini juga menyediakan transaksi 2 arah. Anda bisa menjual bitcoin pribadi sekaligus mendapatkan uang tunai di tempat.

Untuk informasi saja, pembeli dapat memasukan uang tunai ke mesin ATM untuk membeli bitcoin dan juga memilih alamat digital yang mereka inginkan untuk menerima mata uang digital tersebut. Sejauh ini, General Bytes telah menjual 1.500 lebih bitcoin dari seluruh ATM berbeda di dunia@BPI

What Shape will Facebook's Coin Take?

Facebook's Coin. The SEC’s clarification around Ether and the evolution of crypto assets to become non-securities has allayed the fears of many and given established big businesses that have shunned ICOs a reason to start their own blockchain explorations.

Even before the guidance from the regulator, a report in May revealed that Facebook’s head of Messenger David Marcus was leaving his post to lead a team of about a dozen exploring blockchain applications for the company. While there hasn’t been any official reference to a Facebook cryptocurrency, Marcus was the former president of PayPal and an early adopter of cryptocurrencies who sits on the board of crypto exchange Coinbase.    

Either Mark Zuckerberg wants to decentralize Facebook and give users back control of their data, which would undermine the company’s advertising model, or he wants to create the world’s largest micro economy within its 2+ billion user community.

Facebook has issued its own platform credits before, back in 2009, which were used to buy features in games like Farmville and other widgets but they didn’t gain any traction and were ditched shortly after. If it were to offer its own cryptocurrency it will be far more fungible than trading emojis and pet pigs.    

“With a very established platform, I see them creating a utility token rather than a security token that wouldn’t be SEC regulated. I don’t think Facebook feels the need to raise equity, but rather sees it as a fantastic revenue stream going forward,” says Grant Fondo, partner in Goodwin's law firm in Silicon Valley and chair of its digital currencies practice.

 “The SEC’s comments have cleared up a lot of uncertainty around the risk-reward for established companies and I can see a lot of big players jumping into the crypto space.”  

How might a Facebook coin be offered?

The company could reverse ICO, where the company acquires another decentralized protocol in a token-buyout, swapping them for Facebook tokens and issuing them, or it could tokenize internally with its own ecosystem, maybe even rewarding loyal users with tokens for their content over the years.

“They could do an ICO," Fondo says. "A lot of companies are trying to go down the road of Reg A plus offering, but that is capped at $50m. Facebook would most likely do it as a regular IPO, they could do it as a dividend or some other equity offer, for example. I don’t think it would be exclusive to accredited investors but open to retail investors as well.” 

What could a Facebook coin do?

The Amazon octopus may currently have more tentacles across different industries and supply chains, but Facebook has the advantage of having the most engaged (or addicted) citizens on earth and issuing its own currency is almost a natural step that could potentially mean they don’t have to leave that sphere.

It makes a lot of sense. Why advertise your events on Facebook and pay them a commission only to then sell the tickets through a third party who also clips the ticket? At the other end of the sale, those buying the tickets won’t be sorry to see EventBrite, TicketMaster or Mastercard removed from the equation — eliminating credit card and “handling” fees.

Hypothetically, the price of tickets could come down, customers would be more incentivized to buy more tickets with tokens they have earned on the platform, the circulation and value of FB coin would increase and a positive feedback loop begins. 

Amazingly it hasn’t done so yet, but what if Facebook was to venture into the real world — like Amazon — and buy up some bricks and mortar chains where you walk into a store and deals and special offers are customized to your individual preferences based on the years of social, behavioural and consumer data that Facebook has on you.

With IoT technology, machines will be able to communicate with each other; cars with parking meters, mobile wallets with vending machines - they will be able to barter with each other and agree on prices based on supply and demand. There’s no point in a vending machine having a constant surplus of M&Ms selling at $2 when all the Reeses Pieces are flying out at the same price.

Towards a more universal token standard

“If the token was used for this purpose I think it would create a security token,” says Fondo. “It’s very hard to have a security token on your platform. If you’re trying to use those tokens on your platform it creates a lot of issues around selling them to people in different jurisdictions, where they will also be deemed securities and regulated in their own way.” 

Although recent SEC comments provided a roadmap for a token not to be a security, could security tokens someday become as malleable and borderless as utility tokens through a universal token standard available to verified investors globally?   

“I think very difficult to get countries to agree on unified securities protocol," says Fondo, "though it would be great to see that happen.”@BPI

Another Day, Another Exchange Hack

Exchange be Hacked. The recent hack of Bithumb, the 6th largest cryptographic asset exchange, continues the worrying trend of hackers finding ways around the security of these platforms, and siphoning funds stored in exchange hot wallets.

Following the attack, In a quickly deleted tweet on the official Bithumb twitter, it was announced that “cryptocurrencies valued about $30,000,000 was stolen” and “Those stolen cryptocurrencies will be covered from Bithumb and all of assets are being transferring to cold wallet.” The following tweet was then released, detailing an exchange lock-down and a ‘we’ll have to get back to you on that’ message as regards to a restart date.

Who provides exchange liquidity?

The tweets, on top of the hack, raise concerns about the liquidity management techniques used by Bithumb and other exchanges. Typically, an exchange will take a percentage of customer funds and place them in an asset pool that is used to facilitate transactions. The analogy in a bricks and mortar retail store context would be the placing of a cash ‘float’ in the cash register at the start of the day to provide change for customer transactions.

With the value of daily crypto trades typically sitting somewhere in the US$6-10 billion range, there will always be significant funds in these floats, which must be held in a ‘hot’ wallet so they can be used to facilitate transactions.

The fact that the first tweet that Bithumb made about its hack included a statement that “all assets are being transferred to [a] cold wallet” indicates that overexposure in terms of funds in Bithumb’s hot wallet was top-of-mind for the exchange’s management — which wanted to reassure its customers that at least the safe door was been locked after the thieves had left.

The extent to which customer funds were being used for transactions at Bithumb, and how long it will take to provide refunds is unknown.

From a customer perspective a best case scenario is an exchange that uses its own money to provide the float. Coinbase, for example, states that 98% of customer funds are always in cold storage, but how much Bithumb, and other smaller exchanges are exposing their customer’s funds to hacking risks, remains both unknown and concerning.

