Crypto Trading Edge

#1 site for crypto news, resources, and guides.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

South Korea's ICO Ban Could Soon Be Lifted

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/uncategorised/south-koreas-ico-ban-soon-lifted/

South Korea's ICO Ban Could Soon Be Lifted

South Korea’s ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs) could be eased in the coming months, according to a new report.

In September the country’s Financial Services Commission had moved to prohibit the blockchain funding model. Yet a new report from the Korea Times suggests that the ban may be lifted in part, specifically for token sales that meet as-yet-to-be specified conditions.

An anonymous source told the newspaper:

“The financial authorities have been talking to the country’s tax agency, justice ministry, and other relevant government offices about a plan to allow ICOs in Korea when certain conditions are met.”

Despite the local ban, many Korean cryptocurrency users are still participating in international ICOs. Kang Young-soo, the regulator that oversees cryptocurrency trading policies at the Financial Service Commission (FSC), declined to comment on ICOs other than to say the FSC is considering a “third party view.”

Additionally, Young-soo affirmed that the government wants to advance blockchain technologies and create a better infrastructure for regulating cryptocurrency trades.

However, international cryptocurrency market presents new challenges for lawmakers.

As it stands, overseas residents are currently banned from trading cryptocurrency in South Korea. This restriction is aimed at curbing money laundering and other possible cross-border crimes. Meanwhile, South Korean officials are reportedly talking with counterparts in Japan and China to explore regulatory cooperation, which means that any final rules could be developed in tandem with those countries.

For its part, China has shown no sign of willingness to relax its own ban on initial coin offerings, which it unveiled in early September prior to South Korea’s announcement.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Thomson Reuters Launches Bitcoin Market Sentiment Data Feed

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/thomson-reuters-launches-bitcoin-market-sentiment-data-feed/

Thomson Reuters Launches Bitcoin Market Sentiment Data Feed

Canadian mass media and information company Thomson Reuters has announced the launch of a Bitcoin (BTC) sentiment data feed, according to a Thomson Reuters press release published today, March 12.

The release states that through the partnership of Thomson Reuters and MarketPsych Data LLC, the company is releasing a new version of its MarketPsych Indices that will now scan more than 400 news and media sites related to cryptocurrencies for its feed.

Austin Burkett, the Global Head of Quant and Feeds at Thomson Reuters, said in a statement:

“News and social media are driving the investment and risk management process more than ever with the continuing rise of passive and quant-driven trading. As the financial marketplace rises in complexity, so too does the need to provide our clients with not only the relevant data, but the tools to help them manage and analyze that data.”

Google Trends data shows that searches for the term “Bitcoin” coincide almost directly with Bitcoin’s price, showing that the virtual nature of cryptocurrency means that what happens online is connected to crypto prices, even if it not necessarily a direct cause and effect.

Thomson Reuters has previously interacted with the cryptocurrency sphere, for in July of 2017, the company announced the formation of a new startup tech incubator that supports innovation in Blockchain technologies.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Government Employee Uses Weather Forecasting Systems For Crypto Mining

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/government-employee-uses-weather-forecasting-systems-crypto-mining/

Government Employee Uses Weather Forecasting Systems For Crypto Mining

Australian federal police are reportedly investigating two employees from the country’s official weather forecasting department over an alleged cryptocurrency mining operation.

Citing sources, ABC News is reporting that two IT employees from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) are currently under the federal police scanner for allegedly using the bureau’s predictably-powerful computers to mine cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency mining is process wherein miners are rewarded with coins for creating blocks of validated transactions and adding them to a blockchain. An energy-intensive process, profits are made when rewards exceed the substantially high demands and costs in computing processing power and electricity.

According to the report, officers of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) raided the weather bureau’s headquarters in Melbourne on February 28. Two IT employees, in particular, were questioned with one of them currently on leave. The report adds the investigation is currently ongoing, with no charges pressed against any employee currently.

The incident sees the weather bureau involved in a cryptocurrency-related controversy for the second time in under a month. The bureau’s website inadvertently hosted advertisements for a cryptocurrency scam that had a CNN article purportedly claim that Elon Musk had quit Tesla to launch a blockchain startup invested in bitcoin. The faux story contained links to a number of websites pedaling crypto-related scams. The BOM apologized for the “unacceptable” adverts before promptly suspending a third-party provider responsible for the ads.

