Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 23:33

Figure 2: BTC-USD, 15 Minute Candles, Current Support and Resistance LevelsAfter bouncing off the macro 50% values, the market rallied and ultimately tested the linear trendline shown in Figure 1. Now, after several failed attempts to break the linear trendline’s resistance, the market finds itself in a consolidation pattern where it decides where it will move next.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 23:33

Shortly after a sharp drop from the mid $14,000 to the lower $9,000s, bitcoin saw a strong bounce to the upper $11,000s. At the time of this article, bitcoin appears to be consolidating and is ready to make its next move:

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 23:32

Coinfloor, Coincheck, itBit, GOPAX, OKEx, SurBTC, The Rock Trading, Unocoin, Vaultoro and Zaif, with more coming soon.The data is collected using the exchanges’ APIs and, in some cases, by setting up dedicated connections with them. The current feeds lack standardized formatting and information: part of what ICE is providing is a single source that consolidates and standardizes the data, which will average out the information from the multiple sources into a more accurate overall view. Historically, the data currently only goes back to the initial integration; however, Blockstream is working with the exchanges to try and incorporate older data as well.Fowler told Bitcoin Magazine, “We believe that a consolidated data source, resulting from the combined participation of a strong and growing list of exchange partners globally, will enable us to address these gaps and thereby promote better liquidity, price stability, and public confidence in cryptocurrency as asset class.”CDF will include bitcoin and a wide range of cryptocurrencies and currency pairings on launch; the final list will be on their website. ICE will develop and publish a selection of criteria for decisions on the addition and/or removal of assets in the feed. This will be an ongoing process as the market evolves. Access to the real-time CDF will be available to subscribers of ICE Data Services’ Consolidated Feed in March 2018.
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/).

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 23:32

Two New Services Could Help Investors Rate Cryptocurrencies
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/two-new-services-could-help-investors-rate-cryptocurrencies/

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 21:06

Report: India's Government Sends Tax Notices to Cryptocurrency Traders
https://www.coindesk.com/report-indias-government-sends-tax-notices-to-cryptocurrency-traders/

India has sent tax notices to tens of thousands of cryptocurrency owners within its borders.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 19:58

OKCoin Eyes Cryptocurrency Exchange Launch in South Korea
https://www.coindesk.com/okcoin-to-launch-cryptocurrency-exchange-service-in-south-korea/

Cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin is reportedly moving to launch in South Korea – possibly as soon as next month.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 18:54

The Coinbase announcement caused a big drop in Ripple, back to around the same levels as before the rumors began. SInce then, Ripple has both dipped dramatically and recovered, as have many other volatile cryptocurrencies. While Coinbase doesn’t support Ripple, there are a number of ways for people to acquire Ripple, should they still want to.Words of CautionThere has been a lot of ink used on criticizing Ripple as well. The complaint from Bitcoin and other blockchain enthusiasts is that Ripple’s centralized control is in direct contrast to the ideals and advantages of decentralized blockchains like Bitcoin.Ripple also maintains a trusted Unique Node List (UNL) that is meant to protect against potentially malicious or insecure validating servers. It is the UNL that controls the network rules, presenting a conundrum: On the one hand, it protects against problematic validators, but, in theory, a regulating body or government could come in and force a change that isn't necessarily desirable or is downright invasive. Furthermore, because of a FinCEN violation and fine in 2013, Ripple has updated its policies and will only recognize and recommend gateways that are in compliance with financial regulations.New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper commented on Twitter (https://twitter.com/nathanielpopper/status/949081873405304832) that he has yet to find a bank that anticipates using the XRP token in any meaningful way. Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has denied Popper’s claims stating, “Over the last few months I’ve spoken with ACTUAL banks and payment providers. They are indeed planning to use xRapid (our XRP liquidity product) in a serious way.” However, as Popper points out, even the banks that he contacted at Ripple’s suggestion were non-committal in their plans to implement Ripple anytime soon.According to the Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/f739f48e-f62a-11e7-8715-e94187b3017e?desktop=true&segmentId=d8d3e364-5197-20eb-17cf-2437841d178a), of the 18 banks and financial services companies publicly linked to Ripple, most of them stated that they “had not yet gone beyond testing” while a few had moved on to using Ripple’s systems “for moving real money.” However,  not one of the 16 companies that responded had used the XRP token.
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/).