Uninsured exchanges

It is understood that most exchanges cover their exposures with some form of self-insurance. This is generally done by maintaining a fund of safe investments, that is accessed in situations where emergency liquidity is required. Exchanges are somewhat forced into using this option because of a lack of formal third party insurance options available to them. This looks to be changing with insurers like  AIG, Sumitomo and XL Catlin, beginning to offer policies related to crypto theft.

The continued fleet-footedness of hackers to stay ahead of security protocols set up by exchanges, is also worrying. Only a week before the attack on Korea-based Bithumb, security at another Korean exchange, Coinrail, was also breached for$40 million of held assets.

Many in the crypto space have lost faith in the ability of these exchanges to ever protect themselves from attackers, and are hoping that decentralized exchange (DEX) models will be a market saviour. Decentralized exchanges have assets secured across multiple storage points secured on the blockchain, and in this sense, are more shielded against large-scale attacks than centralized, clearing-house style exchanges. Examples of the model include Omisego andIDEX.

IDEX, is currently the most used Dapp in the world. Even so, it still only has a few thousand users. This may indicate an interest in DEX’s, but not wider commitment or belief in their current capabilities to provide exchange solutions.

Market Reaction

In the hours following the hack there was an immediate disgruntled reaction from markets, evidenced by the sharp dip in the price of BTC to under $6,600. However, BTC, and the wider market has since seen a price recovery. Indicating faith that Bithumb will reimburse customers, or belief that any wider risk created by the hack, is not systemic.

Crypto exchanges in Korea, interestingly, operate under a very light regulatory touch as they are categorized as ‘communication vendors’ and do not fall under the jurisdictional watch of Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service. Although more regulatory oversight is now being considered due the latest run of hacks, CCN has reported that the Korean government has steered clear of crypto regulations to date, for the curious reason that it thought the imposition of regulations would be viewed as a government endorsement of the sector — and encourage more retail investors@BPI

Pertama Kali Dalam Sejarah, Klub Sepak Bola Beli Pemain Pakai Bitcoin

Bitcoin dan  Sepak Bola.  Akankah crypto jadi tren di dunia sepak bola? Sebuah klub sepak bola amatir asal Turki menciptakan sejarah baru di pesepakbolaan dunia. Bukan karena memecahkan rekor gol. Melainkan soal pembelian pemainnya yang menggunakan mata uang digital atau crypto.

Klub bernama Harunustaspor ini membeli seorang pemain dengan mata uang Bitcoin.Yup, Bitcoin belakangan sedang naik pamor karena nilainya yang semakin naik dari tahun ke tahun. Tak heran, baik pemilik klub maupun pemain mau menerima pembelian dengan mata uang Bitcoin.

1. Klub Harunustaspor Sepakat Membeli Kıroğlu dengan Total 4500 Lira

Klub Harunustaspor yang berbasis di Provinsi Sakarya, Turki ini membeli Ömer Faruk Kıroğlu. Dilansir dari Businessinsider.sg, dan Washingtonpost.com, mahar sebesar 2000 lira (Rp 7,3 juta) atau $531,70 senilai Bitcoin diberikan pada pemain berusia 22 tahun tersebut. Tak hanya itu. Kıroğlu juga menerima uang tunai sebesar 2500 lira atau setara Rp 8,9 juta.

Meski nilai Bitcoin dan crypto lainnya bersifat fluktuatif, nyatanya Kıroğlu dan Klub Harunustaspor telah mencapai kesepakatan bersama terkait mahar yang anti-mainstreamini.

2. Pertama Kali Terjadi di Turki dan Dunia

Sang pemilik klub, Haldun Şehit mengklaim bahwa hal ini menjadi yang pertama dalam sejarah Turki maupun di seluruh dunia. Ia ingin mengangkat nama klub di negara Turki dan juga dunia, sekaligus bangga atas apa yang ia lakukan.

Sementara itu, Kıroğlu akan segera bergabung dalam sesi latihan klub setelah menandatangani kontrak. Ia berharap karier barunya ini akan menguntungkan klub dan dirinya.

Beberapa bulan terakhir tepatnya akhir tahun 2017 lalu, nilai Bitcoin mencapai $20.000 atau sekitar Rp 260 juta. Namun sejak awal tahun 2018 ini, nilainya anjlok bahkan mencapai 50%.

Melihat track record Bitcoin sendiri, hal ini wajar terjadi mengingat di setiap awal tahun nilainya selalu anjlok. Sementara itu, di akhir tahun angkanya akan terus meningkat, dan begitu seterusnya.

3. Ternyatanya crypto bukan hal baru di dunia sepak bola

Layaknya Indonesia, pemerintahan Turki pun telah melarang penggunaan mata uangcryptocurency. Selain berbahaya, mata uang ini dinilai juga tidak memiliki landasan hukum yang dapat melindungi tiap transaksinya.

Otoritas dari berbagai belahan dunia, terutama di Asia berusaha untuk mengendalikanbooming-nya perdagangan crypto. Gak heran transfer pemain menggunakan mata uang digital ini menjadi kontroversial di Turki.

Meski hal ini menjadi yang pertama dalam sejarah, sebenarnya akhir bulan lalu Arsenal, klub Liga Inggris telah melakukan kerjasama dengan CashBet, sebuah perusahaanblockchain cryptocurrency.

Sehingga crypto di dunia sepak bola rasanya bukan hal asing lagi. Dan bukan tidak mungkin lagi akan ada pemain lain yang dibeli menggunakan crypto@BPI

Market Capitalization Decreased by 10 Billion Dollars After the Hack of Bithumb

Market After the Hack of Bithumb. After yesterday's hack of the Bithumb Exchange, the market capitalization decreased by 10 billion US dollars. Today, the situation has become better. The fact is that Bitcoin slightly increased in price and thereby added to the total market capitalization of digital assets - $8 billion.

During the day, after it became known about the hack of the Bithumb trading platform, such cryptocurrency assets as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash declined in value by 2%. We note that South Korean investors, both in the cryptocurrency market and in the foreign exchange market, began to sell their assets, fearing that breaking the Bithumb exchange could lead to more serious consequences.

At the same time, representatives of the exchange, immediately commented on the current situation:

"The damage done to users will be repaid by Bithumb. Now, all the cryptocurrency assets are transferred to a cold wallet."

Having made more than 300 million dollars of net profit in 2017, the stolen $30 million isn't a serious problem for the crypto exchange. On this background, the company asked the regulatory authorities to take measures to combat such situations and, accordingly, their prevention in the future.

