Player Hits $250,000 (29 BTC) Slots Jackpot Staying at Home

Staying at home can pay off, not only for one’s health but also for one’s Bitcoin stash. This statement has never been more true for anyone than the lucky player who just added over 29 BTC to his wallet by playing the exclusive game of Slots.

Let’s face it, in most cases, the odds of winning a jackpot in any game of chance are usually stacked against you — but at some point, a game will be played that will change your life forever. However, this does mean that you need to be playing day in day out to hit the big one, just as this winner proved, sometimes lady luck can smile upon you sooner than you’d imagine.

In one such game of chance, a lucky winner at Bitcoin Games has struck a fortune by winning a huge pot and cashing out 29.65 BTC (~ $250,000). The player had newly joined the online casino and didn’t have to wait long to win the jackpot. As for the identity of the winner, that remains mysterious as the casino offers users to play and win jackpots anonymously. The gaming portal currently hosts many popular games who have massive jackpots such as Slots with 500 BTC, Keno up to 250 BTC, and Video Poker up to 203 BTC, all amounting to jackpots worth over $5 Million.

Bitcoin Games is an online crypto casino that offers instant withdrawals, provably fair exclusive games, and 24/7 customer support – all without ever needing to register. Play with real players on interactive games such as Baccarat at the Live Casino or indulge in a variety of popular casino games on the portal.

Do you like to win cryptocurrency jackpots? Then head over to Bitcoin Games today!

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UK Cryptocurrency Firms Turn to Equity Funding as ICO Coffers Plunge 70%

UK cryptocurrency and blockchain startups are turning focus back to conventional means of raising capital, as initial coin offering (ICO) coffers dry up. According to a new report, initial coin offering (ICO) funding last year plunged 71% to £200 million ($250 million) from £700 million ($875 million) a year earlier.

By comparison, equity funding provided £168 million ($210 million) to startups in 2019, almost the same as the year before, says the report by venture capital firm MMC Ventures. In 2017, only £100 million was raised this way. Altogether, equity financing has supported emerging UK crypto businesses to the tune of £525 million since 2013.

“As the ICO funding model becomes increasingly difficult, companies are shifting back to traditional capital raising strategies. This has prompted founders to place more focus on company fundamentals,” said MMC Ventures.

UK cryptocurrency entrepreneurs had scripted a promising success story over the past few years, with over 2,700 companies founded since 2008, the year of the Bitcoin whitepaper. But only 9% of the startups raised money by means of the sale of shares, as ICOs proved popular, until the bubble burst in 2018.

The report states that ICOs failed in the UK because “the majority were not interested in creating long-term value.” Equity financing demands that projects build a strong infrastructure foundation and business case. MMC Ventures said:

While capital is less abundant than it was during the ICO bubble, resources are being deployed more efciently and targeted at fundamental areas of the technology stack.

The company expects funding for UK startups to slow down through 2020 and beyond due to the coronavirus crisis. But expressed optimism that “the increasingly pragmatic, business-case-first approach of the teams in the blockchain/crypto space makes them relatively well-positioned to weather this downturn…”

What do you think about the future of funding for crypto startups? Let us know in the comments section below.

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12 Months of Onchain Data Shows Bitcoin Whales Obtained Hundreds of BTC from Small Fish

According to recent data, crypto participants known as ‘bitcoin whales’ have been steadily accumulating bitcoins, and not selling since the ‘Black Thursday’ market carnage on March 12, 2020. Onchain data and blockchain analysis firms indicate that the number of bitcoin whales with 1,000 to 10,000 BTC or more on a single address has increased significantly.

Small and Mega-Bitcoin Whales Accumulate More Coins During the Market Dip

In the cryptocurrency world, investors who hold a large number of digital assets are typically called ‘whales.’ There are also all types of whales like BTC whales, ETH whales, and BCH whales. The definition of a BTC whale would be a person or organization (a single address) with around 1,000 BTC or more. Whales with around 1,000 BTC would be considered small whales and at the time of publication, there are 2,002 addresses with 1K BTC or more. Onchain data from December 17, 2018 (1,754) until May 1, 2020, shows these smaller whales grew by 14.13%. Then there are mega-whales who own 10,000 BTC or more, which is around $87 million using today’s exchange rates.

Onchain BTC data on December 17, 2018, and February 25, 2019.