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 18:54

By Shawn Gordon (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/authors/shawn-gordon/)What is Ripple? Technically speaking, is Ripple a cryptocurrency in the mold of Bitcoin? The short answer is probably “no,” but that doesn’t stop it from often being lumped into that same category.What is Ripple?Originally released in 2012 as a subsequent iteration of Ripplepay, Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), currency exchange and remittance network. Using a common ledger that is managed by a network of independently validating servers that constantly compare transaction records, Ripple doesn't rely on the energy and computing intensive proof-of-work used by Bitcoin. Ripple is based on a shared public database that makes use of a consensus process between those validating servers to ensure integrity. Those validating servers can belong to anyone, from individuals to banks. The Ripple protocol (token represented as XRP) is meant to enable the near instant and direct transfer of money between two parties. Any type of currency can be exchanged, from fiat currency to gold to even airline miles. They claim to avoid the fees and wait times of traditional banking and even cryptocurrency transactions through exchanges. How Is It Fundamentally Different From Bitcoin?It is the validating servers and consensus mechanism that tends to lead people to just assume that Ripple is a blockchain-based technology. While it is consensus oriented, Ripple is not a blockchain. Ripple uses a HashTree to summarize the data into a single value that is compared across its validating servers to provide consensus.Banks seem to like Ripple, and payment providers are coming on board more and more. It is built for enterprise and, while it can be used person to person, that really isn't its primary focus. The main purpose of the Ripple platform is to move lots of money around the world as rapidly as possible. Thus far, Ripple has been stable since its release with over 35 million transactions processed without issue. It is able to handle 1,500 transactions per second (tps) and has been updated to be able to scale to Visa levels of 50,000 transactions per second. By comparison, Bitcoin can handle 3-6 tps (not including scaling layers) and Ethereum 15 tps. Ripple’s token, XRP, isn't mined like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and many other cryptocurrencies. Instead, it was issued at its inception, similar in fashion to the way a company issues stocks when it incorporates: It essentially just picked a number (100 billion) and issued that many XRP coins. What is XRP and What’s It Used For?As a technology, the Ripple platform may have real value and real history that validate the claims they make for its efficacy. The XRP token itself, however, seems to have negligible use cases. In fact, Ripple had planned to phase it out — at least, until fevered interest in cryptocurrencies began to take off in 2016. Nevertheless, as CNBC noted today, if Ripple hits $6.57, its market capitalization will be bigger than Bitcoin’s. There are 100 billion XRP tokens that were issued by the Ripple company. At the moment, the company promises that this is the total number of XRP that there will ever be (though, technically, there is nothing to stop them from issuing more tokens in the future). Ripple’s hub-and-spoke design positions XRP in the middle as a tool that is fungible with any currency or digital asset, such as frequent flyer miles. Ripple can settle a payment in 3.5 seconds through XRP and have it available and spendable. The use of XRP is totally independent of the Ripple network in general; that is, banks don't actually need XRP to transfer dollars, euros, etcetera which is what many small investors might be missing when they are buying the token.What Is Ripple’s Value Proposition?The value here is the Ripple network itself and its ability to move assets around the world quickly, rather than in the XRP token. Banks are able to use the Ripple software to shift money between different

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 17:43

the game is over; the two others are not able to take control of the funds.  Alternatively, if the third person does not return an “alive” signal by spending the UTXO before the time-out, then the two others can use the “seize” transaction to take control of the funds.  This not the only use case for a paralysis-proof system. Juels thinks the solution would work well in any situation that called for a controlled access to private keys that could not otherwise be maintained on a blockchain. “It is actually a very general scheme you could use for lots of other purposes,” he said.   For instance, a paralysis-proof system could be used as a dead man’s switch for control over the release (or decryption) of leaked information or a journalist’s raw materials. It could also be used in numerous ways to control daily spending limits from a common pool of money or as a conditioned expenditure based on an outside event (as reported by an oracle), like a student getting good grades or a salesperson meeting a sales quota.   “Basically, you can a rich set of conditions around the expenditure of money using the fact that a trusted hardware kind of acts like a trusted third party,” said Juels.This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/).

