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16

Crypto Discussion / japan’s Biggest Bank Confirms Launch of Digital Currency ‘Coin’ in 2019

« on: April 13, 2019, 10:38:48 PM »

Following months of speculation about its proposed release date, Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. has finally announced plans to launch its long-awaited in-house digital currency.

Japan Times reports that Group President, Mike Kanetsugu revealed this week that the firm intends to rollout Coin before the end of 2019.

According to Kanetsugu, MUFJ will lean on businesses including retail outlets and restaurants to adopt Coin, with the intention of achieving wider adoption, resulting in “connected economic blocs.” He also revealed that Coin will enable the various participating business to find out previously unavailable information about their customer bases, in order to serve them better.

WHAT IS THE POINT OF ‘COIN’?

MUFJ which is currently the 5th largest bank in the world in 2018 announced its plan to launch a digital currency this year to solve a number of operational issues affecting the firm. The rationale behind the development and launch was that the expense involved in procuring, storing and transporting physical coins and banknotes was becoming unsustainable in Japan’s notoriously cash-dependent economy.

It will be recalled that in February, CCN reported that JP Morgan launched its own digital currency dubbed ‘JPM Coin”  for the purpose of settling more than $6 trillion worth of daily payments between clients.


Unlike JPM Coin, Coin has the much grander intention of fundamentally changing how Japanese consumers interact with money. Speaking at the launch, Kanetsugu expressed his full confidence in the digital currency’s ability to achieve what it set out to do in a crowded field

In what is becoming a theme in Japan as the country seeks to modify consumer habits away from cash ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, MUFJ decided that digital currencies represented a way to cut the costs associated with physical currencies and incorporate a number of new functions and benefits. Kanetsugu believes that the sheer weight of MUFJ’s financial infrastructure will be enough to persuade businesses to adopt Coin.

INTERESTING EXPERIMENT OR DOOMED TO FAIL?

Beginning in September 2018, the bank launched a Coin test run at an employee-only convenience store which turned out successful. The financial behemoth has previously indicated that Coin will have ‘instantaneous transfer capabilities’ as well as the ability to process micropayments in decimal value increments.

In addition to its unique functionality as a bank-backed digital currency, Coin will also be integrated with MUFJ’s new mobile application which will permit users to manage all of their credit cards in one place. The smartphone app will also allow users manage their reward points services as well as perform a variety of other managerial functions and is expected to be released by the end of June 2019.

According to Kanetsugu, MUFG’s rollout of Coin is in line with its aim of building “an organization that is relied on and trusted globally and represents innovation.” While on the surface, digital currency adoption bears out this sentiment, it is also key to note that MUFG is by no means the first major financial institution to at least examine the possibility of launching an in-house digital currency token.

CCN has reported extensively on the plethora of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) currently under consideration or in development. Thus far, despite an outpouring of optimism and promise, the world is yet to see a successfully mainstreamed digital currency operating with the full support of the existing financial system and regulators. This is particularly emphasized by the daunting reality of Japan’s cash-heavy corporate and consumer culture which even the government is struggling to make a dent in.

The jury remains very much out on whether Coin will be a success or not, but if anyone were to attempt this experiment in the world’s third largest economy, it should probably be its largest bank. The eyes of the world no doubt are on Japan as the story unfolds.

17

Crypto Discussion / Will the Bull run 2019? Or not?

« on: April 13, 2019, 11:21:24 AM »

To me the market is favourable and we are seeing few green here and there, but am guessing a full bull run where bitcoin will go 100% increase in 2019 wont happen, but rather a steady increase and recovery of loss (altcoin).

What you think? Market will go back as 2017?

18

Crypto Discussion / Coinbase CEO Names Three Things Crypto Needs for Mass Adoption

« on: April 12, 2019, 05:45:00 PM »

Brian Armstrong, CEO of major United States cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, believes that crypto mass adoption mostly depends on volatility, scalability and usability. Armstrong made his claim during a live ask-me-anything (AMA) session on April 2.