Onchain data from December 17, 2018, shows at the time there were 91 addresses with 10,000 BTC or more. Today’s statistics show there are now 106 addresses with 10,000+ BTC. The data highlights that whales with 10K BTC or more have grown by 16.48% since the end of 2018. On February 25, 2019, there were 1,709 addresses with 1,000 BTC or more. Since then, the increase of smaller whales has been around 17.14%. Similarly, on the same day in February 2019, there were 100 addresses and the increase to 106 would be approximately 6%.

Bitcoin Addresses With 100 and 100,000 Bitcoins Decreased

Then there are even bigger whales than the 10K BTC holders, as there are three addresses with anywhere between 100,000 to 1,000,000 BTC today. A whale address that has 100K BTC is worth around $873 million at today’s exchange rates. Back in December 2018, there were more 100K or more addresses than today, as five of them held these balances. Fast forward to February 2019, and the number remained the same with only five addresses holding 100K BTC. Of course, most of these 100K addresses belong to exchanges that hold BTC in a custodial fashion for their customers.

There are all types of whales. Some say small whales own over 1,000 coins, and mega whales own 10,000+. There are only three bitcoin addresses that hold 100,000 BTC or more today. Back in December 2018 and February 2019, there were 5 addresses with 100K BTC or more.

Now the much smaller investor, with 100 BTC or more is around 14,000 addresses on May 1, 2020. In December 2018, there were 14,809 addresses with 100 BTC or more, and on February 25, 2019, that number dipped to 14749 addresses. So these types of holders have decreased and it is possible they sold to the much larger whales during the last few months. On March 12, 2020, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday,’ BTC prices dropped to $3,600 per coin. Reports from popular exchanges like Kraken, Binance, and Coinbase explained that there was a massive amount of buyers during the 24 hours that followed the market rout. The San Francisco exchange Coinbase wrote a blog post on how crypto investors bought the crypto asset when it was much lower in value. Even the famed whistleblower Edward Snowden said he felt like buying the dip.

What do you think about the bitcoin whale accumulation? Let us know in the comments below.

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CoinTracking Launches Two Powerful, Free Plug-ins for Crypto Traders

Though the top cryptocurrency exchanges offer charts, many don’t offer the analytical features crypto traders need to make good trading decisions. To help fill this need, CoinTracking has partnered with two companies that specialize in cryptocurrency analytics: IntoTheBlock and Cryptosheets. These new integrations provide a whole new use case for the world’s most popular crypto tax software.

What is CoinTracking?

CoinTracking was founded in 2012 and went online in April 2013 as the world’s first cryptocurrency tax reporting tool and portfolio manager. The company now has over 585,000 active users, which makes it the leader in the space. While crypto traders are CoinTracking’s main demographic, the company’s powerful portfolio management tools have made it popular among crypto tax and investment firms as well.

Now that CoinTracking integrates with IntoTheBlock and CryptoSheets, it has a new use case. In conjunction with the two new plug-ins, CoinTracking can now be used to research altcoins and create entirely new trading strategies. IntoTheBlock’s deep analytical features can be used to make crypto price movement predictions, while CryptoSheets gives traders the ability to create their own custom spreadsheets and charts.

Cryptosheets

Cryptosheets is a spreadsheet plugin for Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets that’s tailor made for cryptocurrency traders. The plugin can be used to pull data from CoinMarketCap, the mining profits calculator WhatToMine, cryptocurrency data provider CoinMetrics.io, Cryptocompare, ParadigmAPI and many other sources including top exchanges like Gemini, Bittrex and others.

The partnership between Cryptosheets and CoinTracking lets CoinTracking subscribers use their portfolio data to create their own customized crypto charts. The integration benefits current Cryptosheets users as well because it expands the number of exchanges that work with the plugin.

How to use it

Anyone who knows their way around a spreadsheet can use Cryptosheets to quickly and easily create their own crypto charts. Those that need help getting started can use one of Cryptosheets’ many templates as a starting point.

Related: Stats junkies: dive deep into coin data with this free new CoinTracking plug-in

Free Forever– Cryptosheets’ beginner-oriented subscription option– provides full access to all of Cryptosheets’ features. Usage is the only limitation. Free Forever subscribers can process as many as 1,000 API requests per month. The promo code #ICAMEFROMCOINTRACKING reduces all paid Cryptosheets subscriptions by 20%.