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 17:43

Cornell IC3 Researchers Propose Solution to Bitcoin’s Multisig “Paralysis” Problem
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/cornell-ic3-researchers-propose-solution-bitcoins-multisig-paralysis-problem/

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 17:38

PBoC Reportedly Orders Payment Services to Stop Serving Crypto Traders
https://www.coindesk.com/pboc-reportedly-orders-payment-services-to-stop-serving-crypto-traders/

The PBoC's Beijing division has reportedly issued a document requiring payment services to stop facilitating crypto trading activities.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 15:15

2018's Challenge: Promote Responsible Blockchain Innovation
https://www.coindesk.com/2018s-challenge-promote-responsible-blockchain-innovation/

The chief innovation officer at the U.S. regulator for national banks details the agency's efforts to support fintech while still mitigating risk.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 14:03

Global Securities Watchdog Warns Investors on ICO Risks
https://www.coindesk.com/global-securities-watchdog-warns-investors-on-ico-risks/

An organization of global securities regulators has issued a notice alerting investors to the perceived risks associated with initial coin offerings.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 11:32

Why São Paulo Wants to Pay for Infrastructure with Cryptocurrency
https://www.coindesk.com/sao-paulo-wants-pay-infrastructure-cryptocurrency/

The Brazilian state wants to pay for feasibility studies with a token designed for the construction industry. Can such a coin achieve network effect?

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 07:01

Where'd You Get That Token? 7 Platforms Managing ICOs
https://www.coindesk.com/whered-get-token-7-platforms-managing-icos/

A handful of platforms have launched to support token issuers with their sales. Which one an issuer uses may say something about the token itself.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 23:33

Figure 1: BTC-USD, 1 Day Candles, Macro ViewIn the previous BTC market analysis, we discussed the distribution trading range the market fell out of as it reached for lower support boundaries. Ultimately, it found support on the macro 50% retracement values near $10,000. Once it broke south of the trading range, the price fell sharply and with high volume:

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 23:33

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Potential Bearish Continuation Sets Up Lower Lows
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/bitcoin-price-analysis-potential-bearish-continuation-sets-lower-lows/

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 23:32

Increasing interest in cryptocurrencies has led to an influx of new investors. Unlike traditional markets, there are few tools that can help people make informed decisions, a situation that has already begun to claim victims in a particularly volatile environment. (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/cryptocurrencys-red-tuesday-firesale-leaves-everyone-speculating/)
In separate announcements, Weiss Ratings and Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) have announced the introduction of new financial tools to help investors navigate the cryptocurrency market and make smarter investments.Weiss Ratings, an established independent rating agency of financial institutions, says they will begin issuing ratings for cryptocurrencies on January 24, 2018, to help investors make informed decisions. ICE, an operator of a network of global futures, equity and equity options exchanges, is partnering with blockchain technology provider Blockstream to launch the Cryptocurrency Data Feed (CDF).Weiss Ratings Takes On CryptocurrenciesFounded in 1971, Weiss is an independent rating agency of financial institutions. They will begin issuing letter grades for cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, NEM, Litecoin, Stellar, EOS, IOTA, Dash, NEO, TRON, Monero, Bitcoin Gold and many others.According to Weiss Ratings founder Martin Weiss, the data they are using is a combination of purchased data and data collected through other sources. It is updated on a daily basis, covering a sliding 12-month window. Regressive testing to verify past data that the company uses to confirm predictions is still ongoing, but results have been accurate thus far, Weiss told Bitcoin Magazine. “We have built an analytical technology over the years using intelligent models to replicate the real world and we are applying [these] to cryptocurrenc[ies]. These have been very accurate for many years.”Ratings are built up across multiple indexes. The company built new models to reflect cryptocurrency data and developed an overall grading system that is broken down into four separate sub-models:Risk Index — The level of risk involved in the investment, based on factors like price activity and volatility.
Reward Index — The potential reward outcome, based on historical patterns of buying and selling.
Technology Index — A primarily manual process, where company analysts review the source code and white papers, analyze price movement and make ratings in a Query Tree (their internal software) to generate a quantitative result.
Adoption Index — A measurement of adoption along two dimensions: how broadly it is adopted, transaction speed, settlement times, etc.
“A weighted average of those 4 indices is used to get the final grade,” said Weiss. “The goal at Weiss is to empower the investor to make prudent decisions.”ICE Data Services: Real-Time Trading DataThe Cryptocurrency Data Feed (CDF) is a multi-asset and multi-venue data feed, capturing nearly 80 percent of cryptocurrency exchange trading volume over more than 15 exchanges around the world. It measures leading cryptocurrencies against the U.S. dollar and other major currency pairs. The captured data is normalized to create a unique number sequence to identify the transaction, details of where the trade took place, quantity, price, currency, timestamp and other relevant order book data. This is designed to enable ICE Data Services’ customers to receive global market–representative trading data in a real-time feed with high-quality information. “With the broad array of cryptocurrencies and exchanges, and given the price variances between exchanges, it’s critical that investors have a comprehensive source of pricing information,” said ICE Data Services President and COO Lynn Martin in a statement. According to Blockstream SVP of Business Affairs Alex Fowler, the initial exchange partners set up through cooperative agreements include Bitbank, Bitfinex, BitMEX, Bitso, Bitstamp, BtcBox, BTCC, CEX,