Yesterday the experts expressed optimistic assumptions regarding the state of the cryptocurrency market. First of all, in this case there was talk about Bitcoin and Ethereum. The fact is that they avoided serious falls. In particular, the BTC hasn't fallen below 6.2 thousand dollars.

At the same time, due to the low volume of the entire cryptocurrency market, it is difficult to say that the "bears" still lost control over it. It is still possible that the BTC may fall to below $6,000. In the same case, if bitcoin grows to 7 thousand, the key resistance level will be broken and the digital asset will have chances to grow further. Today, investors simply have to watch the situation on the market@BPI

Winklevoss Brothers Score Another Crypto Investment Patent

Crypto Investment Patent. Crypto exchange Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have long sought the creation of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

And while that process remains in flux, a company tied to the brothers has won another U.S. patent related to the creation of exchange-traded products tied to cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

The patent was awarded to a firm called Winklevoss IP LLP, and both Winklevoss brothers are included as the inventors along with Evan Louis Greebel, Kathleen Hill Moriarty and Gregory Elias Xethalis.

The patent, awarded on June 19, details a method "for providing an exchange-traded product holding digital math-based assets" as well as the issuance of shares tied to that ETP. It adds to the body of intellectual property the Winklevosses have sought to obtain, though it's not entirely clear when or how the concepts will be applied to real-world products.

An ETP, such as an exchange-traded fund (ETFs), is a type of security, the price of which is derived from other investment instruments - in this case, cryptocurrencies.

As CoinDesk previously reported, the Winklevoss brothers won a patent last month for a system that settles transactions for ETPs tied to cryptocurrencies. Like the other patent, this week's award names a variety of cryptocurrencies, from major ones like bitcoin and monero to more obscure ones like BBQcoin.

Publicly available data shows that this week's patent is the seventh crypto-related patent the Winklevoss brothers have received, with the first being awarded in December of last year.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) once denied a bid proposed by the Winklevoss brothers in March 2017 to list a bitcoin-tied exchange-traded fund (ETF), citing "the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public.@BPI

Why South Korea still matters to crypto

South Korea and crypto. With China to its west and Japan to its east, South Korea is surrounded by economic giants, but nonetheless remains a pivotal influence on the global cryptocurrency markets — for reasons that are not immediately apparent to most external observers

Just as the industrial revolution centred on the cities of Northern England, and the digital revolution on the shores of Silicon Valley, blockchain development is beginning to concentrate in certain areas. One of these places is South Korea, where authorities have recently announced plans for “Crypto Beach” a major blockchain centre styled after Switzerland’s Crypto Valley. This development will be a focal point for a country that already has an outsized influence on the global cryptocurrency economy.

Sitting behind only Japan and the USA, South Korea is the world's third largest cryptocurrency market, and a staggering ~31% of the country's working population have invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies—bringing the blockchain far closer to the mainstream than most countries have managed.

A crypto society

Given it is a high-tech society that is well-adapted to new technology, such high rates of adoption might come as no surprise - but there is more to South Korea's crypto story than meets the eye. Despite having the 11th largest economy in the world, with high-tech products exported globally, Korean society faces certain social issues that have greatly increased the appeal of crypto.

High youth unemployment is one factor, which has hovered around 10 percent for the past few years, along with another 40% of youth that are thought to be underemployed—lacking enough hours of work to sustain independence. Even those in full-time work are still likely to find themselves priced out of the housing market, especially in Seoul where house prices have been found to be more expensive than both London and Los Angeles.

Combine these economic difficulties with the fastest internet speeds in the world, the highest percentage of smartphone ownership, and a national ban on gambling, and we have the perfect storm of opportunity for crypto.

On the global stage

When the China ban hit the markets in late August 2017, a vacuum opened up, ready to suck in the wealth generated by the yuan-bitcoin exchange markets, which are thought to have accounted for up to 80% of global volume. This gave neighbouring countries like South Korea, along with Japan and Hong Kong, the opportunity to occupy a more prominent position on the international scene.

While Japan is often dubbed as the most crypto-friendly of nations, recent events have drawn a shadow over the country—with authorities attempting to rein in the market, placing bans on privacy coins, and introducing strict auditing requirements for Japanese exchanges.

South Korea however, is pushing forward, and after flirting with the idea of a blanket ban, has adopted an arguably more progressive stance—announcing intentions to legalise ICOs in the country, and apply specific regulations to this type of fundraising.

The importance of appropriate regulation is clearly not underestimated by the Korean authorities, who after a foreboding statementfrom the Prime Minister, have introduced KYC regulations on exchanges that prevent foreigners and minors from registering in a bid to tackle money-laundering and “overheating” in the market.

This recognises the wave of desperation that hit the country following the market downturn, which caused not only a drop in trading volume in the country, but a rise in cases of a psychological malady termed the ‘bitcoin blues’, which is induced as dreams of prosperity are dashed by unpredictable markets.

Adoption

While trading volumes may have plummeted even further than the global market this year, South Korea is still arguably ahead of the curve when it comes to adoption. In a recent landmark case, a top South Korean court officially recognised cryptocurrency as an “asset with measurable value”, paving the way for future adoption.

Bithumb, South Korea’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, have recently made another move aimed to spread the use of cryptocurrency throughout the mainstream economy. Their partnership with Korea Pay aims to spread crypto payments to over 8,000 merchants across the country by the end of the year.

And which cryptocurrency will they be spending? While the most famous project to come out of Korea is ICON (ICX), dubbed South Korea's 'national blockchain', this is unlikely to be the chosen medium of exchange. Trading volumes on Bithumb show that the most popular cryptocurrencies in the country mirror those in the West, with Bitcoin, Ripple and EOS ruling the roost. ICON also has a lot to prove as it moved away from being an ERC 20 token to its own mainet on June 20th, at a time when the marketplace is particularly sensitive to mainet transition issues given the problems with EOS.  

However adoption progresses, events on the peninsular are likely to continue to have an outsized impact in the cryptoworld, as demonstrated most recently by the hacks of Korean exchanges Coinrail, which coincided with Bitcoin plummeting over 10% on June the 10th, quickly followed by a Bithumb on June 20th which saw BTC down 2.2% in 30 minutes@BPI

Almost 60% of Wealthy People Show Interest in Cryptocurrencies

Wealthy People Interest in Cryptocurrencies. According to the publication of the corporate consulting company Capgemini (headquartered in France), almost 60% of rich respondents showed interest in investing in the cryptocurrency market. This statistics was published in World Wealth Report 2018.