Meanwhile, news of last week’s raid on a government department is only the latest instance of a state staffer questioned or investigated over mining cryptocurrencies at the workplace. Last week, the Attorney General of the state of Louisiana opened a criminal investigation into his own IT department over allegations of former employees using state resources to mine bitcoin. Last month, engineers at a top-secret Russian nuclear warhead facility were arrested for allegedly using a supercomputer to mine bitcoins.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Bittrex Asserts It's Compliance With U.S Law

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/bittrex-asserts-compliance-u-s-law/

Bittrex Asserts It's Compliance With U.S Law

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex says that it is compliant with federal regulations governing securities trading.

The exchange, which is headquartered in Seattle, issued a statement on Wednesday assuring its customers that its token review process is compliant with rules that prohibit companies from creating trading markets for unregistered securities.

Bittrex said:

“As a U.S.-based digital currency exchange, Bittrex is committed to incubating new blockchain technology projects and offering innovative, compliant digital tokens to our customers. Bittrex uses a robust digital token review process to ensure the tokens listed on the exchange are compliant with U.S. law and are not considered securities.”

The statement was a direct response to an announcement published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — also released on Wednesday — that warned it is “potentially unlawful” for cryptocurrency exchanges to list initial coin offering (ICO) tokens, as the agency deems many of these ICOs to be unregistered securities offerings.

The agency signaled that it intends to crack down on cryptocurrency trading platforms that list security tokens, a move that appears to be a bid to coax exchanges to register with the SEC, which would provide regulators with more authority to supervise the nascent cryptocurrency spot trading markets.

Most exchanges are currently licensed at the state level as money transmitter businesses, and US regulators have stated their desire to implement more oversight at the federal level.

Responding to the SEC’s warning, Bittrex noted that as a part of its listing process it typically requires a memorandum or opinion from a US-qualified law firm that “presents the factual and legal basis” that a token “is not a security under applicable securities laws” and that trades of the token “would not be subject to regulation under any applicable laws applicable to trading of commodities.”

“Bittrex is committed to helping advance the United States’ global leadership in this emerging industry, and we look forward to continuing our proactive dialogue with the SEC and other regulators on how to build a secure, fully-regulated environment for blockchain that encourages innovation and economic growth,” the firm concluded.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Ripple Rallies On Coinbase Rumors

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/ripple-rallies-coinbase-rumors/

Ripple Rallies On Coinbase Rumors

The price of the third-largest cryptocurrency by total value is up 16 percent Monday, buoyed by speculation it could soon see a major exchange listing.

Indeed, comments on social media indicate investors now expect XRP price to extend Monday’s gains ahead of an alleged appearance by CEO Brad Garlinghouse on CNBC’s “Fast Money” Tuesday. Also said to be on the program is Coinbase COO Asiff Hirji, a possible coincidence that’s raising conjecture the major U.S. exchange will add support for XRP trading.

Currently, Coinbase offers trading for bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin and ether, meaning the addition of XRP could enable a new outlet for retail trading.

Still, while details about the appearance are scant (it’s not clear if the two will be appearing together, and neither has tweeted plans for the show), XRP is trading at $1.05, having appreciated 16 percent in the last 24 hours, according to data provider CoinMarketCap.

Yet another potential driver is a surge in South Korean trading volumes, with four out of top 10 exchanges by trading volumes being based in the Asian nation. Indeed, Bithumb, in particular, has seen its XRP trading surge more than 30 percent on the day.

The rumor mill might keep XRP well bid for another 24 hours.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Japanese Exchanges to Self-Regulate Local Crypto Market

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/japanese-exchanges-self-regulate-local-crypto-market/

Japanese Exchanges to Self-Regulate Local Crypto Market

Two trade groups in Japan’s cryptocurrency industry have agreed to form an as-of-yet unnamed organization next month that will self regulate the local crypto market in conjunction with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), local news outlet Nikkei Asian Review reports Saturday, March 3.

