Thursday, January 31, 2019

Coincheck Registers 1.7M New Users Since Resuming Operations Last October

8:54 PM Unknown Jeffrey Gogo No comments

Coincheck Registers 1.7M New Users Since Resuming Operations Last October

Coincheck has reported 1.73 million downloads of its mobile app since the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange resumed new account signups, withdrawals, deposits and limited trading in October. By the end of December, more than 900,000 of the new users had gone on to confirm their identities, in what looks like a remarkable comeback for an exchange that holds the dubious record of having suffered the worst hack in the short history of cryptocurrency.

Also read: Genesis Capital Processed $1.1B of Cryptocurrency Loans in 2018

Trading Volume Rises as More Customers Sign Up

About $534 million worth of the NEM cryptocurrency was stolen from Coincheck in January 2018. The money was never recovered and operations were subsequently halted. Since then, the trading platform has been trying to reinvent itself through refunding victims of the hack, improving security systems, as well as regularizing its operations with Japan’s financial regulator. Coincheck completed its registration as a cryptocurrency exchange on Jan. 11 of this year.

Coincheck Registers 1.7M New Users Since Resuming Operations Last October

According to an earnings report for the third quarter to March 31, 2019 published by Monex Group, the Japanese owners of Coincheck, the exchange has seen a marked increase in trading volume since it resumed purchasing and depositing services “for all tradable cryptocurrencies” at the end of November.

“Service resumption contributed to an increase in trading volume [and] growth potential in customer base where the millennials are the majority,” said Monex, which acquired Coincheck in April 2018, in the financial report released Jan. 31.

Coincheck Losses Halve to 300 Million Yen

For the quarter, Coincheck also reported losses that halved to 324 million yen (about $2.97 million) from 588 million yen ($5.39 million) the previous quarter, as new user signups soared. Revenue came in at $4.59 million, up from $2.75 million in the second quarter.

Coincheck Registers 1.7M New Users Since Resuming Operations Last October

Monex said the company had established its “Blockchain Lab (BCLab),” which is aimed at providing “blockchain or cryptocurrency technology solutions to various companies.”

The group also spoke about the importance of the virtual currency business to its entire operation, stating: “Cryptocurrency trading business will be a key to enhancing cross-segment interaction” which will expand “business capability and create new customers.”

After the record-breaking hack of last year, it is a milestone that Coincheck, bought by Monex for $34 million last April, has been granted an operating license by Japan’s Financial Services Authority. The license gives the exchange full permission to continue providing its services within the Pacific island nation.

Monex says it has overhauled Coincheck’s security and management systems in a bid to prevent the recurrence of another theft.

What do you think about Coincheck’s comeback? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com

The post Coincheck Registers 1.7M New Users Since Resuming Operations Last October appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Jeffrey Gogo

BCH Community Responds to Allegations of Faked Coinbase Video

6:39 PM Unknown Marcel Chuo No comments

BCH Community Responds to Allegations of Faked Coinbase Video

The BTC community recently accused Coinbase of editing a video to make zero-conf BCH payments appear quicker than they actually are. In response, Bitcoin Cash supporters have provided pictorial evidence that the video was not faked. They then went on to discuss ways in which replace-by-fee has altered the reliability of 0-conf on BTC.

Also read: Coinbase Suspends Ethereum Classic Following 51 Percent Attack

BTC Community Angered by Coinbase Video

Recently, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted a video of a popup donut shop at Coinbase that accepted cryptocurrency for payments. The 15-second video showed a person paying for the donuts with a 0-conf BCH transaction that took a mere three seconds to be received on a tablet.

Popup donut shop accepting crypto at @coinbase today. Doing more user testing important to improve usability. pic.twitter.com/G6QH2vjWVL

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) January 26, 2019

Bitcoin Core (BTC) maximalist Whalepanda and cryptography consultant Peter Todd both accused Coinbase of editing the video to make BCH 0-conf transactions appear quicker than they are. They believed that Coinbase had minimized the wait time with a video edit that was made to look like a camera zoom on the tablet receiving payment.

No.

1) coinbase publishes a video that looks like it used a zoom to hide a cut.

— Peter Todd (@peterktodd) January 30, 2019

Other BTC community members like DJ Booth and zndtoshi were also unhappy with Armstrong’s video and requested the Coinbase CEO use Lightning instead of BCH for quicker transactions in the future.