Armstrong ran the 45-minute AMA on Tuesday, answering selected questions submitted by the crypto community. Addressing the first question, on the potential for mass crypto adoption, Coinbase’s CEO said that a cryptocurrency can achieve mass adoption by improving scalability and usability, while reducing volatility.

As per volatility, if the crypto markets keep swinging dramatically, it will be hard to get more traditional investors involved, Armstrong said. Thus the industry needs more stable prices, achieved, for example, via stablecoins, and more use cases to attract people, he concluded.

Armstrong further added that there are currently up to ten teams working on scalability solutions, such as the Lightning Network, to improve the speed of crypto transactions. Thanks to the development of these solutions, cryptocurrencies might reach 500 to 5000 transactions per second and start working at Visa and PayPal volumes.

Usability also needs to be improved, Armstrong continued. He argued that currently there are too many steps a user needs to make in order to invest in cryptocurrencies. Armstrong suggested crypto investment for retail investors should work much easily, using popular Chinese app WeChat as an example of usability.

Armstrong also commented on recent skepticism towards Coinbase in the community, evidently referring to the most recent #DeleteCoinbase movement as an example. The campaign was launched in early March as a response to Coinbase’s acquisition of a firm run by former spyware developers.

Answering another question, the entrepreneur said he loves Bitcoin (BTC) and wants it to succeed. However, he regrets being too involved in promoting BTC at some point in 2013-2014, thinking that the coin could become a scalable payment network for everyone. “I totally underestimated how controversial this idea might become in BTC community,” he confessed.

As some accused him of adding the value to the coin, Armstrong finally changed his mind to being agnostic to all of the coins and crypto protocols and support them all. Coinbase decided to support everyone instead of picking the winners, he said.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, Armstrong has repeatedly acknowledged his affection towards BTC. For instance, in a series of tweets commemorating on the coin’s 10th birthday this year, Armstrong wrote that BTC was his “first love.”

19

Trading / Asset Manager Warns of ‘New Lows’, Predicts Bitcoin Price Crash to $1,000

« on: April 12, 2019, 05:37:48 PM »

According to Tyler Jenks, the president of Lucid Investments, bitcoin could fall back to $4,200 in the near future and may eventually drop to $1,000.

He said:

I have not commented on Bitcoin since we broke up through the $4,000-4,200 resistance zone. I believe we are headed back down to that zone and it will not hold. New lows coming. Target of $1,000 unchanged.

Do you think its possible for bitcoin to fall back to $1000? With the current trend? 2018 didnt break it...

20

Crypto Discussion / Harvard Bought Cryptocurrency – That’s a Ridiculously Big Deal

« on: April 11, 2019, 11:20:57 PM »

According to Morgan Creek Digital’s Anthony Pompliano and the token sale filing submitted by Blockstack to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Harvard University’s endowment invested in Blockstack’s crypto token sale.

HARVARD PILES DIRECTLY INTO CRYPTO TOKEN SALE

The filing noted that designees of affiliates of the Harvard Management Company including Charlie Saravia, Zavain Dar, and Rodolfo Gonzalez participated in the purchase of 95,833,333 Stacks Tokens.


The token advisory board consists of seven members. Three of the members, Charlie Saravia, Zavain Dar and Rodolfo Gonzalez are designees of affiliates of the Harvard Management Company, Lux Capital and Foundation Capital, respectively, limited partners of the QP Fund which have purchased an aggregate of 95,833,333 Stacks Tokens; the board also consists of four independent members, Koen Langendoen, Arvind Narayanan, Arianna Simpson and Catherine Tucker,” the filing read.

Although it remains unclear how much of the 95.83 million Stacks Tokens the affiliates of the Havard Management Company invested in, it is said to be the first case in which a major university endowment directly invested in a crypto token.