Based on the published data, about 29% of all respondents show a high interest in cryptocurrencies. While 26.9% of respondents are only interested in digital assets. The indicators of interest depend on the region. For example, for Latin America this sphere is most interesting, next is the Asia-Pacific region.

In the study conducted in the first quarter of 2018, 2,600 people from such regions as North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region took part. Almost 80% of all respondents control 1-5 million US dollars in the cryptocurrency. In turn, about 2% - already have 20 million US dollars in cryptocurrencies. All the rest control from 5 to 20 million dollars.

The potential of cryptocurrency as an investment and value is exactly what stimulates interest in this industry. Most often, people in the age of 40 are interested in the digital assets market.

The report notes:

"Given the context of regulatory mis-steps and reputational damage since the financial crisis, many wealth management firms are tending towards being conservative when it comes to cryptocurrencies, at least until they are better understood"

A separate report by Knight Frank specializing in real estate says that about 21% of respondents say about increasing their investments in cryptocurrencies last year. At the same time, even a year ago, the understanding of digital assets was not as extensive as it is now. That's why the situation is improving every day@BPI

Japan’s SBI Crypto Exchange Adds Two Major Cryptocurrencies

Japan’s SBI Crypto Exchange. Japan’s SBI Virtual Currencies has added support for two major cryptocurrencies in addition to the one trading pair that its crypto exchange service, Vctrade, launched with. Users who pre-registered prior to the launch can now trade BTC, BCH, and XRP against the Japanese yen.

SBI Virtual Currencies, the cryptocurrency exchange subsidiary of one of Japan’s largest financial services groups, has announced support for two major cryptocurrencies. Starting Monday, June 18, customers can start trading BTC/JPY using the exchange’s Vctrade service. This is in addition to the BCH/JPY trading pair which the exchange started offering on June 8.

Three Trading Pairs

Japan’s SBI Crypto Exchange Adds Two Major CryptocurrenciesSBI Virtual Currencies is one of the 16 government-approved crypto exchanges in Japan. The company launched the Vctrade crypto exchange service on June 4 with just the XRP/JPY trading pair. Currently, the service is only available to a limited number of users who pre-registered; the full launch is expected next month. With Monday’s announcement, the exchange now offers three trading pairs: BCH/JPY, BTC/JPY, and XRP/JPY.

For all three cryptocurrencies, customers can trade between 500 yen (~US$5.5) and 5 million yen (~$45,261). Alternatively, they can place their orders in cryptocurrencies of between 0.0001 and 40 BCH, 0.0001 and 5 BTC, or 10 and 70,000 XRP.

Japan’s SBI Crypto Exchange Adds Two Major CryptocurrenciesAccording to local media, SBI Group said at the company’s third-quarter earnings press conference that there is a possibility of adding ether (ETH) in the future. However, the company also indicated that it would not support smaller cryptocurrencies, Impress Corporation conveyed.

To gain market share in the crypto space, SBI Group plans to convert users from its existing securities business, which the group says is already the largest in Japan. SBI Securities “is number one in the share of individual stock trading value, number of accounts, deposits and profitability,” the group wrote. SBI Securities currently has approximately 4.17 million accounts@BPI

Piala Dunia FIFA 2018 Di Rusia Membuka Pintu Untuk Bitcoin

Bitcoin di FIFA World Cup Rusia. Bitcoin di FIFA World Cup 2018 tahun ini di Rusia dapat digunakan oleh ribuan penggemar sepak bola sebagai media pembayaran yang sah di acara tersebut.

Banyak bisnis dan hotel di lokasi stadion telah mengumumkan bahwa Bitcoin diterima secara luas untuk mem-bypass valuta asing pada tanggal 14 Juni 2018.

Rusia diperkirakan kedatangan setengah juta turis di turnamen Piala Dunia yang ke-21, dengan banyak pendukung datang dari Eropa dan Amerika Selatan. Banyak Hotel di lokasi termasuk Moskow, Kaliningrad dan St Petersburg telah menerima pemesanan dengan Bitcoin sejak bulan April dan hal ini telah terbukti menjadi cara terbaik bagi turis untuk menghindari bingungnya pertukaran mata uang.

Pemesanan maskapai penerbangan juga tersedia untuk pengguna kripto, dengan maskapai murah seperti CheapAir dan agen perjalanan Destinia yang menawarkan pemesanan dengan cryptocurrency. Bagi mereka yang ingin mengambil spekulasi dan bertaruh pada hasil pertandingan olahraga. Bitcoin, dianggap sebagai mata uang digital masa depan, yang memungkinkan pengguna kripto dari seluruh dunia, dapat menggunakannya tanpa batasan, untuk bisa berpartisipasi terlepas dari negara mana mereka berasal. Pengguna dapat melakukan penarikan dan setoran instan yang gratis kapan pun mereka mau.

Perusahaan AS Visa dan MasterCard telah memblokir layanan kartu kredit untuk beberapa pelanggan bank Rusia di masa lalu sebagai akibat dari sanksi AS yang telah berlaku sejak 2014. Karena hal ini mempengaruhi pembayaran digital. Meskipun, industri perhotelan Rusia telah menjadi semakin ramah terhadap mata uang digital dengan peningkatan lalu lintas pelanggan yang dibawanya sebagai hasil dari acara tersebut.

Keuntungan Bitcoin sebagai mata uang terdesentralisasi, bebas dari campur tangan politik, bahwa pengguna dapat melakukan pembayaran ke mana pun mereka pergi menggunakan internet. Dengan meningkatnya jumlah pedagang yang menerima bitcoin dan mata uang digital lainnya, turis ke Rusia dapat membayar sejumlah barang dan jasa menggunakan mata uang digital mereka tanpa terlalu banyak kesulitan@BPI

Hacker Serang Exchange Bithumb

Exchange Cryptocurrency Bithumb  dihack. Exchange Cryptocurrency Korea Selatan, Bithumb melalui twitternya mengumumkan bahwa mereka menangguhkan deposit dan withdraw setelah cryptocurrency senilai $ 30 juta diketahui lenyap, yang diperkirakan diserang oleh hacker.

Perusahaan yang berbasis di Seoul, yang pernah menjadi exchange cryptocurrency terbesar di dunia, pada hari Rabu waktu setempat mengumumkan bahwa cryptocurrency senilai $ 30 juta telah dicuri dari platform.

