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CNET Founder Backs $50 Million ICO for Video Streaming

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Streaming a TV show or a sports game directly to your laptop doesn't make big TV networks much money today. However, that might change if VideoCoin, a new decentralized project that's taking aim at the price major broadcasters and media companies pay to stream content, succeeds on its vision. When a broadcaster sends out a broadcast over the airwaves, one signal can reach many devices, but when it broadcasts over the internet one signal goes to one device. "It's all cost and no revenue," Halsey Minor, CEO of Live Planet, an immersive video startup, told CoinDesk in an interview at Consensus 2018. Live Planet is a strategic partner in VideoCoin, which announced Wednesday the completion of a $50 million initial coin offering (ICO) entirely through private investment. Leading investors included Galaxy Investment Partners, Alphabit Fund, ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio, Akamai Co-Founder Randall Kaplan and Science Blockchain. VideoCoin will not be doin...

The Story of How Bitcoin was Compromised

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Cryptocurrency is a groundbreaking invention. It is truly wondrous and revolutionary. It allows people to take back economic freedom from centralized cartels and undermine oppressive third parties. But even though the technology has the capacity to return power to the people, it is not immune to attacks. Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, was compromised in an attack. It is true the technology that allows bitcoin to function—the blockchain—is antifragile and resilient, but it still has an Achilles tendon. There is at least one attack vector that can harm bitcoin. Matter of fact, when someone creates an allegedly unassailable technology, it practically invites people to launch attacks against it. However, the weakness attackers exploited was not based in code or mathematics. Instead, the attackers targeted a more vulnerable aspect of the technology: the community. The attackers infiltrated the community and compromised bitcoin to alter the cryptocurrency’s original ...

Blockchain Startup Enigma to Demo 'Secret Contracts' Privacy Tech

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Enigma will conduct the first public demonstration of its privacy-oriented, blockchain-based protocol at CoinDesk's Consensus 2018 conference on Tuesday. Former MIT researcher and Enigma co-founder and CEO Guy Zyskind first introduced the technology in 2015, seeking to rebuild the foundational layer of ethereum to address the blockchain's privacy-related shortcomings. The protocol essentially allows nodes to compute using encrypted fragments of the smart contracts without having to decrypt them, which other blockchains cannot do. Dubbed "secret contracts," it also facilitates "coin mixing" - a tactic that obscures the original source of ether used within the protocol. Likewise, it stands apart from other privacy-guarantee mechanisms like zk-SNARKs in which one party can prove its possession of information to another party without revealing the information or interacting with the other party. Enigma's protocol, on the other hand, uses a trusted...

Poor Communication Undermines the Bitcoin Ecosystem

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Many people in the bitcoin ecosystem suffer from poor communication skills. Their inability to intelligently and compassionately convey an idea is intensified by the current scaling debate. I have experienced this issue first-hand since I am on the front lines of Bitcoin.com. Let me tell you a story and explain the consequences of this lack of coherent communication. I was in Los Angeles last week for the Crypto Funding Summit. On the last day of the event, we had an afterparty at The Standard, which is a swanky rooftop lounge in downtown LA. Many influencers and speakers converged on the spot to network and continue the conversation. That Escalated Quickly The night started off well. Everyone sipped on their favorite cocktail and discussed details of their ambitions and entrepreneurial endeavors. I engaged in the conversations with glee. Toward the end of the night, I was discussing the scaling debate with a group of people. I mentioned the importance of expanding block siz...

Circle Becomes 'Bitcoin Unicorn' with Bitmain-Backed Mega-Round

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The 'bitcoin unicorn' club now has another member. Announced Tuesday, Circle has closed a $110 million Series E fundraising, a figure that effectively values the startup at nearly $3 billion, according to figures from the company. Led by China-based mining outfit Bitmain, the round includes support from Accel, Blockchain Capital, Breyer, Digital Currency Group, General Catalyst, IDG, Pantera and Tusk Ventures. With the funding, the company is also revealing an ambitious plan to bolster its products and services by launching a "US dollar coin," or a blockchain native asset that would be both regulated and backed by real government currency, through its affiliate CENTRE project. In this way, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire framed the round as one that helps it position itself as a true conglomerate of cryptocurrency services, as opposed to just an exchange or payment startup, both characterizations having been given to the company in the past. Allaire told CoinDe...