INSTITUTIONAL DEMAND FOR BOTH CRYPTO TOKENS AND BITCOIN IS RISING

For many years, investors in the crypto market anticipated institutional investors to commit to the market and invest in major crypto assets like bitcoin.

However, even up until late 2017 when a bull run led the bitcoin price to achieve $20,000, there were no viable custodial solutions and regulated investment vehicles institutions could utilize to invest in the asset class.



Beginning in 2018, through investment firms like Grayscale and products such as the Bitcoin Investment Trust, institutions began to invest in bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market.

In its Q4 report, Grayscale reported that 66 percent of all investments into its investment vehicles came from institutional investors in 2018.

Some strategists and investors like Ari Paul, the co-founder of BlockTower, previously said that although he had been too optimistic on the inflow of institutional capital into the crypto market, 2019 may be the year more institutions develop an interest towards the market.

Dan Morehead, the CEO of the first billion-dollar cryptocurrency fund Pantera Capital, said on Unconfirmed that now, the cryptocurrency industry has the infrastructure to handle institutional money.

“People have been talking about years on the impending institutional wave of money coming into the markets and I think we now actually have the required conditions for that to happen. Institutional investors really want to have a custodian that is well-known and regulated, and we really haven’t had a global name that it would take to get institutional investors in,” he said.

BLOCKSTACK-HARVARD DEAL PRESENTS A NEW LEVEL OF INTEREST

Tokens are theoretically a more risky investment than major assets like bitcoin due to their questionable longevity and survivability.

Blockstack likely appealed to Harvard because of its decision to become the first token in the world to be registered with the U.S. SEC and initiate a token sale in a strictly regulated and transparent environment.



“Upon approval, the offering is expected to be the first SEC-qualified token offering of its kind. The net proceeds of the offering will be used to accelerate the development of the Blockstack decentralized computing network and app ecosystem,” Muneeb Ali, the CEO of Blockstack, wrote.

Several pension funds have already invested in crypto funds such as Morgan Creek Digital, and according to Fidelity’s crypto head Tom Jessop, 20 percent 450 institutions surveyed by Fidelity said they have invested in crypto and intend to invest more in the future.

21

Trading / Bitcoin Beats the Dow, Outperforming Every Single Stock, in 2019

« on: April 11, 2019, 11:10:36 PM »

Traders and analysts are screaming about the stock market’s “ historic” first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – which tracks 30 of the largest American companies – has staged an epic rally since the start of the year, chalking up 12 percent.

But forget stocks. Bitcoin is outperforming the broader stock market by a huge margin. In fact, bitcoin is outperforming every stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.


BITCOIN GAINS LEAVE DOW IN THE DUST

As you can see in the chart above, bitcoin has gained 44 percent since the start of the year. In contrast, the Dow has etched out 12 percent.

It’s still an impressive rise for stocks. Just three months into the year and the Dow has already surpassed the annual average stock market return of 10 percent.

Bitcoin’s rise in the same time period, however, makes the stock market rally look weak. On Wednesday, bitcoin carved out a new 2019 high, coming within touching distance of $5,500 on the Bitstamp exchange. It marks the peak of 44 percent bull run since the start of the year.

BITCOIN BEATS APPLE, IBM, AND MICROSOFT
To put bitcoin’s rally into perspective, let’s dive into the Dow itself. The DJIA is compromised of 30 giant US companies including Apple, McDonald’s, Goldman Sachs, and Disney.

BITCOIN RALLY TO CONTINUE?
Analysts are divided over whether bitcoin’s 44 percent surge indicates a long-term bull trend.

Bullish analysts point to record volumes on bitcoin futures markets and the imminent break of bitcoin’s 200-day simple moving average (SMA).

But not everyone is convinced. One Bloomberg analyst claims bitcoin traders are “grasping at straws” and warned of a possible 65 percent correction.