Tidak jelas kapan pencurian itu terjadi, tetapi Bithumb segera menangguhkan (membekukan) deposit pada  kisaran waktu 00:53 UTC dan segera mulai mentransfer semua asetnya ke Cold Wallet untuk mencegah kerugian lebih lanjut.

“Kami memeriksa bahwa sebagian cryptocurrency bernilai sekitar $ 30.000.000 dicuri,” kata Bithumb di Twitter. “Cryptocurrency yang dicuri itu akan ditanggung oleh Bithumb dan semua aset sedang ditransfer ke dalam Cold Wallet.” (dikutip dari twitter- Bithumb (@BithumbOfficial) 20 Juni 2018).

Pencurian cryptocurrency diduga dilakukan oleh hacker yang meretas ke dalam sistem bithumb, meskipun Bithumb sendiri belum menegaskan hal ini secara resmi. Mengingat ukuran pencurian yang relatif kecil, sepertinya peretas berhasil mendapatkan akses ke “Hot Wallet” yang terhubung dengan internet untuk beberapa aset yang diperdagangkan di platform.

Bithumb mengatakan bahwa perusahaan akan menanggung semua kerugian sehingga pengguna tidak akan mengalami kerugian, selain oleh ketidakmampuan sementara untuk memindahkan aset mereka. Setoran dan penarikan dihentikan sementara.

Bithumb saat ini menempati peringkat keenam terbesar dan sekaligus bertengger sebagai exchanger cryptocurrency terbesar kedua Korea Selatan, dengan volume perdagangan harian lebih dari $ 330 juta.

Insiden pencurian terhadap exchange cryptocurrency telah terjadi dua kali pada bulan ini. Sebelumnya, sekitar 2 minggu yang lalu, exchanger Coinrail kehilangan sekitar $32,7 juta Coin.

Harga bitcoin turun hampir $ 200 dalam satu jam setelah insiden ini diketahui, mengoreksi sebagian besar kenaikan harga pasar selama 48 jam sebelumnya@BPI

John McAfee Akan Menghentikan Jasa Promosi ICO Setelah Dapat Ancaman

John McAfee dan Jasa Promosi ICO. Pelopor cybersecurity dan advokat mata uang digital eksentrik John McAfee, yang telah lama menjadi promotor token digital telah mengungkapkan hari ini bahwa dia tidak akan mempromosikan ICO lagi karena “ancaman” yang dirasakan dari Securities and Exchange Commission. Mcafee mengungkapkan ini melalui media sosial di pegangan Twitter-nya.

Keputusan Terkini SEC tentang Cryptocurrency menempatkan pasar di bawah pengawasan lebih lanjut

Tokoh terkenal dalam ekosistem kripto, tweeted pagi ini untuk para pengikutnya (yang sekitar 828.000 jumlahnya) tentang keputusannya untuk berhenti mempromosikan ICO. Mcafee berkata: 

“Saya akan sepenuhnya mengendalikan rekomendasi dan promosi ICO saya.”

Sementara ahli crypto-advocate dan ahli keamanan cyber awalnya terkenal dengan desain perangkat lunak antivirusnya yang terkenal pada awal tahun 90-an, ia telah mengalihkan ambisinya ke berbagai pengejaran dan proyek. Dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, Mcafee menjadi pendukung terkemuka cryptocurrency dan secara luas dianggap dalam komunitas Blockchain.

Biasanya antusias tentang penyebab mata uang digital yang lebih luas serta perannya dalam masa depan yang terdesentralisasi dan libertarian yang ia bayangkan, McAfee juga menawarkan rekomendasi reguler ICO. Pada Maret, dia men-tweet tautan yang menunjukkan bahwa dia dibayar 105.000 USD untuk mempromosikan ICO.

Sementara SEC menawarkan bantuan yang sangat dibutuhkan untuk industri cryptocurrency minggu lalu dengan komentarnya, komentar yang dibuat oleh komisi juga menempatkan pasar ICO di bawah pengawasan lebih lanjut. Dengan pengumuman ini ditambah jumlah penipuan ICO yang tampaknya tidak pernah berakhir bermunculan, peran promotor yang dibayar untuk mengiklankan cryptos tampaknya telah menjadi semakin genting. Beberapa bahkan menyarankan bahwa promotor mungkin beroperasi sebagai broker yang tidak terdaftar.

Meskipun McAfee menolak untuk menentukan secara pasti sifat “ancaman” dari SEC, langkah ini dari yang bisa dibilang salah satu individu paling terkenal di ruang mata uang digital akan dianggap oleh banyak orang sebagai indikasi arah yang tidak dapat diprediksi di mana penawaran koin awal pasar sedang menuju@BPI

Perdagangan Bitcoin di Venezuela Mencapai Rp 13,7 Miliar per Hari

Volume Perdagangan Bitcoin di Venezuela. Volume perdagangan mata uang kripto bitcoin di Venezuela menembus rekor baru, yakni mencapai 1 juta dollar AS atau setara sekitar Rp 13,7 miliar per hari. Ini terjadi lantaran warga beralih ke mata uang kripto karena mata uang bolivar melemah secara dramatis.

Menurut data platform perdagangan LocalBitcoins yang dilansir dari Bloomberg, perdagangan bolivar ke bitcoin mencapai volume 1,006 juta dollar AS. 

Pemerintah Venezuela tak lagi merilis data inflasi. Sehingga, platform seperti Local Bitcoin memberikan data harga secara efisien untuk bolivar, yang nilainya terus menurun secara harian.

Setelah membeli bitcoin, warga Venezuela kerap menjualnya kembali dalam mata uang dollar AS. Di pasar gelap Venezuela, dollar AS saat ini adalah mata uang utama.

Sejumlah warga pun menjadikan bitcoin sebagai mayoritas aset likuid mereka. Warga hanya menjualnya dalam bolivar ketika mereka harus membeli barang kebutuhan.

Pemerintah Venezuela pun menjadikan mata uang kripto sebagai solusi atas bencana ekonomi yang dialami saat ini. Mata uang kripto bernama Petro pun diluncurkan beberapa waktu lalu, didukung oleh cadangan minyak yang dimiliki Venezuela.

Pemerintah menyatakan Petro bakal menjadi alat pembayaran yang sah untuk seluruh tansaksi pemerintahan dalam beberapa bulan ke depan. Ini membuat lembaga-lembaga pemerintah menerima pembayaran dengan token.