Mongolia’s Crypto Nation Conference Builds a Bitcoin Future: Interview with Ganhuyag Chuluun Hutagt

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Ganhuyag Chuluun Hutagt, CEO of Ard Financial, hosted a conference on the benefits and potential of bitcoin in Mongolia. Yes, Mongolia. The landlocked nation with a small population managed to attract over a thousand attendees, getting beyond just talk and debate — a new three-year fund was created to help make their ambitious goals a reality.   Mongolia’s First Crypto Conference Crypto Nation was held in early December, and hosted over 1,200 attendees from all over the world, including “public and private sector participants, civil society, crypto-enthusiasts, and scientific and academic communities on blockchain and its applications,” according to Ard Financial Group’s press release summarizing the event. The effort was “to promote understanding about blockchain and cryptocurrency markets and we want to help create awareness and excitement at all levels of the society,” the company explained. It wasn’t just the usual talk and pontification. Last week, the company an...

US Regulators Say They Want to Avoid 'Hindering' Blockchain Innovation

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U.S. regulators are still looking into cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, but don't aim to suppress the industry, according to comments made during a panel at CoinDesk's Consensus 2018 conference in New York. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) enforcement director James McDonald, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Division Cyber Unit chief Robert Cohen and associate deputy attorney general Sujit Raman participated in a panel discussion on enforcement activities in the space Tuesday. They were joined by Kiran Raj, chief strategy officer at crypto exchange Bittrex, with the panel moderated by attorney Steve Bunnell. The government representatives, who disclaimed that they only spoke for themselves and not their respective agencies, notably all agreed that they did not want to hinder innovation or interfere unduly with blockchain or the tokens built on the nascent technology. That said, they all also stated that they had to act again...

The Cryptocurrency Wild West is Healthy for the Marketplace

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The Cryptocurrency markets are like the wild west. That is what people say. However, they mention this fact as if it were bad news. They use “wild west” pejoratively and condescendingly. They view a wild west market as untamed, chaotic, and destructive. I say cryptocurrencies markets are destructive, but it is a kind of creative destruction. It is destructive evolution, and it is healthy and sober.  People who criticize the “wild west” nature of crypto markets are generally ‘control freaks.’ They cry for regulation and control and violence. They beg for government force against people willy-nilly. I say no to regulation and force. The destructive, yet creative process of the cryptocurrency market is a good thing. It is tearing away old processes, systems, and habits of thought. It is preparing people for real freedom, real free market competition — not this pseudo-freedom deployed by government thugs. So how exactly are the cryptocurrency markets unmaking the old way of d...

Social Investing Platform eToro Expanding Crypto Trading to US

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eToro, the social investing platform, is launching a full-fledged cryptocurrency exchange and mobile wallet and expanding into the United States. Announced Tuesday, the Israel-based company has opened the waiting list for people in the U.S. who want to trade bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, XRP, dash, bitcoin cash, stellar, ethereum classic, NEO, and EOS. "Consumers all over the world should have access to the tools they need to participate in cryptocurrency markets, regardless of their expertise," CEO Yoni Assia said in a press release. Previously, eToro offered crypto trading only on a very limited basis. For example, in 2014 it introduced contracts for difference (CFDs) in which users could bet on the direction of bitcoin's price without actually touching the cryptocurrency. Then early last year, the company enabled customers to buy or sell XRP, ether and litecoin on its platform, but it did not allow them to deposit or withdraw cryptocurrencies from their acco...

Bitcoin was Not Created by Government

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There are some people who believe bitcoin was created by government. They think big brother made it to subjugate and subdue everyone. They believe it’s a one-world digital currency that benefits government rather than the people . Bitcoin was Built by Crypto-Anarchists Bitcoin was Not Created by Government There is no evidence bitcoin was created by government. The opposite is true. Bitcoin was likely built by crypto-anarchists to undermine and destabilize governments. The exact creator of bitcoin is unknown. The individual’s pseudonym is Satoshi Nakamoto. It could also be a group of people. We have no clue. However, we do have an idea of the type of people who fleshed out the original blueprints. We can see the beginnings of bitcoin in the early work of cypherpunks like David Chaum, Timothy May, and Whitfield Diffie. None of these people cared for governments. They were mainly anarchists. Indeed, the characteristics of bitcoin are wholly anti-government. The fact that gover...