22

Crypto Discussion / Bitcoin to save countries from massive national debt

« on: April 11, 2019, 02:56:35 PM »

Bitcoin was never really a favorite of the traditional finance institutions like banks as well as governments, despite its futuristic potential. In fact, 2 years back when BTC started coming to the fore, governments and banks in various countries, were completely against it. But cut to 2019, they have realized Bitcoin is the “only solution” they have to survive and pay their massive debts.

Bitcoin had been through a bearish state last year but fortunately the BTC market has taken a bullish turn of late. In fact, famous Russian economist Vladislav Ginko has claimed that  BTC will possibly top around a whooping 2 million USD by the final quarter of 2019. It is especially due to Russia’s increasingly involvement in Bitcoin lately.

“A major reason behind the rise of Bitcoin of late is increasing recognition from banks and governments who have now realized that crypto is the only way to resolve their debts”, stated Crypto expert Sydney Ifergan in one of his latest tweets. A veteran Crypto expert & advisor and the founder of top crypto news site The Currency Analytics, Mr. Ifergan surely knows a thing or two about the crypto world.

“From Japan to Greece to Lebanon, almost every major country in high debt is now banking on Bitcoin.”

Mr. Ifergan’s tweet comes with a list top 10 countries with highest public debt levels. Japan has topped the list while Greece, Lebanon and Venezuela are in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th position respectively.

So, why is it that Bitcoin is being deemed as the savior even by those that have been against it initially?

As per Mr. Ifergan, The answer lies in its “fixed supply” quotient and its “inflation-preventing” policy. Put simply, crypto seems to be a more stable option compared to regular fiat currency.

Being unable to repay their mammoth debts, governments will be printing more fiat currencies. It would abet inflation as well as decrease the value of fiat. If a currency reduces to lesser purchasing power, it would only head to hyperinflation as has happened with Venezuela. But Bitcoin will come as a savior here.

As BTC comes with fixed supply, it doesn’t allow centralized banking organizations to print it at their whims & fancy. Unlike regular fiat currencies, Bitcoin’s policies aren’t under the control of one single entity. In fact, the control rests on set of approvals cited on some decentralized ledger. This means Bitcoin is somewhat relieved from certain typical problems faced by fiat currencies like reduction in purchasing power & hyperinflation. Nobody here holds the absolute power to impart fees or taxes on transactions.

As a result Bitcoin seems to be comparatively safer and more stable than regular fiat and hence a wiser solution to get rid of debt burdens for countries in severe debt.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bitcoin-save-countries-from-massive-national-debt-sydney-ifergan/

23

Crypto Discussion / World's Largest Business Organization Embraces Blockchain

« on: April 11, 2019, 12:01:35 AM »

From the embers of World War I emerged a new kind of organization, led by entrepreneurs, committed to ensuring the free flow of goods across the world’s war-ravaged borders.

The International Chamber of Commerce, whose mission is to streamline global business, is one of last vestiges of the League of Nations, founded in 1920 by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to peacefully settle international disputes. By 1923, following the League’s lead, the ICC had established international courts to arbitrate business disputes, and in the aftermath of WW II, it represented global business interests at the Bretton Woods conference, which established the current monetary order.

“If goods are able to move across borders without the need to be accompanied by troops,” says John Denton, the ICC’s current secretary general, “there is a higher probability of peace and prosperity.” The Paris-based group, which represents 45 million businesses in more than 130 countries and brands itself the world’s largest business organization, is now making its boldest play in a generation.

With global borders hardening once again, this time behind border walls, broken unions and looming trade wars, Denton signed an agreement with the Singapore-based blockchain startup Perlin Net Group to explore how the technology, made popular by bitcoin for its ability to move value without banks, could help the ICC continue its mission to facilitate the free flow of goods.

“We can trace back the ICC interventions that made a big impact on the global economy in the 20th century,” says Denton, who was a fellow at the Australian Institute of International Affairs before being appointed secretary general of the ICC last year. “We think this might be one which we can look back on in 100 years and say the ICC shifted blockchain in a way that enabled the private sector to function more effectively in a sustainable way and actually create more opportunities for people.”

