Why Did Litecoin Hit $50 For the First Time in August?

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August 25, 2017

Litecoin price surpassed the $50 mark for the first time in August due to two major factors: compatibility with bitcoin as a result of Segregated Witness (SegWit) activation and its hedge-like characteristics to Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

On August 21, Cryptocoinsnews reported that prominent bitcoin analyst and investor Tuur Demeester described Litecoin as a real bitcoin hedge because of its SegWit-enabled network and transactions. He explained that the sell-off of BCH was likely to cause Litecoin price to surge.

“If BCH pump fails, money could roll into LTC, it being a real Bitcoin (BTC) hedge. I just invested some BCH profits into LTC. With real ‘Bitcoin hedge’ I mean [that] Litecoin has SegWit and it will likely merge other cutting edge tech ahead of BTC,” Demeester said at the time.

Although it is difficult to wholly attribute the surge in Litecoin price to the recent sell-off of BCH, the timeline matched the analysis of Demeester. During the week when BCH fell from over $1,000 to $640, Litecoin price achieved new all-time highs, breaking through the $50 mark for the first time since July.

It is likely that the sell-off of BCH attracted investors in South Korea and China because they have been BCH’s two largest markets and the demand for Litecoin has been increasing at a rapid rate in both markets. Upon the short-term sell-off of BCH, investors moved to Litecoin, Ethereum and bitcoin in the Chinese and South Korean markets.

Another major factor that has led to a short-term surge in Litecoin price is the activation of SegWit in the Bitcoin network. The Bitcoin Core development team’s SegWit, which works a transaction malleability fix and scaling solution, was adopted by Litecoin in July and the integration of SegWit by Litecoin ultimately encouraged the bitcoin industry and community to integrate SegWit in the main bitcoin network.

With SegWit live in both Litecoin and Bitcoin networks, cross-network swaps can be made possible through cross-blockchain channels. Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, and the development team behind Lightning, a SegWit-based bitcoin micropayments solution, emphasized the importance of a Litecoin-to-Bitcoin Segwit-enabled transaction swaps in recent statements.

“Version 0.3 of LND added a Litecoin operating mode as a step towards multi-chain Lightning Network for cross-chain atomic swaps. I’m working with [Litecoin Foundation Directors] Xinxi Wang and Franklyn Richards today to test out Lightning on Litecoin mainnet. Any real litecoins lost will be worth it,” Lee said.

More to that, the official update release of Lightning Network version 0.3 revealed that swaps between Litecoin and bitcoin will be facilitated at ease, allowing cross-network swaps seamlessly.

“In this release, we’ve added support for a toggle-able Litecoin chain and wallet backend. This means that lnd is now capable for easily switching back and forth between the Bitcoin and Litecoin chains. This is very exciting as the code scaffolding put in place to make this switch seamless also lays some important groundwork for the multi-chain lnd operating mode that is under development,” the document read.

Litecoin’s cross-network connection with bitcoin, a $72 billion blockchain network, is playing a vital role in sustaining the upward momentum of Litecoin price.

Bitcoin Prices Bounce Back Above $4,400

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August 25, 2017

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Bitcoin prices have once more climbed past $4,400 following days of generally sideways movement within the $4,100–$4,200 range.

Starting to pick up from around 22:00 UTC yesterday, prices across global exchanges opened the session at $4,362, and had reached a high of $4,420. Prices were again at that level at press time, a rise of 1.33 percent, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.

Those figures put prices around $85 short of the all-time high achieved on August 17, when bitcoin topped $4,500 for the first time ever.

Elsewhere in the markets, ethereum is up 3.49 percent for the day at $332.65, according to CoinMarketCap. New cryptocurrency bitcoin cash is down 2 percent, however, with prices at $642.95 at press time.

A notable strong showing for privacy-oriented cryptocurrency monero today sees its price up over 14 percent, with one token now worth $98.

Reflecting continued positivity in the digital asset markets, the market capitalization across all cryptocurrencies is once again at a record high, at just over $155 billion.

Antpool, ASICBOOST Share Blame for Bitcoin Network Delays

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August 25, 2017

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Bitcoin (BTC) transaction delays and fees are increasingly thought to be the result of Antpool mining empty blocks.

Multiple reports surfacing on social media pin the blame for the slow rate of approvals on miners deliberately not including SegWit transactions.

The practice would cut capacity, increasing waiting times and driving up fees.

Data from Blockchain.info on blocks found post-SegWit activation suggestsAntpool, the largest Bitcoin mining pool, is circumventing SegWit transactions despite losing revenue.