This cooperation in the Japanese crypto sphere comes after January’s hack of the Japanese-based crypto exchange Coincheck, with losses totalling more than $534 mln in NEM, the largest hack in the crypto world since Mt. Gox. The hack, which was caused by a breach of a low security hot wallet storing NEM, prompted the FSA to conduct security measure inspections on 15 unregistered crypto exchanges, including Coincheck.

The trade groups looking to self-regulate, one of which is the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA), represent 16 registered crypto market operators. The market operators will reportedly work together to produce industry-wide investor safety standards, including the creation of guidelines for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). The Nikkei Asian review writes that the group will be able to require compliance of its members, similar to the powers held by the Japan Securities Dealers Association.

Taizen Okuyama, president of foreign exchange trading platform Money Partners Group, as well as chair of the JCBA, will serve as chairman of the new organization. Okuyama told the Nikkei Asian Review that the aim of this new organization is to “bring the entire cryptocurrency sector to bear on self-regulation.”

Yuzo Kano, the CEO of Tokyo-based exchange bitFlyer and head of the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA), will serve as vice chairman.

If the new group is approved as an independent regulatory body by the government, the organization will be able to prohibit certain virtual currencies from being used by registered crypto operators in the country if, for example, the coins are suspected of being used in money laundering, the Nikkei Asian Review reports. While waiting for FSA approval, the new regulatory body will be provisionally open to registered operators and exchanges.

In mid-February, seven large cryptocurrencies companies joined together to create CryptoUK, the first trade organization that will self-regulate the crypto market within the United Kingdom.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

European Bank To Allow Clients To Invest In Cryptos

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/european-bank-allow-clients-invest-cryptos/

European Bank To Allow Clients To Invest In Cryptos

A Liechtenstein-based family bank has become one of the first banks in the world that allows clients to directly invest in cryptocurrencies.

Making the announcement earlier this week, Bank Frick said that the first batch of cryptocurrencies to be available for trading will include bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, Ripple and ether. The bank said it is targeting institutional and high-value private clients, who can buy in with euros, U.S. dollars and Swiss francs.

The crypto assets under the bank’s custody, the announcement says, will be stored in cold wallets – a security measure that keeps private keys to the cryptocurrencies offline and away from potential hackers. Trading activities through the bank’s platform will also be carried out in compliance with know-your-customer procedures required under Liechtenstein and European (EU/EEA) law.

“Clients can only invest in cryptocurrencies once they have been fully identified and verified. The verification and identification process also involves checking the origin of the money used to invest in them,”according to the announcement.

“Our services are in demand from companies across the whole of Europe,” said Hubert Büchel, chief client officer at the bank. “We aim to place crypto-banking on at least the same level of quality as traditional banking.”

The move marks the latest effort among financial institutions in the region to move to support the growth of cryptocurrency and blockchain development.

Falcon Group, a Swiss private bank, has also started offering a bitcoin purchasing service through clients’ traditional accounts in partnership with the bitcoin brokerage firm Bitcoin Suisse AG.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Taiwanese Central Bank Looks To Blockchain For Future Payment Systems

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/taiwanese-central-bank-looks-blockchain-future-payment-systems/

Taiwanese Central Bank Looks To Blockchain For Future Payment Systems

Yang Chin-long, the new governor of Taiwan’s central bank, indicated in a speech yesterday, Feb. 26, that the bank would be open to exploring Blockchain technologies.

At the end of January, Taiwanese capital Taipei had announced that they intended to turn into a ”smart city,” utilizing Blockchain for providing technological advances like pollution sensors and health history tracking to citizens by partnering with IOTA.

During his speech at the presidential handover ceremony, Yang Chin-long said that the central bank will be open to “[adopting] artificial intelligence technologies and big data analysis to better predict and analyze global economic conditions:”

“In addition, the bank will also try to explore the feasibility of enhancing the security and efficiency of payment systems using decentralized ledger technology [Blockchain].”

In October of 2017, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) publicly announced its support for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), cryptocurrencies, and Blockchain in the country in a move to counter the strict crypto regulations in China and South Korea.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

China's Crypto Mining Company Bitman Profits More Than Nvidia

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/chinas-crypto-mining-company-bitman-profits-nvidia/

China's Crypto Mining Company Bitman Profits More Than Nvidia

Chinese mining hardware giant Bitmain has reportedly made higher profits in 2017 than long time American graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturer Nvidia, CNBC reported Feb. 23.