'BitLicense Refugees': ShapeShift, Kraken Talk Escape from New York

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If you wanted to hear red-meat rhetoric about New York State's regulatory approach, a fireside chat Tuesday between two of the cryptocurrency industry's most outspoken leaders delivered. For example, the audience at Consensus 2018 in New York City cheered when ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees invoked a local icon to make the case that the state's BitLicense was a case of regulatory overreach. "Here we are two miles from the Statue of Liberty and you cannot sell CryptoKitties in the state without that license. That's the absurdity of what's happened here," he said. And Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, got some laughs at the expense of former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. When Scheniderman's office sent a request for information to Kraken (along with several other exchanges) earlier this year - three years after his company stopped doing business in New York - it felt like "a slap in the face," Powell said. But then ...

Bitcoin was Not Created by Government

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There are some people who believe bitcoin was created by government. They think big brother made it to subjugate and subdue everyone. They believe it’s a one-world digital currency that benefits government rather than the people . Bitcoin was Built by Crypto-Anarchists Bitcoin was Not Created by Government There is no evidence bitcoin was created by government. The opposite is true. Bitcoin was likely built by crypto-anarchists to undermine and destabilize governments. The exact creator of bitcoin is unknown. The individual’s pseudonym is Satoshi Nakamoto. It could also be a group of people. We have no clue. However, we do have an idea of the type of people who fleshed out the original blueprints. We can see the beginnings of bitcoin in the early work of cypherpunks like David Chaum, Timothy May, and Whitfield Diffie. None of these people cared for governments. They were mainly anarchists. Indeed, the characteristics of bitcoin are wholly anti-government. The fact that gover...

Wall Street Vet Brian Kelly Launches Blockchain ETF

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Investment manager Brian Kelly is launching a new blockchain startup-based exchange-traded-fund (ETF), he announced Wednesday. Working in partnership with REX Shares founder Gregg King, Kelly will actively manage a portfolio of roughly 30 companies actively using blockchain technology and matching one of four general criteria, he told CoinDesk. The fund will support firms from the seed stage onward. He told CoinDesk: "When I look at the investment landscape, to me blockchain and cryptocurrencies are a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity ... if I look at every other asset class, to me the most attractive investment is blockchain and cryptocurrency. The growth is explosive [and] the potential is enormous." The four criteria, or "pillars," include enterprise blockchain, or companies using the technology to streamline existing business processes; "Wall Street disruptors," that is, services changing how securities are traded (such as Overstock...

Bear Revival? Bitcoin Risks Fall Below $8K After 3.5-Week Low

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Bitcoin (BTC) bears have unraveled the minor rally in prices since Saturday and are now looking to pull the cryptocurrency below the $8,000 mark, the technical charts indicate. The bears' comeback comes after bitcoin saw minor gains after the May 12 low of $8,204, but the bulls repeatedly failed to cut through the key falling trendline hurdle. As a result, bitcoin fell to a 3.5-week low of $8,100 on Bitfinex earlier today. As of writing, BTC is changing hands at $8,366 - down 4.7 percent in 24 hours. Daily chart The above chart shows that bitcoin has dipped below the 50-day moving average (MA), currently located at $8,290. As discussed yesterday, a close (as per UTC) below the 50-day MA would signal resumption of the sell-off from the recent high of $9,990 and could yield deeper sell-off to $7,800. The rejection at the descending trendline hurdle and a drop to $8,100 has reinforced the bearish view put forward by the short-term moving averages (5-day and 10-day), ...