“Normally miners will confirm as many transactions as they can, because when they confirm one they earn the transaction fees from that transaction,” one explanation reads.

“Antpool has given up $100,000+ in transaction fees in the last 24 hours alone by not confirming as many transactions as they can.”

The figure calculated by one Reddit user suggests Antpool missed out on $102,400 in fees in the past 24 hours alone.

The motivation behind boycotting SegWit transactions lies in suspected use of ASICBOOST by miners, a function which manufacturer Bitmain had previously denounced.

“[Using ASICBOOST], however profitable, is not something we would do for the greater good of Bitcoin,” the company wrote in a blog post in April.

Live Music Marketplace Viberate Launches Second Phase, Adds Thousands of Venue and Event Profiles

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August 25, 2017

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Decentralized live music marketplace Viberate, who wants to help musicians sell gigs to event organizers in exchange for cryptocurrency, recently hit another deadline in its roadmap, as it added 50,000 new music venue profiles, and over 200,000 event profiles to its database.

Viberate had previously announced its plans to map the entire global music industry, as it already had over 120,000 musician profiles at the time it announced venue profiles would be added. The marketplace was founded by a group of music executives who’ve been working in the industry for 15 years, and want to solve problems they’ve previously dealt with.

Viberate’s goal is to give every musician in the world a chance to sell gigs, while helping music fans and event organizers as well. Its founders and advisors, including Charlie Shrem, have recently been interviewed:

Viberate’s Vibe token

Viberate had previously announced a public crowdsale, in which Vibe tokens (Vibes) would be sold. The company has worked hard on giving these tokens beneficial uses, such as helping musicians get paid for their gigs.

As blockchain business development expert Peter Moricz put it, musicians without professional representation often get taken advantage of by club owners who don’t want to pay previously agreed-upon amounts if their night doesn’t go as well as planned. With the token, an escrow solution can be used through an Ethereum smart contract.

Moreover, Vibes won’t just be used by event organizers to pay for gigs, as its possible uses will also include rewarding users who help improve and grow the platform, and granting musicians access to premium industry contacts. Viberate currently has over 5,000 premium music industry contacts, including agents and managers, and Musicians who wish to contact them directly will have to pay a fee in Vibes.

Finally, a Google AdWords-like solution will be implemented, so musicians can buy premium positions on top of charts using Vibes, effectively allowing them to stand out. To increase its token’s value and liquidity, Viberate will use a portion of its revenue to buy back Vibes from the market.

Viberate’s crowdsale

Viberate recently hit another deadline, as venue and event profiles were set up before the company’s public crowdsale, according to its roadmap. The crowdsale is set to begin on September 5, and will end on October 4. A total of 120 million Vibes will be sold on the crowdsale, as developers aim to raise $12 million to help fund further development of their platform.

One Vibe token will initially be worth $0.1, and can only be purchased using Ethereum. To keep up with the project, follow Viberate on Facebook, Twitter, and join the discussion on their Slack channel.

China’s New Fundraising Rules Could Lead to ICO Investigations

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August 25, 2017

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New rules being developed by the Chinese government against illegal financing may be used to crack down on initial coin offerings (ICOs).

A draft of the regulations has been released by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, the executive Branch of the Chinese government. Officials are soliciting public comments over the next month before officially commencing the legislative process.

Though broadly focused on a range of fundraising activities, the fifteenth article of the draft ruleset identifies cryptocurrency-based funding efforts as potential targets for investigations.

The text states:

“If the department overseeing illegal fundraising activities found a fundraising without proper permission, or a fundraising that violates the relevant provisions of the State, and if one of the following circumstances is found, the department shall launch an administrative investigation. Other relevant departments shall cooperate with the investigation.
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(2) to raise funds in the name of issuing or transferring equity, raising funds, selling insurance, or engaging in asset management activities, virtual currency, leasing, credit cooperation and mutual funds…”

The draft outlined that the government shall establish an interdepartmental committee to combat illegal fundraising. It also clarified, for the first time, that participants of illegal fundraising shall be responsible for their own losses.

There are currently two laws dealing with illegal fundraising in Chinese crime law system. The crime of fund fraud, which used to be punishable by death, now carries a maximum sentence of life in jail. The other one – the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits – carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.

The new regulations also come amid a public outrage on pyramid selling scams. Last month, several college graduates were found dead after being imprisoned and assaulted by members of a pyramid selling organization in Tianjin, China.

Bank Of America Files 9 Blockchain-Based Patent Applications

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August 25, 2017

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The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published in late August 2017 nine additional patent applications related to Blockchain technology that was filed by Bank of America.

