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Crypto Discussion / Cryptocurrencies That Can Benefit From Putin’s Ban on VPN Services Read more at

« on: August 03, 2017, 01:53:07 AM »

Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, has signed a new law that puts a ban on all VPN services in the country as of November 1st, 2017. The law could prevent Russians from accessing content that portrays Vladimir Putin in a negative light. This is particularly important, given Russia’s presidential elections are coming up in March of next year. The Russian president also went on to sign another bill into law requiring chat applications to identify users through their phone numbers. Whether it’s Whatsapp or Viber, no application will be able to bypass this requirement if they wish to continue operating in the country. The law goes into effect starting January 1st, 2018.

What are possible solutions using blockchain & digital currencies ?

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Crypto Discussion / We can travel with BTC !

« on: July 01, 2017, 08:55:52 AM »

https://news.bitcoin.com/smiling-albino-destination-management-company-accepts-bitcoin-for-luxury-travels-in-southeast-asia/

The Southeast Asian travel agency, Smiling Albino, announced they would begin accepting bitcoin for payment on August 1. The company is based out of Bangkok, Thailand. They work with clients to provide specialized and tailored traveling throughout Southeast Asia. They will accept bitcoin transactions for organizing customized travels in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. The destination management company has been providing these luxury travel services for about 15 years.

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Crypto Discussion / Counting Chickens: Can Blockchain Restore Trust in China's Food Supply?

« on: June 29, 2017, 06:30:06 AM »

Last week, CoinDesk reported that the technology arm of Chinese web insurer ZhongAn was developing a blockchain platform.

Not for insurance, though, as you might expect. This one will help track the provenance of chicken.

While this marks a first for the Chinese company (partially owned by Alibaba, Tencent and insurance giant Ping An), the launch will join a growing list of blockchain projects aimed at improving China's food safety record.

Over the past few years, the country has been hit by a series of scandals involving contaminated produce and supply chain fraud, and initiatives to improve the industry's reputation are emerging from a broad range of public and private entities.

This particular project, though, is especially intriguing, not only for its potential impact on agriculture, but also because of its timing.

What do you know else about Blockchain in China?

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Crypto Discussion / ICOs: Why There's More Than One Way

« on: June 28, 2017, 08:49:01 AM »

Features  •  Investments  •  Initial Coin Offerings  •  Markets News
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Pascal Leblanc is a distributed ledger technology strategic advisor for financial services clients at global professional services firm EY.

In this opinion piece, Leblanc discusses alternative approaches to initial coin offerings (ICOs), putting forth a new model that could potentially mitigate the price volatility of tokens.

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are dramatically increasing in popularity.

According to CoinDesk data, from January to the end of May, 2017, ICOs attracted $327m in capital, a figure that surpasses the amount raised in VC deals for the same period.

This makes sense. As a new alternative to crowdfunding, ICOs provide a way for project creators to acquire money for their operations in exchange for cryptocurrency tokens related to their project.

Investors from around the globe are starting to notice this new capital raising model, and we're also beginning to understand that it involves three major milestones:

Initial investments in the project in exchange for tokens
The listing of those tokens on an open market of exchanges
The sale of those tokens by project creators in the secondary market to maximize returns.
Yet, the fact that the market price is largely driven by the speculation on those secondary markets makes the value of the token highly volatile. This is precisely why most investors are choosing cryptocurrencies, as they are looking for a high-risk, high-reward investment.

However, on the other hand the volatility can be an issue for users of the token. According to TechCrunch, "the largest barriers to mainstream adoption is the price volatility of cryptocurrencies." That being said, investors and users don’t necessarily have their interests aligned.

This doesn't mean ICOs must be driven by speculation. I believe the current model to be a good one for certain projects, but I don't feel like this model is a one-size-fits-all. Some projects may require more stability, more control and more governance.

So, what do yuo think about?

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Trading / Bitcoin In 2017 Has Most Elements Of Bubble

« on: June 24, 2017, 08:45:08 AM »

Forbes has declared Bitcoin’s 2017 price growth “has most of the elements of a bubble” and will ultimately burst.
Drawing similarities with conventional financial asset bubbles, Panos Mourdoukoutas writes that huge adopter interest will preclude a mass exodus, leaving hardly any value at all.
“Investors who have been around Wall Street long enough know all too well that when money becomes tight and investment promises aren’t fulfilled, bubbles and manias end; and millions made are lost much faster than they were made,” he wrote. “And then some.”

So, what do you think about this opinion?

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Crypto Discussion / Suddenly, Bitcoin to Be Officially Legal in India

« on: June 21, 2017, 02:14:40 AM »

Leading Bitcoin exchange Zebpay has revealed that the Indian government committee has ruled in favor of regulating Bitcoin. Are you surprised?