On Friday the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) announced the arrest of Ethereum Foundation member Virgil Griffith for allegedly “assisting North Korea in evading sanctions” by teaching “his audience how to use blockchain technology.” After the Manhattan U.S. Attorney revealed the news, the cryptocurrency community erupted in outrage. Also read: German Banks Authorized to Store and Sell Cryptocurrency in 2020 US Attorney’s Office Arrests Virgil Griffith for Teaching Blockchain Technology to North Koreans The U.S. Attorney SDNY and the Federal Bureau of Investigation…
Read MoreMonth: November 2019
Bitcoin Cash Double Spend Statistics Invoke 0-Confirmation Debate
On November 28, the creator of doublespend.cash, a web portal that tracks and collects double spend attempts on the Bitcoin Cash network, explained that only 1 out of 1,105 double spends succeeds when they broadcast one second after the first transaction. The website’s creator highlighted that in most cases “only when submitted simultaneously, can a double spend succeed.” Also read: German Banks Authorized to Store and Sell Cryptocurrency in 2020 BCH Proponents Discuss Double Spends, Honoring the ‘First Seen,’ and Current Zero-Confirmation Security Bitcoin Cash (BCH) participants have always been…
Read MoreGerman Banks Authorized to Store and Sell Cryptocurrency in 2020
Next year German banks will be able to manage cryptocurrencies like bitcoin after the fourth EU money laundering directive goes into effect. The directive passed in the German parliament, Bundestag, allows banks in the country to act as cryptocurrency custodians rather than rely on third-party custodial services. Also read: Germany Barely Avoids Recession, Economy Remains Stagnated German Banks Will Soon Be Able to Manage Cryptocurrencies According to the regional financial news publication Handelsblatt, in 2020 banking institutions from Germany will be able to manage cryptocurrencies for customers. Under newly enacted…
Read MoreNouriel Roubini Joins the Anti-Ethereum Brigade
Nouriel Roubini, “Dr. Doom”, once again lashed out against the perceived lack of value of crypto assets. This time, he selected Ethereum (ETH) specifically. ETH Has No Intrinsic Value, Dr. Roubini Believes Dr. Roubini, known for trashing irrational bubbles, believes ETH would also go down to zero as it has no intrinsic value. Crypto-Apocalypse: Ethereum down 90% from the peak, in free fall and now close to the 2018 low. Still a long way from zero that is its fundamental value. Actually it is worth negative given all the toxic…
Read MoreOverstock Shareholders Compete to Lead Class Against tZERO’s Parent
E-commerce giant Overstock faces a difficult period as several former and current shareholders fight for the status of lead plaintiff in a class action against the company. Overstock’s tZERO Project Created to Be Used Against Short Sellers The investors filed motions earlier this week in an effort to consolidate the five cases against Overstock and the appointment of a lead class counsel. So far, eight parties shared their intentions to lead the suit, including Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Levi & Korsinsky LLP, Pomerantz LLP, Bernstein Liebhard LLP, Block…
Read MoreBitcoin (BTC) Futures Markets Hit $5B Daily Volume
The Bitcoin (BTC) market has evolved to include the simplest kind of derivative financial products – futures contracts. Those markets now reach $5 billion in daily volumes, taking a significant chunk from spot trading markets. Bitcoin Price Discovery Shifts to Futures Markets Bitcoin price discovery mechanisms have shifted in 2019, as the effect of futures is felt more strongly. Those markets invite traders betting only on price moves, with little regard for BTC scarcity or the real-world adoption of the asset. And since BTC is notoriously volatile, trades are made…
Read MorePhotonics Bitcoin Mining Tech Aims to ‘Democratize’ Energy Use
Three researchers have published a paper at Cornell University’s arxiv.org proposing a system called Optical Proof of Work (OPOW) to potentially be employed in Bitcoin mining. According to the paper, “heavy reliance on electricity has created scalability issues, environmental concerns, and systemic risks.” The authors state that silicon photonics could be used to shift mining costs away from energy-intensive to hardware-based costs, lowering the economic and environmental impact, adding greater security, and “democratizing” mining. Also Read: Canadian Company Commissions 3 Bitcoin Mining Units to Restart Oil Well Optical Proof of…
Read MoreBitmain Lawsuit Heats Up, Plaintiffs Fight Motion to Dismiss
United Corp, a Florida-based cryptocurrency company that sued Bitmain in December 2018, contested the mining giant’s motion to dismiss the case in a US court this week. A cryptocurrency company United American Corp claims that China-based Bitmain should not be dismissed from the United States’ antitrust suit, as the mining gear maker requested. The issue arose when Bitmain accused the United Corp of missing a deadline to serve the China-based firm. United Corp denied the accusations, claiming that both Bitmain and its CEO, Jihan Wu, were aware of the lawsuit…
Read MoreHow Bitcoin Miners Are Not Causing The Price Plunge
When bitcoin starts to turn south and the selloff intensifies, fingers start pointing. The crypto community wants to blame something and the mainstream media wants to sensationalize fearful headlines to get their clicks. Bitcoin Miners Not to Blame This latest slide has been blamed on China (again) and a miner capitulation but recent research reveals that the latter is not to blame. Bitcoin has had a little revival this week with an almost 14% recovery. That would sound good if it hadn’t already dumped over 20% in November. We are…
Read MoreCrypto Employees in China Work From Home to Avoid Government Pressure
Not too long after embracing blockchain, Beijing has made it clear, one way or the other, that it didn’t mean Bitcoin. Increased scrutiny over the cryptocurrency sector and harsh measures against some companies have been implemented to supposedly protect citizens from scams. Sources say the government offensive has scared a lot of people employed in the industry and many have chosen to work from their homes rather than at the office. Businesses have been avoiding online chatter after rumors that a popular messenger is being watched closely. Also read: Another…
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