Presiden Venezuela Nicolas Maduro mengklaim bahwa penerbitan koin perdana (ICO) Petro yang dimulai pada Januari 2018 lalu telah meraup dana lebih dari 5 miliar dollar AS. Akan tetapi, sebagian besar analis independen meragukan angka tersebut. Saat ini pun tidak ada bukti bahwa Petro telah meraup dana@BPI

Binance Coin (BNB) Pilihan Terbaik untuk Investasi Anda di Tahun 2018 ?

Investasi Binance Coin (BNB). Dalam kesempatan kali ini kami fokus pada Binance Coin (BNB) dan alasan mengapa masih berdiri sebagai koin terbaik untuk diinvestasikan untuk sisa 2018. Kami detail efek positif penawaran pertukaran Binance prospek jangka panjang BNB dan bagaimana penambahan pasangan perdagangan pada Binance membantu meningkatkan harga keseluruhan BNB.

Binance coin (BNB) telah memperoleh minat besar dalam kuartal media dalam beberapa hari terakhir karena pasangan BNB / BTC-nya mencapai tertinggi sepanjang waktu pada hari Selasa ini. Token berbasis Ethereum dibuat oleh tim pengembangan Binance untuk mengurangi biaya perdagangan di platform sebesar 50% sambil menawarkan likuiditas kepada pelanggan.

Pada Q1 2018, Pertukaran Cryptocurrency Binance juga melaporkan perputaran laba yang lebih besar daripada kebanyakan bank teratas di dunia. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank semuanya menghasilkan laba kurang dari pertukaran cryptocurrency. Ini menarik perhatian sebagian besar investor.

Alasan Berinvestasi di BNB pada Tahun 2018

1. Prospek Jangka Panjang

Sebagian besar tanaman saat ini investor datang ke investasi cryptocurrency melakukannya dengan harapan membuat keuntungan supernormal dalam waktu singkat sebagai kasus kembali pada 2017. Namun, semakin banyak amatir di lapangan yang menyadari membuat uang cepat dari pasar tidak semudah yang mereka bayangkan.

BNB menawarkan sebagian besar amatir ini jalan keluar karena terus meningkat bahkan selama masa kekacauan di pasar seperti yang terlihat selama pergantian turun baru-baru ini. Ketika seluruh pasar jatuh di bawah angka $ 300 miliar USD dalam 30 hari terakhir, BNB melihat harganya melonjak sebesar 36% pada periode yang sama.

2. Pertukaran Cryptocurrency Binance Menawarkan Buffer untuk BNB

Binance adalah pertukaran cryptocurrency terbesar di dunia dengan volume perdagangan harian mencapai hampir $ 2 miliar USD dengan lebih dari 100 pasang untuk diperdagangkan. BNB diperkenalkan oleh tim pengembangan Binance sebagai token pilihan pertukaran kembali pada pertengahan 2017. Koin BNB telah secara konsisten naik ke tingkat yang lebih tinggi karena Binance mendapatkan lebih banyak pelanggan di platform.

Tidak seperti Coinbase dan pertukaran cryptocurrency fiat trading lainnya, pertukaran Biner tidak dilumpuhkan dengan peningkatan pembatasan KYC / AML yang memungkinkannya untuk menambah koin pada kesenangannya. Dengan Binance yang tumbuh dalam ukuran dan basis pelanggan, BNB akan menjadi korban positif karena semakin banyak pelanggan yang membeli koin untuk mengurangi biaya ketika bertransaksi di platform.

3. Meningkatnya Jumlah Koin di Platform Binance

Pada poin (2) kami telah secara singkat menyentuh pertukaran Binance yang meningkatkan jumlah token secara keseluruhan dan dampak keseluruhan pada BNB. Dalam 2 bulan terakhir, tim pertukaran Binance telah menambahkan 15 token baru ke platform dengan pasangan baru lainnya yang juga terdaftar di bursa. Dengan meningkatnya jumlah koin di platform, maka yang menggunakan BNB akan diberikan potongan harga perdagangan 50%.

Dengan penambahan koin pada platform, BNB telah melihat peningkatan lebih dari 50% dalam periode dua bulan. Untuk setiap hari pedagang di platform Binance, memiliki BNB bukanlah pilihan tetapi suatu keharusan. Hal ini meningkatkan kemungkinan pemakaian BNB token secara keseluruhan untuk semakin meningkatkan harganya@BPI

Russia's Largest Banks Are Piloting Bitcoin and Crypto Portfolios

Russia's Banks Pilot Bitcoin. Two of Russia's largest banks are piloting cryptocurrency portfolios for their private clients, the Kommersant newspaper reported Friday.

Under the watch of the Bank of Russia, Sberbank and Alfa Bank will offer their clients shares in a special fund that will be trading the six most popular cryptocurrencies on major exchanges, including Kraken and Bitstamp, according to the report.

Sberbank, the main state-owned bank responsible for processing government employee paychecks, and Alfa Bank, the largest private bank in the nation, plan to enter crypto trading with the help of the AddCapital investment fund, the National Settlement Depository and Group IB.

Sberbank Private Banking deputy chair Ana Ivanchuk said:

"We'd like to offer our clients an absolutely transparent way to invest in digital assets with a full compliance with regulations that will let them invest in the product they are interested in Russia."

"Our goal is to speed-up the recognition of the digital assets as legitimate financial assets as soon as possible," said Anton Rakhmanov, manager of Alfa Bank's private banking branch.

AddCapital, the investment fund which participated in the recent pre-sale of Telegram tokens, is said to be in charge of the technical solution for the project. CEO Alexey Prokofyev said the investment process will see investors purchase a share of the fund.

The portfolio will include the six most popular cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum and litecoin. The combination of coins will be revised four times a year, and their proportions will be balanced by a trading algorithm.

"The shares are liquid and a client can send them for fiat currencies any time," Prokofyev said.

The National Settlement Depository, which is a part of the Moscow Exchange Group, will act as the custodian. While testing the portfolio process will take roughly 45 days, the specific dates have not been disclosed@BPI

Regulators Deliver Good News for Ethereum and Bitcoin, but There’s Less Clarity for XRP

Regulators deliver good news. A top US official has provided some clarity about how crypto assets should be regulated. Bitcoin and ether are not securities, according to a senior Security and Exchange Commission official, meaning they don’t have to comply withstrict US requirements on registration, disclosure, and accreditation of investors. The regulator made no direct mention of XRP, a crypto token that money-transfer company Ripple haspromoted.