The patents, which relate to the carrying out and settling transactions within a payment network, were all filed on Feb. 22, 2017.

So far, the bank has already filed over 30 Blockchain technology-based patent applications, including as many as 18 in 2016.

The applications reflect the efforts done by the bank in its bid to adopt Blockchain-based payment systems in its operations.

Blockchain-based patents already filed by the bank

The various patents already filed by the bank mainly focused on the whole cryptocurrency exchange and payment process.

Among them were the areas of real-time conversion, transaction validation, risk detection, and online and offline storage.

The other patents involved the use of distributed ledgers to validate the factualness of information and those who handle it, as well as a peer-to-peer payment system that operates on the Blockchain.

Bank of America’s Blockchain project with Microsoft

In September 2016, the bank has partnered with technology firm Microsoft for a joint project aimed at developing and testing Blockchain applications for trade finance.

Under the deal, the bank will collaborate directly with Microsoft Treasury for the creation of Blockchain system that can speed up transactions between the partners.

The partners have already hinted that they are already testing how the system can facilitate the letter of credit process.

However, there are no signs yet from the partners on whether they have developed something that could be launched on a commercial scale from the project.

The pace in which Bank of America has been filing Blockchain-based patent applications hints that the bank could also be pursuing other intellectual property fields in the Blockchain technology industry and are in it for the long term.

OneCoin Labelled Pyramid Scheme, Fined €2.6 Million in Italy

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August 25, 2017

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An Italian consumer watchdog has sanctioned a number of companies for using pyramid sales tactics in promoting OneCoin, a purported digital currency scheme widely seen as a scam.

The Italian AntiTrust Authority (IAA) has imposed a fine of € 2,595,000 on a group of companies promoting the purchase of OneCoin. The companies are accused of providing incorrect information about the product to consumers, with their sales system having characteristics of ‘pyramidal features’ according to the IAA.

Specifically, the sanctions are enforced against One Life Network Ltd and its companies as well as the registrants of a number of domain names including onecoinsuedtirol.it, onecoinitaliaofficial.it, onecoinitalia.com. The misleading promotional activity was to sell training packages where investors were promised virtual ‘OneCoins’ through cryptocurrency mining. As reported earlier, OneCoin has been accused of not being a cryptocurrency at all, in using and SQL script instead of a blockchain to generate coins.

“[T]he purchase of the €27,530 package would have allowed a value of €3,000,000 after just two years of joining the program,” the authority wrote, underlining One Life’s business proposal as a “false high-profit prospect.”

The Italian consumer authority also revealed details of its investigation into the operative ways of OneCoin, stating:

OneCoin’s dissemination took place through a pyramid sales system as recruitment of new consumers was the sole purpose of sales activity and was strongly encouraged by the recognition of various bonuses, the only real and effective remuneration of the program. The purchase of the training kit in fact concealed the entry fee required to enter the system and convince other consumers of the goodness of the product.

“In fact, the OneCoin cryptocurrency, which was not possible to verify existence and consistency, was the pretext for a system that exclusively aimed at (and was supported through) the inclusion of other consumers,” the IAA added, tellingly.

Italy joins a growing list of countries in Europe and around the world to crackdown on OneCoin. In India, police have identified and arrested 30 OneCoin promoters since April with charges filed against 22 individuals. The alleged pyramid scheme, which has raked in some $12 million from investors in the country, was firmly classified as a ponzi scheme by an Indian police official last month.

In Finland, law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation into OneCoin this month after receiving a number of complaints from private individuals and tax authorities.

Finnish Police Investigate OneCoin for Financial Crimes

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August 25, 2017

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Finland’s police are the latest law enforcement authority to launch an investigation into OneCoin, a purported digital currency scheme commonly seen as a fraudulent scam.

According to regional daily Vasabladet, Finnish authorities have launched preliminary investigations into OneCoin, a digital currency investment scheme that entered Finland sometime in 2015. The investigation is led by criminal police commissioner Antti Perälä who revealed a number of complaints from private individuals and tax authorities against the operation.

Finland was among the earliest countries to announce a police investigation into OneCoin, back in April 2015. At the time, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the country’s national police, began investigations after receiving multiple complaints from concerned citizens. At the time, the investigation determined that company’s local operations were managed from Bulgaria, with considerable sums of money paid into the firm’s Finnish bank accounts for ‘training packages’. The investigation stalled ultimately after authorities were unable to determine if OneCoin had an actual cryptocurrency.