BCH Community Responds

In response, video director and BCH supporter Collin Enstad took a snapshot of a frame in the video that showed the payment had already been confirmed before the camera had even zoomed in.

No edit. There's one frame when the green checkmark and the QR code is barely visible, right before the zoom. pic.twitter.com/qTLCCpATzm

— Collin Enstad (@CollinEnstad) January 26, 2019

Openbazaar developer Chris Pacia also joined in the conversation with a light-hearted response, and teased that the integration of Avalanche would make BCH transactions confirm even quicker than currently.

r/btc Debates 0-Conf and Replace-by-Fee

The debate continued on reddit, as r/btc commentator lechango questioned whether Todd and Whalepanda had received BTC transactions in the past, since 0-conf also exists on BTC. However, reddit user Recentbobcat quickly pointed out that the replace-by-fee feature on BTC had made 0-conf transactions unreliable. This was the reason why the BCH community got rid of the replace-by-fee feature, Recentbobcat explained.

Toddler thinks Coinbase’s BCH demo is still "fake news"…. from btc

Another reddit commentator, s_tec, jumped in and pointed out that 0-conf transactions would still work on BTC because replace-by-fee is an opt-in feature. This means that merchants that accept BTC can look out for replace-by-fee on incoming payments and decide accordingly whether to accept the original transaction.

What do you think about the Coinbase video and the response it elicited? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin.

The post BCH Community Responds to Allegations of Faked Coinbase Video appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Marcel Chuo

Crypto Startups Push Swiss VC Investments to a Record $1.25B

5:04 PM Unknown Lubomir Tassev No comments

Crypto Startups Help Push Swiss VC Investments to a Record $1.25B

Startups based in Switzerland have attracted a record amount of venture capital in 2018 and companies from the cryptocurrency industry have contributed to the notable increase. Zug, which is home to the country’s Crypto Valley, is among the cantons with the highest growth in investment volume, a new report reveals.

Also read: Crypto Mining Could Bring Russia $1B in Taxes, Report Suggests

VC Record Driven by ICT Including Crypto Sector

Swiss startups received almost 1.24 billion francs (close to $1.25 billion) of venture capital during 2018, nearly 32 percent more than the previous year. At the same time, the number of financing rounds has also increased by over 31 percent to 230. The figures come from this year’s edition of the Swiss Venture Capital Report released by the news outlet Startupticker.ch and the Swiss Private Equity and Corporate Finance Association (SECA). The study covers venture capital investments of at least 100,000 Swiss francs.

According to the authors, the growth is largely due to the results in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, including the fintech industry. New funding for young ICT companies has almost doubled, increasing by approximately 124 percent over the previous year. In 2018, 131 Swiss ICT startups conducted 60 percent of all financing rounds. They collected 685 million francs from investors, which is 55 percent of the total invested capital. The fintech industry alone, including the crypto sector, accounts for 15 percent of the raised capital, or almost 188 million francs.

Crypto Startups Push Swiss VC Investments to a Record $1.25B

Furthermore, six of the 10 largest rounds have been held by ICT companies. That includes the top three of SEBA Crypto, Nexthink and Way Ray. The largest amount, 100 million francs, has been raised by the Zug-based SEBA Crypto, which works on a project to combine crypto and traditional banking services. According to the report, Swiss ICT businesses also include some of the world’s most recognizable VCs such as Index Ventures and GV, the venture capital arm of Google’s parent company Alphabet. As a result, ICT has become Switzerland’s largest venture capital sector, replacing biotech and medtech.

Zug Among the Most Attractive Cantons for Investors

The report explores the geographical distribution of venture capital investments. According to its data, Zurich is the pronounced leader among Swiss cantons. 99 startups from different sectors based there raised over 500 million francs. In 2018, more than 40 million of the total amount was invested in Zurich, which is over 242 million more than the previous year.

Zug and Basel-Stadt are two other cantons that recorded significant investment growth. Last year, startups based in Basel-Stadt received close to 73 percent more in funding than in 2017. And Zug, where many of the crypto companies represented in Switzerland have offices or headquarters, saw a 143 percent increase year-over-year. The authors note that fintech businesses generated 60 percent of risk capital in the canton.