CNBC writes that according to a report published Feb. 21 from investment research company Bernstein, the four-year-old Bitmain reportedly made between $3 and $4 billion in operating profit in 2017, whereas Nvidia, founded 24 years ago, made about $3 billion during the same period.

Bitmain, founded in 2013 by Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan, uses Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) cards to mine Bitcoin (BTC), sells ASIC-powered AntMiner BTC mining rigs, and also operates “mining pools”, a system in which cryptocurrency miners share resources and split rewards.

Nvidia-manufactured graphics cards reportedly tend to appeal more to “hobby miners”, who may choose to buy a conventional GPU, rather than investing in a more powerful and expensive ASIC-powered rig, like Bitmain’s AntMiner.

The Bernstein analysis reports that Bitmain holds 70 to 80 percent of the market for Bitcoin miners and ASIC cards, with most of the revenue made from selling the mining rigs, “and, to a much lesser extent, by collecting management fees from the mining pools it operates and renting out the mining power of its mining farms through cloud services.”

The rising price of BTC in 2017 especially has also contributed to Bitmain’s profits, for the Bernstein report writes that, “Bitmain shrewdly adjusts the prices of miners according to bitcoin prices.”

When the price of BTC rose to $20,000 in December 2017, Bernstein reported that the price of Bitmain’s Antminer S9 hit almost $5000.

The Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC that supplies ASIC chips to Bitmain had signed a deal with Samsung in late January of this year. The Bernstein analysts say that Bitmain’s dealings with TSMS “contributed 2 to 3 percent of the chipmaker’s total revenue last year.”

After China’s crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry within the country, including banning both Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and foreign exchanges, Bitmain has attempted to circumvent regulations by opening mining farms in Canada and Switzerland, a mining pool subsidiary in Israel, and regional headquarter in Singapore, the Bernstein report notes.

Bitmain’s “massive cash position” and the fact that it sells chips to miners, as opposed to mining itself, protects the company from slumps like those earlier this month, when BTC’s price dropped below $7000.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Ubisoft Explores Use Of Blockchain Technology

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/ubisoft-explores-use-blockchain-technology/

Ubisoft Explores Use Of Blockchain Technology

French video game publisher Ubisoft is exploring potential applications of blockchain in its Strategic Innovation Lab, which studies emerging technologies and their use cases.

Lidwine Sauer, the Lab’s director of trends and insights, told the gaming news site IGN that Ubisoft is particularly interested in the blockchain’s ability to offer unique ownership over digital items.

The technology presents the opportunity to “finally have real digital collectables that cannot be replicated by anyone and can be 100 percent owned by you,” she said.

As a result, Sauer explained, the blockchain also provides more protection over creative property:

“Thanks to the blockchain, we can now have the equivalent of a digital Picasso, with the advantage that it’s a lot more difficult to steal something on the blockchain than to steal a Picasso.”

One use case Ubisoft is particularly keen on is related to one-of-a-kind downloadable content (DLC), which is distributed by a game’s publisher and typically includes add-ons such as aesthetic changes and new gameplay features.

However, Sauer said the Lab has ambitions for blockchain applications beyond DLC.

“We want to go further than that,” she said. “We feel there’s something even more interesting to find [through the blockchain], and we’re in the process of trying to find that interesting thing.”

Ubisoft is not the first gaming developer to explore applications of blockchain technology.

CryptoKitties, a game where users can buy, collect, “breed” and sell unique digital cats also puts to use blockchain’s ability to facilitate unique digital content.

Likewise, the short-lived Crypto All Stars took a similar approach, allowing users to trade digital cards depicting major figures in technology like litecoin creator Charlie Lee and AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Venezuela's Government Ordered to Accept Cryptocurrencies

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/news-updates/venezuelas-government-ordered-accept-cryptocurrencies/

Venezuela's Government Ordered to Accept Cryptocurrencies

After officially launching the oil-backed Petro (PTR), Venezuela’s own cryptocurrency, the country’s leader Nicolás Maduro has ordered state-owned businesses to transact in it when buying and selling products and services. According to a video posted on Twitter by local television network VTV, the Venezuelan president ordered these businesses to convert a percentage of their sales and purchases into the Petro. He stated (roughly translated):

“[I gave the order to] PDSA, Pequiven, and CVG to, as state-owned companies, realize a percentage of their product sales and purchases, from here on out, on the Petro currency.”