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 23:27

Venezuela Blasts 'False' White Paper for Oil-Backed Cryptocurrency
https://www.coindesk.com/venezuela-pushes-back-against-white-paper-claims/

Venezuelan officials have denied claims that the petro token's white paper has been released, calling such claims "false information."

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 21:04

Bulgaria Joins 'International Operation' Against OneCoin
https://www.coindesk.com/bulgarian-government-joins-international-operation-onecoin/

Bulgaria's government has revealed it is part of an international crackdown of OneCoin.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 19:57

TEPCO Invests in Blockchain Startup in Bid to Decentralize Systems
https://www.coindesk.com/tepco-buys-stake-uk-blockchain-startup-bid-decentralized-systems/

The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings announced it had invested in blockchain startup Electron to develop an asset management platform.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 18:54

foreign currencies. Currently, this is typically accomplished using SWIFT, a system that is cumbersome and relies on the banks having separate accounts in every country they work in. Ripple says it has signed up more than 100 banks (compared to SWIFTs 11,000 financial institutions) including American Express.So Why All the Hype?While Bitcoin has seen a dramatic rise in price over the course of 2017, the end of the year saw the cryptocurrency almost breaking $20,000. As the price drove higher, we saw a massive increase in price for a large number of altcoins, with Litecoin jumping from $50 to nearly $400, Ethereum doubling, NEM and EOS going up by a factor of five, and the list goes on and on. The fear of missing out has driven many investors wild and “lower-priced” currencies are attractive to new investors who mistakenly think that the high price of an entire BTC puts the currency out of their reach.Add to all the hype the rumors that had been swirling on social media through December 2017, that Coinbase was going to list Ripple, which caused the price to surge, which in turn prompted Coinbase to address the rumors in a more generic fashion in this blog post on January 4, 2018:“As of the date of this statement, we have made no decision to add additional assets to either GDAX or Coinbase. Any statement to the contrary is untrue and not authorized by the company.”

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 18:54

What is Ripple?
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/guides/what-ripple/