According to the terms of the agreement, part of which was shown to Forbes, the ICC and Perlin will create a new group, the ICC Blockchain/DLT Alliance, a reference to distributed ledger technology similar to the blockchain that powers bitcoin. The companies are exploring how Perlin’s blockchain platform, which has yet to publicly launch, could be used to shine a light on obscure supply chains and simplify cross-border trade finance.

As part of the agreement, the ICC will help Perlin recruit members to its nascent blockchain alliance, specifically by making introductions to the organization’s massive member pool, which in addition to most national chambers of commerce includes direct membership from companies like Amazon, Coca Cola, Fedex, McDonalds and PayPal. Also, as part of the agreement, Perlin will join the ICC as an official technology partner, offering free access to its blockchain platform during the early stages of the project.

Denton shared his plans with the ICC Banking Commission at its annual event in Beijing earlier this week, and the agreement, which was signed on March 20, will be formally announced at an ICC event in Singapore later today.

Unlike some early blockchain consortia, the ICC Blockchain/DLT Alliance already had projects under way when it was announced. According to the agreement, the ICC and Perlin will share the results of their first blockchain proof of concept, a collaboration with the fabric giant Asia Pacific Rayon (APR), in May at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit.

For that project, called “Follow Our Fibre,” APR is logging data in the blockchain at every level of its supply chain, from the trees that are harvested to the chemical treatments that turn them into the silk-like rayon substance through to the massive spools that are later sold to clothing producers.

“Globally, there is a dynamic shift in the textiles and fashion sectors calling for a more traceable and transparent supply chain,” says Cherie Tan, vice president of communications and sustainability at APR. “Follow Our Fibre will enable us to leverage powerful blockchain functionality to drive greater efficiencies.”

Other proofs of concept in the works that stand to benefit from the ICC partnership include a project with Mfused, a cannabis processor in Washington State that is using Perlin’s tech to prove the origin of its plants by recording every level of its supply chain, from when they are planted to when the cannabis is inhaled, in a shared, distributed ledger; a project with an unnamed tuna processor in Latin America; and a developing project in Africa to trace the origin of cobalt, which has a long history of being mined by unethical supply chain participants.

Assuming enough supply chains are unified on the Perlin blockchain, businesses could log digital representations of the commodities, called tokens, on the platform. This will enable the counterparties to trade directly, with bills of lading required to move freight and letters of credit, which are typically handled by banks, all tracked directly on the shared ledger.

“An interesting economic model is we could effectively launch governance around this,” says Denton. “If we’re able to tokenize this we could insert ourselves as the trusted intermediary, and there would probably be an admin charge, but not much.” A 2018 report by the ICC, the World Bank and others found that 90% of the world’s trade finance was being provided by 13 banks, something Denton thinks is evidence of a need to decentralize.

Perlin’s blockchain, like ethereum’s, is being designed to let users track and move all kinds of value and write distributed applications (dapps) that don’t rely on centralized processors. Also like ethereum, Perlin will have a native cryptocurrency, called perls, which are expected to be minted over the coming three months or so, depending on regulatory considerations.

While supply chain management is increasingly seen as ripe for disruption by blockchain, models like Perlin’s, which rely on tokens, have had difficulty gaining traction as regulators clamp down on what is required of such tokens. By contrast, models using permissioned blockchains, such as what IBM is doing with a number of industry-specific consortia, and what R3 and Hyperledger are doing more generally, are seeing broader interest.

Perlin founder Dorjee Sun positions the nascent ICC network as similar to competing consortia but for small and medium-size businesses. “This is a massive democratization effort of DLT, because now any company of the 45 million ICC members can give the benefits of DLT a try,” says Sun. “Not just massive companies that can afford IBM’s services.”

This is great news for crypto? Or not

24

Crypto & Adult Entertainment Business / What is the best/worst first date experience you’ve ever had?