Crypto Startups Push Swiss VC Investments to a Record $1.25B

Gold Rush Mood Is Gone, Optimism Remains

A key conclusion in the report is that the Swiss crypto scene is entering a “period of normalization and professionalization.” Switzerland’s efforts to regulate the space have been a major factor in this process. The country has gradually become a leading crypto-friendly jurisdiction in Europe. The government in Bern recently adopted a comprehensive strategy for the development of the crypto sector. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) has introduced various guidelines for businesses operating with digital assets.

For example, a set of guidelines adopted by Finma concerns enquiries regarding the regulatory framework for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The financial watchdog defined the different types of digital tokens and the legal consequences of their issuance to third parties. That, according to the study, creates transparency and legal certainty that benefits not only startups trying to raise capital through token sales but all other crypto and blockchain companies as well.

Crypto Startups Push Swiss VC Investments to a Record $1.25B

In fact, the number of ICOs in Switzerland and their volume has decreased significantly during the last year, which indicates that the crypto gold rush is over. “However, there is no question of a hangover,” according to Mathias Ruch, board member of the Swiss Blockchain Federation and co-founder of Zug-based investment firm CVVC. The company recently published its own report revealing that the number of businesses operating from the Swiss Crypto Valley has increased to 750, despite the bearish trend that started in 2018. Ruch also thinks that as a crypto destination, Switzerland should welcome the “return of common sense” and says now is the time to build on its technical and regulatory leadership.

Do you think Swiss crypto startups will attract even more venture capital in 2019? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Swiss Venture Capital Report 2019.

Make sure you do not miss any important Bitcoin-related news! Follow our news feed any which way you prefer; via Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, RSS or email (scroll down to the bottom of this page to subscribe). We’ve got daily, weekly and quarterly summaries in newsletter form. Bitcoin never sleeps. Neither do we.

The post Crypto Startups Push Swiss VC Investments to a Record $1.25B appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Lubomir Tassev

Panda Exchange Deploys Hybrid Point of Sale and Crypto ATM in Bogota

2:54 PM Unknown Jamie Redman No comments

6 Philanthropic Projects That Accept Cryptocurrency

1:54 PM Unknown Tanzeel Akhtar No comments

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

11:39 AM Unknown Samuel Haig No comments

The first month of 2019 has seen a slight decline in 30-day trading volume across many leading markets. Bucking the trend, however, were ETH, LTC, MKR, TRX, and ZEC, all of which saw a significant spike in trade activity. Stablecoins have continued to see an increase in trade activity, with ckusd and the Gemini dollar posting significant gains in month-over-month volume also.

Also Read: European P2P Trade Posts Strongest Activity Since March 2018

ETH Sees 14% Gain in Monthly Trade Activity

BTC posted a 2% drop in 30-day trade volume, with $154.19 billion worth of bitcoin core changing hands during January. USDT trade also fell by approximately 2% this past month, with tether pairings generating $113.17 billion worth of trade during the last 30 days.

January posted the second-strongest month of trade for USDT pairings since the first half of 2018. ETH saw among the highest increase in monthly trade volume of the top cryptocurrency markets.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

ETH pairings produced $77.72 billion worth of trade during January, a 14% gain month-over-month. The preceding 30 days comprised the strongest month of ETH trade since May 2018.

LTC Trade Spikes While XRP Volume Slides

January saw EOS post a 15% decline in monthly trade activity, with EOS pairings producing $21.48 billion worth of trade during the last 30 days.

LTC saw its highest ranking in over one year for 30-day trade volume this past month, with more than $16.97 billion worth of LTC changing hands during January. The past 30 days saw a nearly 29% gain in month-over-month volume for LTC pairing, comprising the strongest month of LTC trade since the first half of 2018.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

XRP slid to rank sixth with $13.56 million during January. The month saw ripple post its lowest numerical ranking since August 2018, comprising a nearly 22% decline in month-over-month trade.

MKR, TRX, and ZEC Produce Surge in Monthly Trade Activity

MKR comprised the seventh most traded crypto asset during January, owing to an enormous spike in trade activity on Jan. 9 that saw 24-hour volume increase 1,799,900% from approximately $500,000 on Jan. 8 to more than $9 billion the following day.