Digital assets have been in a bear market this year—bitcoin has fallen some 50%—but ether and bitcoin jumped yesterday (June 14) around the time reports emerged (paywall) on the SEC’s stance. XRP, which like all virtual assets tends to be highly volatile, diverged from bitcoin and ether, according to CoinDesk prices.

“Today is going to be looked back at as somewhat of a momentous day,” said Adam White, general manager at crypto exchange Coinbase, in an interview withpodcast host Laura Shin. Guidance that ether isn’t a security gives the crypto industry the confidence to move forward on projects, he said.

One of those projects could be ether futures at Chicago-based derivatives exchange Cboe. The exchange has been considering futures—which give traders a way to speculate or hedge prices of an asset at some later date—for the crypto asset since it started a contract for bitcoin last year, according to president Chris Concannon. “This announcement clears a key stumbling block,” he said.

As for XRP, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an interview earlier this month that “it’s very clear XRP is not a security.” He argued that it exists independently of Ripple the company, which has built technology that uses XRP to facilitate cross-border payments. He said owning XRP doesn’t provide ownership or equity in his firm, which itself it sitting on a large amount of the crypto asset. “It’s quite different than what a security looks like,” Garlinghouse said.

The SEC may feel differently. An important consideration is whether a third-party—a person, entity, or group–is driving the expectation for a return,according to a speech yesterday by William Hinman, director of the corporation finance division at the SEC. For some investors, the rationale for buying the XRP crypto token is the hope that the company Ripple will succeed at convincing banks and other financial institutions to use Ripple, and the crypto token, as a transmission mechanism for payments.

What would make a digital asset a security, according to the SEC

Here are six factors that the SEC suggests considering when determining whether a digital asset is an investment contract, and therefore a security:

1. Is there a person or group that has sponsored or promoted the creation and sale of the digital asset, the efforts of whom play a significant role in the development and maintenance of the asset and its potential increase in value?

2. Has this person or group retained a stake or other interest in the digital asset such that it would be motivated to expend efforts to cause an increase in value in the digital asset? Would purchasers reasonably believe such efforts will be undertaken and may result in a return on their investment in the digital asset?

3. Has the promoter raised an amount of funds in excess of what may be needed to establish a functional network, and, if so, has it indicated how those funds may be used to support the value of the tokens or to increase the value of the enterprise? Does the promoter continue to expend funds from proceeds or operations to enhance the functionality and/or value of the system within which the tokens operate?

4. Are purchasers “investing,” that is seeking a return? In that regard, is the instrument marketed and sold to the general public instead of to potential users of the network for a price that reasonably correlates with the market value of the good or service in the network?

5. Does application of the Securities Act protections make sense? Is there a person or entity others are relying on that plays a key role in the profit-making of the enterprise such that disclosure of their activities and plans would be important to investors? Do informational asymmetries exist between the promoters and potential purchasers/investors in the digital asset?

6. Do persons or entities other than the promoter exercise governance rights or meaningful influence?

How virtual tokens differ

There are ways to structure virtual tokens so that they function more like consumer items rather than a security, Hinman said. For analysis, he suggested this list of considerations:

1. Is token creation commensurate with meeting the needs of users or, rather, with feeding speculation?

2. Are independent actors setting the price or is the promoter supporting the secondary market for the asset or otherwise influencing trading?

3. Is it clear that the primary motivation for purchasing the digital asset is for personal use or consumption, as compared to investment? Have purchasers made representations as to their consumptive, as opposed to their investment, intent? Are the tokens available in increments that correlate with a consumptive versus investment intent?

4. Are the tokens distributed in ways to meet users’ needs? For example, can the tokens be held or transferred only in amounts that correspond to a purchaser’s expected use? Are there built-in incentives that compel using the tokens promptly on the network, such as having the tokens degrade in value over time, or can the tokens be held for extended periods for investment?

5. Is the asset marketed and distributed to potential users or the general public?

6. Are the assets dispersed across a diverse user base or concentrated in the hands of a few that can exert influence over the application?

7. Is the application fully functioning or in early stages of development?

Hinman pointed out that the US Securities Act is meant to give investors essential information known by promoters of assets, so that people buying into projects can make informed decisions. This is why promoters can be held liable for misstatements.

Factors such as a project’s financing and background are vital for an investor to be able to make sound decisions. While ether and bitcoin don’t qualify as securities in Hinman’s view, initial coin offerings (ICOs)—a kind of crowdfunding that’s been turbocharged by crypto-token speculation—often do qualify and may be better off adhering to those regulations@BPI

Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum Now Accepted by an Australian Pharmacy

An Australian Pharmacy  Accept Crypto . TravelByBit, on June 18th, announced another merchant on board to accept payment in cryptocurrencies. By doing this, TravelByBit introduced a new industry among their list of merchants! Lugarno Pharmacy, a store near Sydney is now accepting cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin [BTC], Litecoin [LTC], Dash [DASH], and Ethereum [ETH] for medications.

TravelByBit is an Australian company, who lets travelers pay in a cryptocurrency of their choice. The company designs tourism routes and provides their merchant list with a digital currency payment platform. The merchant list consists of various industries from real estate and accommodation to travel information providers and bike rentals. It also lends support to crypto-community for overseas travel or tourism around Australia. On its website’s introductory video, they have mentioned their goal to run a “Bitcoin Travel Movement”.

Now the cryptocurrency market is not in the best condition, and a drop of the cryptocurrency prices frightened investors. Nevertheless, more and more companies are starting to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method@BPI

Analisis Sentimen Pasar IOTA, Bitcoin & Ethereum 19 – 20 Juni 2018

Analisis  Iota, Bitcoin dan Ethereum. Sentimen pasar adalah salah satu cara terbaik untuk menentukan arah keseluruhan yang akan diambil pasar. Itu karena memberi Anda gambaran tentang apa yang dipikirkan investor tentang pasar pada titik waktu tertentu.

Atas dasar ini, mari melalui sentimen IOTA (MIOTA), Ethereum, dan Bitcoin, untuk mendapatkan gambaran yang lebih jelas tentang apa yang akan terjadi dalam minggu mendatang.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin adalah pemimpin pasar dalam crypto, dan arahnya cukup banyak arah untuk seluruh pasar. Melihat sentimen Bitcoin di berbagai forum selama 24 jam terakhir, sekitar 74% investor positif tentang hal itu.