Maduro specifically mentioned three companies: PDVSA, Pequiven, and CVG. PDVSA is a state-owned oil and natural gas company, which just like the Venezuelan government was targeted by the US’ sanctions. Pequiven is a petrochemical company. CVG stands for Corporacion Venezolana de Guyana, which is a decentralized conglomerate whose subsidiaries include precious metal producers. Maduro’s words came during the Petro pre-sale announcement. He also added that Venezuelans will be able to pay for fuel and tourism services in cryptocurrencies, including the Petro. Cryptocurrencies are popular in the country, as they help citizens survive government failures.

The Petro was created as a way for the country to bypass US sanctions. The cryptocurrency’s pre-sale is currently ongoing, and according to Maduro the country’s government netted $735 million in its first day, although he didn’t back his claim with any evidence. Shortly after the cryptocurrency was announced back in December, Venezuela’s opposition-run congress criticized its sale, as an “illegal and unconstitutional” instrument to mortgage the country’s oil reserves. Yet, merely one day after launching the Petro’s pre-sale, Nicolás Maduro announced another cryptocurrency, the Petro Gold. While the first is backed by oil, the Petro Gold is set to be backed by precious metals. On a televised speech, Maduro stated:

“Next week I‘m going to launch the petro gold, backed by gold, which is even more powerful, that will strengthen the petro.”

It isn’t clear if the Venezuelan president referred to the gold reserves in the central bank, or to an undeveloped mineral deposit. Seemingly following Venezuela’s footsteps, other countries are now looking into launching their own cryptocurrencies. Iran recently backpedaled on bitcoin, and is now planning its own state cryptocurrency. A Turkish politician has also endorsed the idea of a national cryptocurrency, the Turkcoin.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Asia's Malls Embrace Lucrative Cryptocurrency Mining Equipment

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/asias-malls-embrace-lucrative-cryptocurrency-mining-equipment/

Asia's Malls Embrace Lucrative Cryptocurrency Mining Equipment

Electronics bazaars in Asia are receiving a flood of international buyers looking for cheap cryptocurrency mining equipment.

Equipment including components such as GPU’s, motherboards and fans, can be as much as 50% cheaper here than in Europe. At many locations, customers can also have their mining rigs assembled by sellers while they wait, and still pay less. One key destination is Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po market, which is made even more attractive due to the lack of sales tax. However, the boom in sales is being felt across Asia – a welcome respite. Sales had been falling in recent years with the demand for personal computers dropping significantly. The equipment is mostly manufactured in China, with GPU’s being developed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia.

The drive behind the rush for computer equipment is cryptocurrency mining – the process that ensures the security of Proof of Work protocols such as Bitcoin. Computers race to solve complex mathematical calculations, and when they find a solution are allowed to write a block on the chain and are rewarded. This is how new Bitcoins are created, and the rapid rise in cryptocurrency prices has seen a surge in those looking to start mining.

However, experts note that there are several limitations to home mining rigs. Initial starting costs can range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands or more, and mining is a highly energy-intensive process, adding further costs. Moreover, the average home miner is in direct competition with much more powerful machines and mining farms, which can mean infrequent payouts. It can take many months of constant work to make back investments costs and begin to profit.

Whilst small miners may struggle, manufacturers are raking huge profits from the hype. Earlier this year AMD announced revenues of $1.48 billion, a 34 percent year-on-year increase. Computing and Graphics cards contributed $958 million to this figure – rising 60 percent. Nvidia has also benefited, with the company announcing a $150m boost in revenue from miners. The reason for the huge boost is that crypto mining has created a huge demand for GPUs, with the average mining rigs holding anywhere from six to twelve GPU cards.  The craze has left manufactures racing to meet demand. It has also been reported that development has begun on mining specific cards that are stripped down and come with a reduced warranty, in a bid to boost production.