TRX also saw a dramatic spike in 30-day trade this past month, ranking eighth with $7.62 billion worth of trade. TRX posted a nearly 157% gain in month-over-month trade volume.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

BCH posted the weakest 30 days of trade on record during January, ranking ninth with just $6.34 billion worth of bitcoin cash changing hands. January saw BCH post a month-over-month decline in trade activity of nearly 36%.

ZEC produced a significant gain in monthly trade activity, breaking into the top 10 with $5 billion worth of zcash changing hands during the last 30 days. January saw the strongest monthly ZEC volume since the first half of 2018, comprising a 32% rise in month-over-month trade activity.

QTUM and Dash Slip From Top 10

Despite posting slight gains in 30-day trade activity, both QTUM and dash fell from the top 10, ranking 11th and 12th with $4.92 billion and $4.19 billion in volume during January.

Ckusd posted its second strongest monthly volume since the first half of 2018, with the stablecoin ranking 13th with $4.17 billion in trade over the last 30 days. Ckusd pairings produced a month-over-month spike in trade activity of 48% during January.

Neo slipped one rank during January after a slight drop in monthly trade activity. Neo comprised the 14th most-traded cryptocurrency over the last 30 days, with neo pairings generating $3.6 billion worth of trade.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

ETC also dropped from the top 10, ranking 15th with $3.60 billion in 30-day trade. The month saw ETC volume drop by 15% month-over-month, comprising the weakest month of ethereum classic trade since 2017.

XLM posted its second strongest month since the first half of 2018, ranking 16th with $3.24 billion worth of trade during the last 30 days.

Stablecoins Continue to Rank Among Top 20-Most Traded Crypto Assets

January saw a continuation of the recent growth in stablecoin volume, with the Gemini dollar ranking among the 20 most-traded crypto assets for the first time with $2.89 billion worth of trade.

Paxos ranked as a top 20 most-traded cryptocurrency for the third consecutive month, gaining nearly 9% in month-over-month trade to ranked 18th with $2.23 billion.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

BSV saw a 46% drop in trade activity month-over-month, ranking 19th with $2.01 billion.

Trueusd also ranked among the top 20 cryptocurrency markets by trade volume for the third consecutive month during January, gaining 11% to rank 20th with $1.60 billion in trade over the last 30 days.

Do you think volume will grow or continue to decline for most cryptocurrency markets during 2019? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock

The Bitcoin universe is vast. So is Bitcoin.com. Check our Wiki, where you can learn everything you were afraid to ask. Or read our news coverage to stay up to date on the latest. Or delve into statistics on our helpful tools page.

The post January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Samuel Haig

PR: Marconi Introduces Developer Testing Network to Secure Complex Cloud Networks

10:34 AM Unknown Bitcoin.com PR No comments

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release.

San Francisco, California – Marconi, creators of the blockchain-based smart ethernet Marconi Protocol, today announced the launch of its Developer Test Network. Designed to enhance or even replace existing networking infrastructure, Marconi Protocol provides an easy way to build and secure distributed networks and networking applications across regions and environments, whether nodes are running on hardware in a data center, virtual machines or containers.

By building on Marconi’s Developer Test Net, network administrators have a sandbox to begin deploying and securing their networks, and developers can begin building their own compelling networking solutions, security applications or even other blockchain protocols. Today’s release of the Developer Test Network also includes multiple documented, out-of-the-box applications such as:

Multi-cloud deployments that enable network administrators to leverage the unique features, regions and pricing of different cloud providers
Firewalls for securing traffic from suspicious activity on a blockchain-based network
Load balancers that are easily scaled in the cloud and support any type of network traffic

“After building, scaling and managing multiple data centers and networks with thousands of devices at Google, I saw firsthand that the technology used to connect, bridge and secure connections globally was inadequate,” said Jong Kim, chief architect for Marconi. “We built Marconi so organizations can more easily setup, manage and secure complex networks across multiple clouds without extensive networking experience or specialized hardware.”

Currently 81 percent of enterprises now have a multi-cloud strategy, but many have struggled to handle the scaling and management challenges associated with having multiple clouds. However, the Marconi Protocol helps businesses remove networking complexity, creating an easy-to-manage service mesh with self-healing routing even when a node goes down. Security is built in through low-level mutating encryptions that secure all of the connections between each node.

A full explanation and history of Marconi Protocol is available on www.marconi.org, which includes more details about the product, quick start guides, use cases, sample code and additional developer resources.