Itu adalah indikator bahwa sebagian besar investor mengharapkan bitcoin berkinerja baik dalam beberapa hari mendatang. Sentimen ini terutama didorong oleh fakta bahwa bitcoin telah turun secara signifikan dalam satu minggu terakhir, dan sebagian besar investor mengambil keuntungan dari posisi terendah ini untuk membuat entri pembelian.

Untuk seseorang yang ingin membeli bitcoin, ini adalah waktu terbaik untuk memperhatikan level dukungan. Jika dukungan bertahan, entri beli dapat menghasilkan hasil yang baik dalam 24 jam ke depan, didorong oleh peningkatan tekanan beli.

IOTA (MIOTA)

Dalam 24 jam terakhir, IOTA (MIOTA) telah memiliki sekitar 21 menyebutkan di forum crypto utama. Dari ini, 81% dari mereka positif. Itu adalah indikator bahwa semakin banyak investor yang bullish di IOTA (MIOTA) saat ini dibandingkan dengan bitcoin.

Dari sudut pandang fundamental, ini mungkin didorong oleh kemitraan minggu lalu dengan Volkswagen, bahkan saat pasar merosot. Kemitraan itu terjadi hanya beberapa hari setelah tim IOTA merilis rincian proyek Qubic, IOTA (platform kontrak pintar MIOTA. Dengan demikian, investor mengharapkan IOTA (MIOTA) untuk memimpin pemulihan minggu ini, sekarang penurunan pasar minggu lalu tampak telah berkurang.

Hal ini juga didorong oleh fakta bahwa IOTA (MIOTA) kehilangan bagian yang baik dari nilainya minggu lalu, dan investor beroperasi dengan asumsi bahwa jika itu rusak ke atas, crypto ini dapat menawarkan cara pengembalian yang lebih tinggi yang sebagian besar sisa pasar.Untuk berinvestasi di IOTA (MIOTA) dalam 24 jam ke depan, yang terbaik adalah melihat keluar untuk volume.Jika membeli volume naik, itu akan menjadi pengaturan yang sempurna untuk masuk-lama.

Ethereum (ETH)

Sentimen seputar Ethereum (ETH) dalam 24 jam terakhir sebagian besar positif, dengan 73% pernyataan positif di forum online yang berbeda. Itu adalah indikator bahwa investor mengharapkan Ethereum berkinerja baik minggu ini.

Sentimen positif Ethereum terutama didorong oleh analisis teknis. Dalam 24 jam terakhir, Ethereum (ETH) telah menembus di atas batas psikologis $ 500 dua kali. Investor berharap untuk mempertahankan di atas level harga ini setidaknya selama 24 jam.

Untuk seseorang yang ingin berinvestasi di Ethereum dalam 24 jam ke depan, ini tampak seperti saat yang tepat untuk membeli. Satu-satunya hal yang perlu Anda perhatikan adalah volume. Jika volume meningkat, kemungkinan Ethereum akan bertahan di atas $ 500 sepanjang minggu@BPI

The Euro is Coming to Binance, Other Fiat Currencies to Follow

Fiat Currencies in Exchanges. After months of rumours, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has confirmed that the exchange will soon offer fiat pairings—starting with the Euro.

The first fiat pairings will soon hit the world’s largest crypto exchange with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao telling Bloomberg, the exchange will “soon allow customers to convert digital tokens into fiat currencies.”  The move will be the result of months of planning, which has seen Binance shift jurisdictions several times to evade restrictive regulations. After brief stints in Japan and Hong Kong, the China-founded exchange transitioned to Malta, where it was finally able to open a bank account last week.

Lenient regulations on “the blockchain island” will enable the exchange to open a local subsidiary platform, as a representative told CoinTelegraph, that will allow the use of crypto-fiat trading pairs, initially in the form of Euro-Bitcoin.

International expansion

While the last six months have seen a steep decline in cryptocurrency markets caps, Binance has been busily expanding, growing a user base of two million in January, into nine million by June. Fiat pairings are the next natural step, and Euro trading is just the beginning, according to Zhao, who gave no further details, but has spoken in previous interviews of plans to add fiat-crypto trading in other destinations. The company has strong ties with crypto-friendly jurisdictions around the world, and is said to be in talks with authorities and banks in Taiwan.

On the nearer horizon though, is Jersey, where Binance reportedly plans to open a crypto exchange office with a staff of around 100. Binance are said to have chosen the location for its “highly developed digital infrastructure, robust regulatory framework, and world class financial services sector.” The Jersey Financial Services Commission introduced “cryptocurrency sandbox” legislation in 2016, aimed at enabling businesses to experiment with virtual currencies “in a controlled and transparent manner.”

Just as significant perhaps, is the fact that the local economy is based on the pound (GBP), which could potentially provide a backdoor to Sterling pairings. U.S. citizens, however, might need to wait a little longer. CZ took to Twitter earlier this year to announce there were no immediate plans for USD pairings.



Competition for coinbase?

Although Binance might have captured the majority of the world’s cryptocurrency trading volume, they are beaten to the fiat post by Coinbase, who provide the preferred gateway for exchanging traditional currencies with crypto. Coinbase, who are more focused on long-term investment than Binance, are still the go-to fiat on ramp, especially for those new to the space. A simple user interface makes it easy for newcomers to purchase one of the bigger coins here, and then send it over to an exchange to buy altcoins.

By combining a fiat gateway with a wide variety of cryptocurrencies, Binance would not only make the process simpler, but also provide healthy competition for the likes of Coinbase, who have recently announced intentions to expand their offering by dealing in tokenized securities.

A liquidity boost

Increased altcoin pairings would also bring greater liquidity to the market, potentially diminishing the importance of Bitcoin as a bellwether for the market as a whole. Altcoin fans have long decried the coupling of bitcoin with their favourite cryptos, which means they remain subject to the price swings of their volatile progenitor.

A stable fiat gateway that provides immediate access to a range of altcoins, would make it unnecessary for buyers to first purchase one of the more popular coins—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin—and thus make it more likely for altcoins to take on a value of their own reckoning.

Up until now, strict regulation has made this impossible - but the situation appears to be changing, as other exchanges like Bittrex have recently introduced fiat currency support.

With household names like Fidelity, Goldman Sachs and Nasdaq contemplating moves into cryptocurrency, exchanges like Binance will need to keep pushing forward to stay one step ahead of the game@BPI