IntoTheBlock

Several IntoTheBlock-powered widgets are now available directly through CoinTracking. Current CoinTracking customers don’t have to sign up for an IntoTheBlock account to access them, since they’re built into the interface. Even more metrics are available through IntoTheBlock’s paid subscription service.

How to use it

CoinTracking’s new IntoTheBlock widgets are especially useful for researching altcoins. Prospective investors can see whether or not a coin’s value is concentrated in the hands of a few investors, for example.

Additional data is available through IntoTheBlock’s main website via the “Dive Deeper” and “See More Signals” buttons. IntoTheBlock’s paid service supports over 25 metrics, which can be used to determine short and long term price movements. Two two-minute tutorials are embedded below each metric. These explain what the metrics do and how to use them to make predictions.

Related: Feature upgrade: Here’s yet another free charts enhancement

IntoTheBlock’s standard trial period is seven days, but CoinTracking subscribers can use IntoTheBlock for a full 90 days before they run into the paywall.

Summary

In addition to calculating taxes and keeping track of multiple crypto exchange accounts, CoinTracking can now be used to analyze coins and predict future price movements. These new analytical features make CoinTracking an even more essential tool for crypto traders.

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While the Global Economy Shudders, Andreessen Horowitz ‘Excited’ to Invest $500M Into the Crypto Industry

The private venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has announced the company is investing $515 million into the cryptocurrency industry. The firm says its “excited” to bolster crypto networks and businesses. Further, the company hopes to strengthen ideas like next-generation payments, a modern store of value, decentralized finance, content monetization, and Web 3.0 concepts.

Andreessen Horowitz Invests Over $500M Into the Crypto Industry

Two executives from the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz; Chris Dixon, and Katie Haun announced a new venture called the Crypto Fund II on Friday. The venture capital firm will invest $515 million into the long-term development of “crypto networks and businesses.” Andreessen Horowitz has been an investor in cryptocurrency solutions and blockchain technologies since 2013. The company’s founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are firm believers in the digital currency revolution. In 2014 in an opinion editorial for the New York Times, Marc Andreessen wrote an article called “Why Bitcoin Matters” describing the plethora of benefits bitcoin has to offer.

“Bitcoin at its most fundamental level is a breakthrough in computer science – one that builds on 20 years of research into cryptographic currency, and 40 years of research in cryptography, by thousands of researchers around the world,” Andreessen said at the time. “Bitcoin is the first practical solution to a longstanding problem in computer science called the Byzantine Generals Problem,” the venture capitalist added. The announcement on Friday shows that the company Andreessen Horowitz and it’s founders still wholeheartedly believe in the cryptocurrency economy.

“Investments made in internet technologies over the last several decades have given rise to products and services used every day by billions of people, including messaging, video conferencing, ecommerce, and everything in between,” the company revealed on May 1, 2020. The private investment firm added:

We think it’s important to keep investing in the long-term development of the internet to address the needs of the coming decades. That’s why we’re excited to announce a new $515 million fund that will be used to invest in crypto networks and businesses.

The Crypto Fund II: Next-Generation Payments and the Modern Store of Value

The new Crypto Fund II plans to invest in cryptocurrency and blockchain concepts like next-generation payments, a modern store of value, decentralized finance, content monetization, and Web 3.0 concepts. When it comes to the modern store of value, the venture capital firm tips its hat to safe-haven assets like gold, but also notes that BTC is also moving toward that goal.

“Gold has long played the role of a fiat substitute, but Bitcoin is a digital alternative that is gaining acceptance and adoption around the world,” the a16z Crypto Fund II announcement details.

Andreessen Horowitz already has lots of money flowing into well known cryptocurrency businesses and emerging startups today. The firm is a member of the Libra Association and the Celo Alliance. The company has invested in projects like Anchorage and Compound and established brands like Coinbase as well. With the current global economy in shock from the recent coronavirus outbreak and the government lockdowns, venture capital investments for a half of a billion dollars is not a common sight. Investments like these reaffirm cryptocurrency supporters that the industry is here to stay and the future of modern finance.

What do you think about Andreessen Horowitz investing $515 million into the crypto industry? Let us know in the comments below.