« on: April 09, 2019, 06:56:56 PM »

Unless you’re teaching in a place where arranged marriages are the thing to do, talking about first dates gets everybody interested. We’ve all been there!! Lets share 

What is the best/worst first date experience you’ve ever had? And whats makes a good first date in your opinion?

And last have you been in any dating site where you pay with crypto.

25

Scam Reports & Crypto Crime / NIGERIA -Alleged Paxful Fraud Blocks Nigerian Users from Millions in Crypto fund

« on: April 08, 2019, 07:20:37 PM »

In Nigeria, thousands of cryptocurrency investors and traders have reportedly lost access to millions of dollars. Paxful Incorporated, a major cryptocurrency services firm based in Estonia, is accused of large-scale fraud, reportedly suspending the accounts of Nigerian users.

Users are now locked out of their online wallets with the keys to their funds presumably locked inside.
Paxful is widely used and active in the African continent. The company has built schools in Rwanda, previously stating a goal to build up to 100 schools.

The firm also established $15,000 in scholarships for female Afghan refugees in the US to further their education and has reportedly taken action to establish a blockchain hub in the Nigerian city of Lagos.
he petition points out that Paxful generated $20 million in profit in 2018, and that 40% of that came from Nigerian customers.

Now the KEY FACT IS.
Nigeria Governement doesnt support cryptocurrencies, assuming thosse that actually have account and not using it for fraud. What do you suggest will be the solution.

26

Crypto Discussion / Vitalik Buterin Urges South Korea to Deregulate Blockchain, Embrace Crypto

« on: April 07, 2019, 06:13:48 PM »

For those that dont know Vitalik, hes the Ethereum Co- founder.
 Vitalik Buterin and a bipartisan group of lawmakers urged the South Korean government to deregulate the blockchain industry. They say the current laws are overly restrictive and therefore, inhibit innovation.
Do you think the south korea Government will listen? If they do, will other govenrment follow up??..

27

Crypto Discussion / crypto Market ‘Bullish’ in Wake of Bitcoin’s 20% Surge. Is bull back?

« on: April 05, 2019, 06:35:54 PM »

Do you think its time for the bull to run with the current trend.
Market have been bad Since early 2018, or you think its too early for the bull to return.

28

Crypto Discussion / Who Cares if Crypto Wallet MetaMask Exposes Your Ethereum History?

« on: April 02, 2019, 09:42:47 AM »

Thats the million dollar question. Do you mind?
Several outlets and crypto programmers have pointed out for a year or more that MetaMask, by default, broadcasts your Ethereum public key (address) to websites you visit. The assumption is that this is a privacy vulnerability – most sites have no need for such information, after all.

The Next Web’s David Canellis writes:

“Sharing Ethereum addresses with any tracking service that requests it is certainly a little unsettling, but there are wider implications. Think of your Ethereum address as a unique identifier, you want to keep it separate from the rest of your online footprint at all times.”

So i was wondering if for the long run, this is dangerous to Metamask users or just no harm can come from this?

29

Crypto Discussion / The ETH scam on Twitter!!

« on: September 06, 2018, 05:19:42 PM »

I have seen a lot of scams but the one I almost fell for was the twitter scam, where you send ETH to receive ETH scam. How many people have fallen for this and how the hell can this be stopped?.

30

Crypto Discussion / In a First, Japanese City Deploys Online Blockchain Voting System

« on: September 03, 2018, 02:19:25 PM »

The government of the Japanese city of Tsukuba has introduced an online voting system, powered by blockchain, to enable residents to vote for social development programs.
Voters were asked to place their My Number card on a card reader before casting their vote while selecting the program of their choice. The vote was then recorded on a decentralized ledger whilst making it immune from tampering, according to the report.
After casting a vote via the system, Tsukuba Mayor Tatsuo Igarashi was quoted as stating:
“I had thought it would involve more complicated procedures but I found that it’s minimal and easy.”

This is just the beginning. More to come..