ICO Project Polymath Is Trying to Buy a Stake In a Real Stock Exchange

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If one announcement summarizes the ambitions of crypto project Polymath, it might be Wednesday's acquisition of the domain "Tokens.com" One of its several this week, it cuts to the heart of the project's aims to dominate the issuance of tokenized securities. But the plans go beyond just the acquisition of potentially popular domain names. In the run-up to the company's Wednesday morning appearance at CoinDesk's Consensus conference, Polymath also revealed it's in the process of closing a deal to acquire a large stake in the Barbados Stock Exchange and that it's working on a deal with the alternative trading system tZero. With those two partnerships, it believes it will have the platform to create tokens that can actually trade and dominate the coming transition of traditional equity to crypto. Neither deal is done, but Polymath CEO Trevor Koverko projects that they should be closed by early June. (Polymath raised $58.7 million in a private p...

The History of Bitcoin.com

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This September is our two year anniversary operating — Bitcoin.com — the world’s most interactive web portal dedicated to educating the world about the technological innovation we all love — Bitcoin. The website Bitcoin.com is a big project, and we’ve been steadily improving every corner of the site over the last two years. The domain has a long history and has passed through many hands over the course of the past eight years. In fact, Bitcoin.com was registered in January of 2008, a year before the protocol was released by Satoshi Nakamoto back in January of 2009. After the domain was created, one of the earliest bitcoin exchanges, Tradehill, took over the website six years ago but the ownership didn’t last long. The trading platform fell apart, and the domain was then transferred over to Roger Ver in April of 2014. Ver explains that he purchased Bitcoin.com for an undisclosed sum. Originally Blockchain.info was going to use the website as the main landing page Ver says, but t...

Communications Ambassador Mission: Illuminating the Truth about Bitcoin and Voluntaryism

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My name is Sterlin Lujan. I was recently appointed Communications Ambassador for Bitcoin.com. Communications Ambassador is a title that is synonymous with brand ambassador or representative.  My role and mission is to speak on behalf of Bitcoin.com, elaborate on our position regarding the scaling debate, bitcoin, and other matters. I also speak publicly on issues that interest me as well as the company, including the future of bitcoin and voluntaryist anarchism. I will be working on other projects for the company as we evolve and move into the future. My Personal History and my Engagement with the Crypto Conference Circuit Communications Ambassador Mission: Illuminating the Truth about Bitcoin and Anarchism Sterlin Lujan, Communications Ambassador Bitcoin.com I have been involved in the cryptocurrency ecosystem since about 2013, and then got serious in 2015 after visiting a Porcupine Freedom Festival event in New Hampshire. I came on board with Bitcoin.com after Roger V...

Bitcoin.com Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash for Advertisement and Press Release Services

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At Bitcoin.com, we are proud to accept bitcoin cash for all of our advertisement and PR services. If anyone wants to pay for these services they can now use the bitcoin chain that boasts cheaper fees and quicker transaction times.  For instance, if someone wants to pay for a press release with bitcoin cash they can browse over to our press release information page here. Press releases get a lot of traffic on our website. Since Bitcoin.com started it has become a very popular service. Check it out: “If approved and paid, we’ll include your press release in our main sidebar, viewed 150,000+ times per day, 5,000,000+ times monthly (according to Google Analytics, as of October 30, 2017). The post will also feature on our dedicated Press Releases page and is pushed to notification subscribers.” For advertising on our page with bitcoin cash, browse over here. We offer a variety of advertisement deals depending on your needs. So why did we decide to accept bitcoin cash? Bitc...

Realizations from Web Summit: Bitcoin and Anarchism are Still Niche Anomalies in the Tech Industry

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I just returned to the United States from Lisbon, Portugal. I am a bit jet lagged. My ear is pressurized from being in the sky for 12 hours. The trip was necessary, though. I journeyed to Lisbon to attend a couple of high-profile tech conferences. I was invited to speak at Steemfest. I was also invited to attend Web Summit as a member of the media. At both conferences, I represented Bitcoin.com. I made my primary mission to spread the gospel of bitcoin and anarchism. Realizations from Web Summit: Bitcoin is still an Niche Anomaly in the Tech Industry Realizations from Web Summit Both conferences were amazing, but I learned more from Web Summit. That is not to say Steemfest was uninteresting or unimportant. To the contrary, I probably had more fun at Steemfest. However, Steemfest was a legitimate crypto event. It was full of allies, friends, and co-conspirators in the shared dream of decentralizing the planet. Therefore, my considerations on it can wait until another blog p...