The high demand is also being felt in Asian bazaars. One shop owner said that “We’ve been selling more these few months and we often run out of stock”. Another seller Liu Xiao Yu in Singapore told Reuters:

“There was a customer who asked for a rig with 500 GPU cards, which amounted to over S$350,000 ($262,700)…There was another who came by last week asking for 1,000 GPU cards, but I am afraid to accept the offer as supplies are low now.”

The profitability of mining depends entirely upon the cryptocurrency markets, and demand for equipment falls significantly when the market crashes. However, those in the industry are confident of good business for the foreseeable future, commenting:

“Once the value of Bitcoin increases again, we will receive multiple calls and emails from customers all over the world.”

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Crypto Market Cap Back Over $500 Billion

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/featured/crypto-market-cap-back-500-billion/

Crypto Market Cap Back Over $500 Billion

After a relatively low start to the month in the crypto market, the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies has again broken $500 bln today, Feb. 17, according to CoinMarketCap. The total market cap is currently around $502 bln at press time.

Bitcoin (BTC) has stayed well above the $10,000 mark, currently trading at about $10,830 and up almost 7 percent over a 24-hour period by press time. Ethereum (ETH) is inching closer to passing the $1000 threshold, trading at $969, up almost 3 percent over a 24-hour period by press time.

Of the top ten coins listed on CoinMarketCap, only Litecoin (LTC) is in the red, down about 3 percent at press time. Earlier week Litecoin saw a surge in price following the announcement of the upcoming launch of a LTC-fiat payment service, and a planned hard fork that Litecoin creator called a “scam”. LTC is currently trading at around $227.

The steady uptick in prices may have prompted by the bullish news that an anonymous trader purchased around 41,000 Bitcoin between Feb. 9 and Feb. 12, worth around $440 mln today, Marketwatch reported. The purchase reportedly brought the BTC address total up to over 96,000 BTC, or little over $1 bln.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Crypto Miners Heading to Quebec

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/news-updates/crypto-miners-heading-quebec/

Crypto Miners Heading to Quebec

Canadian electric utility Hydro-Quebec may raise energy rates for crypto businesses due to an influx of requests from miners hoping to take advantage of its cheap rates.

More than 100 crypto mining companies have approached Hydro-Quebec, spokesman Marc-Antoine Pouliot told CTV News Montreal, and a few have already settled in the province. Notably, Pouliot said some farms would consume more than 20x the power required for Montreal’s sports and entertainment complex, The Bell Centre.

“One project like that isn’t a problem, but now we’re talking hundreds,” Pouliot was quoted as saying.

Hydro-Quebec initially sought to attract large tech companies to the province with its low rates, but the cheap energy and cold weather – ideal for keeping mining machines cool – attracted mining companies as well.

Hydro-Quebec has a surplus of energy, which makes miners “interesting clients,” according to Pouliot.

However, the demand has caused the company to consider an industry-specific rate change – which in the past has only been realized in the form of discounts – to protect its surplus.

The news comes at a time when some mining hotspots are considering larger measures to manage the farms’ energy consumption.

Earlier this week, an Icelandic lawmaker proposed a tax on bitcoin mining companies, citing their lack of a contribution to national tax revenue. The country has extensive geothermal energy resources, and like Quebec offers a cold climate that mitigates the heat output of mining machines.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Ellen DeGeneres Explains Bitcoin

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/news-updates/ellen-degeneres-explains-bitcoin/

Ellen DeGeneres Explains Bitcoin

If there was any doubt that bitcoin is making its way into the mainstream, Ellen DeGeneres has just dispelled those myths. Telling her audience that she’s ‘down with’ bitcoin, Ellen used her comedic talent to describe bitcoin by comparing the top cryptocurrency to a goat and even talking BTC price. She used her ability to communicate with the masses to explain how in her quest to learn more about bitcoin seemingly turned her into a fan.

While you may argue that bitcoin has already spread like wildfire, Ellen has the ability to tap into an entirely new audience, among whom her appeal to the female demo is on the rise. Her tweet with the video (below) received nearly half-a-million views, which is small compared to her nearly 77 million followers, but still.

The Ellen DeGeneres show, which boasts nearly 3 million viewers per episode as of the 2016-2017 season and which is currently in its 15th run, has just raised bitcoin’s profile even higher. While it may seem that “everyone” knows what cryptocurrencies are, penetration in comparison to other asset classes still lags, which is reasonable for any nascent investment category.