The current investigation is completely detached from the 2015 criminal investigation, which was handled by the NBI. The new investigation is conducted by the police department of Ostrobothnia, a region in western Finland with some 180,000 people. According to one recent report, as many as 20,000 Finns have invested ‘tens of millions of euros’ into OneCoin.

Such is the suspicion and evidence of a crime that the case will be pushed toward a prosecutor, according to Finnish police. Such a move would ultimately lead to criminal charges placed against OneCoin promoters in the country.

In entirely similar developments in India, the country’s police have investigated OneCoin’s operations before arresting and charging 30 promoters of the scheme in recent months.

Last month, an Indian police official labelled OneCoin a ‘ponzi scheme’, stating:

In this sort of scheme, investors become the perpetrators as well as victims. It is clear that this is a Ponzi scheme.

Earlier in June, the government of Vietnam moved to squash local OneCoin promoters’ claims that the scheme had received a regulatory license to operate in the country. The purported ‘license documents’ were revealed to be a forgery.

Authorities in Belgium, the UK, Hungary and Uganda have also issued warnings against OneCoin.

Brazilian Ministry of Planning Partners with Microsoft in Blockchain Identity App Trial

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August 25, 2017

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The Brazilian Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management has partnered with Microsoft and Ethereum-focused startup ConsenSys to conduct a pilot run of a Blockchain-based identity application.

The ministry aims to use the app to verify the legitimacy of personal documents.

The project will leverage the technology supplied by ConsenSys affiliate uPort, which is a “self-sovereign” identity system that is built on the digital currency Ethereum. The system enables its users to have access and control over their own data.

According to the ministry’s head of information technology, Adriane Medeiros Melo, the pilot project is intended to test potential applications of Blockchain technologies. Melo also hopes that it will “create a new trust model between the government and the public.”

Mission of the ministry

The ministry was established in 1962 with a mission to coordinate the management of the federal government’s policies and budget. The project to pilot the use of Blockchain technology and digital currency is well within its mandate.

Other Blockchain projects worldwide

The ministry’s Blockchain initiative is just one of the various projects to study the use of the technology for record-keeping purposes around the world as of August 2017.

In the US, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded a grant to Blockchain startup Evernym for the development of Blockchain key management solutions. The grant was provided by the DHS’ Small Business Innovation Program (SBIR).

In Great Britain, the non-departmental government agency Innovate UK has launched a competition aimed at Blockchain startup companies. The goal of the competition is to select companies for the agency will fund. The ultimate objective is to advance digital health projects that use technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Bitcoin Cash Returns to Profitability Amid Mining Adjustments

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August 25, 2017

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The relationship between bitcoin and bitcoin cash continued to evolve today, with the two blockchain networks competing for miner interest and computing power.

At press time, the bitcoin cash blockchain has seen five downward difficulty adjustments after struggling to produce blocks yesterday.

Blocks 481,878 through 481,882 each pushed down the difficulty (the mechanism that regulates reward release) under the network’s “emergency difficulty adjustment rule.” When triggered, the mechanism adjusts difficulty down 20%, making it easier for miners to find blocks and claim rewards.

As a result, the difficulty adjustments succeeded in bringing the hash rate to about 10% of bitcoin’s hash rate, which made bitcoin cash more profitable to mine – even with the extra fees that bitcoin offers from its increased user base.

Miners have responded, in turn, with those using mining pool platforms like BTC.Top, F2Pool and Antpool once again switching to mine bitcoin cash. At time of writing, blocks were being found every two minutes.

A coming difficulty adjustment is expected in about two days, at which point bitcoin cash should once again be much less profitable to mine than bitcoin.

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Why Did Litecoin Hit $50 For the First Time in August?

Bitcoin Prices Bounce Back Above $4,400

Antpool, ASICBOOST Share Blame for Bitcoin Network Delays

Live Music Marketplace Viberate Launches Second Phase, Adds Thousands of Venue and Event Profiles

Viberate’s Vibe token

Viberate’s crowdsale

China’s New Fundraising Rules Could Lead to ICO Investigations

Bank Of America Files 9 Blockchain-Based Patent Applications

Blockchain-based patents already filed by the bank

Bank of America’s Blockchain project with Microsoft

OneCoin Labelled Pyramid Scheme, Fined €2.6 Million in Italy

Finnish Police Investigate OneCoin for Financial Crimes

Brazilian Ministry of Planning Partners with Microsoft in Blockchain Identity App Trial

Mission of the ministry

Other Blockchain projects worldwide

Bitcoin Cash Returns to Profitability Amid Mining Adjustments

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