About Marconi

The Marconi Protocol is a networking and distributed ledger protocol for creating robust networks and service meshes which can run powerful management and security applications on any platform or cloud provider. For more information, visit www.marconi.org. For the latest updates, please visit blog.marconi.org.

Press Contact Email Address
s@neji.io

Supporting Link
https://marconi.org

This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

The post PR: Marconi Introduces Developer Testing Network to Secure Complex Cloud Networks appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Bitcoin.com PR

Understanding Cryptocurrency Options – An Alternative Way to Trade Crypto

9:15 AM Unknown Tanzeel Akhtar No comments

Crypto proponents have been excited by the launch of bitcoin futures and options, but many are unfamiliar with the fundamentals. Bitcoin options are a popular way to take advantage of a volatile market by strategically hedging some of the risk. To clear up the jargon associated with the most common form of derivatives trading, analysts here explain the role played by cryptocurrency options.

Also Read: Options Giant CME Launches Bitcoin Futures — Here’s What to Expect

What Are Cryptocurrency Options?

Understanding Cryptocurrency Options – An Alternative Way to Trade Crypto In traditional finance there are two types of options that can be bought. These are known as a ‘call’ and a ‘put’ option. A call option will give the holder the right to buy an asset at the strike price. A put gives the holder the right to sell an asset at a predetermined price.

Alexey Markov, a trader at United Traders based in Moscow, Russia, told news.Bitcoin.com that options are one of the most important tools in traditional markets and widely used for speculation by traders on U.S. sites. “Trading volumes on an option contract often exceed the volumes on the underlying asset, such as stocks for example,” he explained. “Also various options are used to hedge risks for those participants who have large portfolios on their balances.”

Markov explained the crypto market has not escaped that phenomenon, but it is worth noting that at this current stage of the market the demand for options is not very high. Primarily, this is due to the rapid decline in BTC/USD trading volumes.

Aditya Das, an analyst at market data firm Brave New Coin, told news.Bitcoin.com that cryptocurrency options are financial instruments or contracts that give holders rights to purchase or sell a cryptocurrency for a predetermined price at a future date. “Often, cryptocurrency options can intimidate new participants because of the use of idiosyncratic terminology that differs from legacy options market jargon that is already complicated,” said Das.

He explained that an ‘upside profits’ contract is equivalent to a European-style call option, right to buy, whereas a ‘downside profits’ contract works like a European-style put option, right to sell.

Where Can Investors Trade Crypto Options?

Das explained how cryptocurrency options are generally designated between bitcoin-settled and cash-settled trading markets.

According to Das, Bitmex is the most popular bitcoin-settled market currently, with Okex and Okcoin being popular alternatives.

He observed that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is the most popular cash-settled cryptocurrency options platform, with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) being a lover volume alternative. “The soon-to-be-launched Deribit ‘vanilla’ options platform has also been gaining attention because it advertises cheaper fees, and fewer maintenance shutdowns,” said Das.

Alexey Markov, meanwhile, highlighted Deribit and Ledgerx as other exchanges that give the opportunity to trade options. “Both offer ‘put and call options’ only for BTC. Currently, the earliest and latest expiration date available on these exchanges is 1 day and 238 days respectively, which is not bad, but at the same time the liquidity leaves much to be desired and the spreads are quite wide,” said Markov.

Looking ahead, traders are confident that with the growth of the overall capitalization of the cryptocurrency market, an increasing number of derivatives will also be developed, including options. These will give traders greater power than ever to buy and sell bitcoin where and how they want.

What are your thoughts on futures and options? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

The post Understanding Cryptocurrency Options – An Alternative Way to Trade Crypto appeared first on Bitcoin News.

via Tanzeel Akhtar

Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed

7:04 AM Unknown Jamie Redman No comments

European and South American Localbitcoins Markets Show Strength

4:49 AM Unknown Samuel Haig No comments

In recent peer-to-peer (P2P) market action, Latin American Localbitcoins trade has continued to show strength after producing record volume last month. In other news, P2P trade between the euro (EUR) and BTC has posted its strongest volume in 10 months.

Also Read: Wikipedia Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash Donations via Bitpay

European P2P Trade Posts Strongest Activity Since March 2018

EUR/BTC trade on Localbitcoins has recorded its strongest week since posting record trade when measured against fiat currency at the end of March 2018.