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SEC Commissioner Sees Increasing Demand for Cryptocurrency

Crypto-friendly commissioner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Hester Peirce, said there is an increase in demand for cryptocurrency as investors seek to diversify their portfolios. The commissioner has been an avid proponent of the SEC approving bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Growing Interest for Cryptocurrency

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, also known in the crypto community as “Crypto Mom,” talked about cryptocurrency and digital dollars during a livestream discussion with Crypto Finance Conference St. Moritz on Tuesday. Noting that the covid-19 pandemic has affected all industries, including cryptocurrency, she said:

We’re seeing more interest coming from institutional quarters than we have in the past. I think that will continue … as people are looking to diversify their portfolios, I think people are also likely to look more to the crypto space.‏‏‎

She elaborated, “As people are more comfortable working in a virtual world in every industry now, I think people are likely to turn more interest to the crypto space.” Peirce previously said even before the coronavirus pandemic that one major advantage of the cryptocurrency industry was that it brings together people from across the world and helps them work together virtually. Industry participants don’t have to be in the same place to be working together.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said that she sees increased institutional interest in cryptocurrency and more people will be interested in the crypto space to diversify their portfolios.

Peirce was sworn in as an SEC commissioner on Jan. 11, 2018; her term is due to expire on June 5. She has consistently supported the idea of the SEC approving bitcoin exchange-traded funds but so far the SEC has not approved any. In May last year, she said the time was already right for the commission to approve a bitcoin ETF. In February, she announced her Token Safe Harbor Proposal to fill the gap between regulation and decentralization.

Commissioner Peirce on Digital Dollars

Peirce also talked about digital dollars during the livestream. She said that the subject has drawn more interest to cryptocurrencies and more people are now asking questions about crypto. Noting that “It’s helpful for people to think about the positives and negatives of having it be a government-issued versus a private-issued currency,” she opined:

I will say that I think that the idea of a government cryptocurrency, a digital dollar or something like that, is very different than some of the things that we’re talking about with crypto and blockchain and the private sector, but it’s helpful to get people thinking about these things.

However, the commissioner cautioned: “You need to think about privacy issues if you’re creating some sort of digital currency. I think that’s a really important question for a society to ask because people don’t really feel comfortable with the government or anybody else monitoring their transactions.”

The Federal Reserve has been studying the prospect of issuing a digital dollar, particularly to compete with Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency and China’s central bank digital currency. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has repeatedly said that the Fed has no interest in issuing a digital dollar right now. In March, the term “digital dollar” was included in proposed stimulus bills.

What do you think about SEC Commissioner Peirce’s views? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Google Profits off Impersonations of Banned Cryptocurrency Celebs and Companies

Cryptocurrency companies are banned on Google but the platform is allowing phishing sites to impersonate them. London-based bitcoin exchange Coin Corner showed that a fraudulent site mimicking it is allowed on Google’s advertising platform though its own evidence-backed appeals of legitimacy to Google Ads have been constantly ignored.

Coin Corner marketing manager Molly Spiers says the policy is exposing customers to fraud. “So @GoogleAds won’t allow @CoinCorner – a long-standing, legitimate business – on their platform, but will allow phishing companies? Pay attention @Google!” she tweeted on April 30.

Spiers shared a screenshot showing a Google advert that promotes www.coincornerr.com, an apparent phishing site that impersonates the Coin Corner website. The acceptance of the scam site by Google Ads enables it to come up higher on Google Search. She points out:

With Google’s stance on #Bitcoin and #cryptocurrency advertising, any adverts that contain crypto-related keywords are going to be automatically disapproved, so it looks like they have copied our text but removed all references to bitcoin in order to get around Google’s algorithms.

In 2018, Google banned cryptocurrency ads supposedly to protect users from scams but partially lifted the ban to allow regulated exchanges in the U.S and Japan to advertise. The continuing embargo on crypto companies outside the exempted territories, however, is not serving its purpose as phishing sites are allowed while appeals from regulated companies are disregarded.

Coin Corner has been in business for six years and is registered with the British authority, the exchange’s CEO, Danny Scott, commented in Spiers’ thread. The company has contacted Google a number of times to ask for exemption in the UK to no avail.

Scott said Coin Corner reported the scam site to Google but it has not been removed from search results. Google has previously continued to run adverts from phishing sites even after they are exposed.

In a related episode of policy inconsistency, Google’s sister platform, Youtube, recently took down Ripple CTO David Schwartz’s videos, claiming that they are impersonations. You Tube is currently facing a Ripple lawsuit for not doing enough to protect users from giveaway scams.

The Alphabet-owned platforms need to update their policies and technologies to stop promoting fraudulent initiatives while censoring legitimate businesses and exposing consumers to scams.

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

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