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 17:43

Owning cryptocurrency comes with its own set of challenges. One of the biggest of those challenges is managing the private keys that enable you to spend funds. Lose your private keys, and your money is gone.
In a business environment, a common way to manage funds owned by multiple people is via what’s called a multisignature (multisig) address, a type of smart contract requiring two or more parties to sign off on a transaction to move the funds.  This can be problematic, however. Let’s say you have a three-of-three multisig that requires you and two business partners to sign off on a transaction. If one person dies, disappears or becomes incapacitated, those assets become frozen — a risk some might feel uncomfortable with when dealing with tens of thousands of dollars or more.   One way to ameliorate that risk might be to opt for a two-of-three multisig, where only two instead of all three individuals need to sign off on a transaction. But that’s not a complete solution either. Two players could conspire against the other one and run off with the money. What now? If your funds are on the Ethereum blockchain, you could write a smart contract that would allow you to free the funds if one person in your trio disappeared. However, Bitcoin with its limited scripting language makes things more difficult. “This seems like an unsolvable problem if you think about the traditional tools,” said Ari Juels, a professor at Cornell Tech and co-director of the Cornell Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (IC3). Paralysis ProofsIn a paper titled “Paralysis Proofs: How to Prevent Your Bitcoin from Vanishing,” researchers Fan Zhang, Phil Daian, Iddo Bentov and Ari Juels from the IC3 outline how to deal with what happens when a party is unable, or unwilling, to sign off on a multisig transaction in Bitcoin. The solution involves a combination of blockchain technology and trusted hardware — Intel SGX, in this case.   Trusted hardware allows you to run code inside a protected enclave. Even a computer’s own operating system is unable to access data inside an enclave, so if your computer were to be hacked, the code in the enclave would remain secure.IC3’s solution proposes replacing a trusted third party, such as a lawyer or a bank, who would put money in an escrow, with a trusted hardware solution that retains control of a master key to the funds.  If one of the three people in the contract dies, the other two initiate a “paralysis proof.” That proof is based on a challenge sent to the missing third person. If the missing person responds to the challenge, the money stays put. If the missing person does not respond, the trusted hardware releases the funds to the remaining two players.  Trusted hardware is only part of the solution, however. If the third person were to try and respond to the challenge request with an indication she is still alive, conceivably, the other players could intercept that message. To ensure that does not happen, the second half of IC3’s solution involves sending the message via the blockchain, which provides a tamper-proof and censorship-resistant medium.    “By combining these two [methods], we can achieve the exact properties we’re after,” Juels explained to Bitcoin Magazine. “We can enable trusted hardware to determine whether or not somebody is alive, and there is no way to prevent a relevant message from getting transmitted if it is coming through the blockchain.”   How It WorksPut simply, this is how to achieve a paralysis proof as outlined by the IC3 researchers:Two players suspect a third is dead, so they post a challenge on the blockchain. The challenge consists of a tiny “dust” UTXO that the third person must spend within a certain period of time, say 24 hours, to prove she is alive.The two players also get a “seize” transaction they may post to the blockchain later to collect the funds, if the third person does not respond to the challenge.If the third person sends back a response by spending the UTXO,

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 17:41

CFTC Files Suits Against Crypto Investment Schemes for Alleged Fraud
https://www.coindesk.com/cftc-files-suits-against-crypto-investment-schemes-for-alleged-fraud/

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission brought two lawsuits against allegedly fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes yesterday.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 17:37

Massachusetts Sues ICO Organizer for Alleged Securities Violations
https://www.coindesk.com/massachusetts-sues-ico-operator-for-alleged-securities-violations/

Massachusetts' securities enforcement office is suing a resident and his company for selling unregistered securities in a token sale.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 14:04

Stuck at $12K: Bitcoin Price Needs Quick Progress to Avert Further Losses
https://www.coindesk.com/stuck-at-12k-bitcoin-price-needs-quick-progress-to-avert-further-losses/

With its recovery stalled, bitcoin needs a quick break above $12,500 or the tide may turn in favor of the bears.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 14:03

SEC Outlines Reasons for Reluctance to List Cryptocurrency ETFs
https://www.coindesk.com/sec-outlines-reasons-for-reluctance-to-list-cryptocurrency-etfs/

An SEC letter states there are "significant investor protection issues" to be examined before opening up crypto-ETFs to retail investors.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 09:12

The ECB Wants to Hear Your Cryptocurrency Questions
https://www.coindesk.com/ecb-wants-hear-cryptocurrency-questions/

The European Central Bank is soliciting questions for president Mario Draghi, specifying that cryptocurrency-related questions should be a topic.

Bitcoin channel

19 January 2018 01:39

Bitcoin Devs Release Long-Awaited Schnorr Paper for Scalability Gains
https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-devs-release-long-awaited-schnorr-paper-for-scalability-gains/

Bitcoin devs have released the first paper on the Schnorr multi-signature protocols, which, if implemented, would reduce bitcoin block sizes.