Ellen in her opening monologue asked the audience if they ever heard of bitcoin, to which she received a roaring response. But she challenged them about understanding bitcoin before taking the time to share what she had learned, using comedy to get her point across and accusing audience members who cheered they know how bitcoin works as “liars.”

“Nobody knows how it works, nobody. Everybody’s talking about bitcoin; nobody understands it,” she said, likening the top digital coin to watching a movie but having no idea what’s going on. “All I know is that bitcoin is either worth $20,000 or nothing,” she added.

Harkening back to her high school days when she said they didn’t call her “Economics Ellen” for nothing (following up with her comedic timing that they called her that for failing economics,) she shared what she learned about bitcoin.

Bitcoin is decentralized. Translation: Pretend bitcoin’s an adorable goat that you want to pet but can’t. “It’s not there. It doesn’t exist except for on the internet.. just like bitcoin is digital currency.”

Keep bitcoin in a digital purse, aka a mobile-wallet-fueled digital wallet or small hard drive, joking that the latter of which could get destroyed in the washing machine along with your life savings.

Bitcoin operates like the stock market, and its value can go from $10,000 to $20,000 just like that. “You just doubled your money,” she said.

Of course, bitcoin is no joke, and she seems to know that: “If you invest in bitcoin, you’ll either be a millionaire or you’ll be totally broke,” said Ellen.

Ellen didn’t endorse any upcoming ICOs or give her viewers any investment advice. And while DeGeneres is known for giving gifts, it does not appear she distributed any BTC to her audience. If you missed it, Ellen’s show is renewed till at least 2020, and she’s sure to talk bitcoin again.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Crypto Mining Malware Hits UK Government Websites

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/news-updates/crypto-mining-malware-hits-uk-government-websites/

Crypto Mining Malware Hits UK Government Websites

U.K. government websites and more than 4,000 others worldwide have reportedly been exploited by malware that harnesses visitors’ computers to mine cryptocurrency.

According to BBC, the incident was first revealed after British security researcher Scott Helme, who raised the alarm that users browsing the website of the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) are affected by the malware, dubbed Coinhive, which illicitly mines the anonymous cryptocurrency Monero.

The ICO subsequently closed its website when the issue was revealed, the report indicates. At press time, the site was still down, citing “maintenance.”

The BBC said the malware spread after having compromised a website plug-in service named Browsealoud, which is used to help blind or partially sighted users access website content.

According to the report, the maker of the plug-in, Texthelp, confirmed that its product was breached for four hours by the mining malware. Helme said the malware had now been disabled.

In addition to the ICO website, the report said other British sites are also affected, including the Student Loans Company and Barnsley Hospital, as well as thousands of others worldwide.

According to another report from Australian news source ABC.net, several government sites in Queensland, as well as the Victorian Parliament, also appeared to have been affected.

According to a November 2017 report, Coinhive has become the sixth most common form of malware. It has previously been discovered in Google ads, the Ultimate Fighting Championship website and TV network Showtime, among many others.

[cryptotradingedge-blog]

Ripple Blockchain Network Adds China Payments Provider

New Post has been published on https://cryptotradingedge.com/news-updates/ripple-blockchain-network-adds-china-payments-provider/

Ripple Blockchain Network Adds China Payments Provider

Chinese payment provider LianLian International is joining RippleNet, the payment network that uses Ripple’s blockchain technology to facilitate cross-border transactions.

Announced on Feb. 7, the news will see the Hong Kong-based LianLian International adopting Ripple’s xCurrent solution in an effort to bring same-day, cross-border transactions onto a blockchain for its existing customers. The product differs from Ripple’s xRapid solution, which, unlike xCurrent, uses the company’s custom cryptocurrency XRP.

Arthur Zhu, CEO of LianLian International, said in a statement:

“With RippleNet, we will further enhance that experience by offering customers instant, blockchain-powered payments across the 19 currencies that we currently support.”

According to Ripple, the partnership with LianLian will enable existing RippleNet members to connect with the Chinese market.

With the news, LianLian becomes the latest member of RippleNet, which now has over 100 customers using its xCurrent solution.