IMF Chief Lagarde Tells Central Bankers: “Not Wise toDismiss Virtual Currencies”

IMF Chief Lagarde Tells Central Bankers:

Featured

Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, warns central bankers that bitcoin is rising. She has told them not to discount digital currencies, because they are gaining more adoption and traction. Lagarde addressed this issue in a conference Friday in London. She said digital currencies might give existing currencies “a run for their money.”

Also read: Cayman Investment Forum Focuses on Rise of Bitcoin and Failing Dollar

An ABC News article quoted her: “In many ways, virtual currencies might just give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money. The best response by central bankers is to continue running effective monetary policy, while being open to fresh ideas and new demands, as economies evolve.”

Digital Currencies are Still in Their Infancy

IMF Chief Lagarde Tells Central Bankers: "Not Wise to Dismiss Virtual Currencies"
Christine Lagarde

Lagarde went on to say that digital currencies will not replace the current currencies anytime soon. She believes bitcoin is still too volatile. This is why many institutional investors are still waiting on the sidelines. However, the time will come when they decide to jump in.

“For now, Lagarde said, digital currencies are unlikely to replace traditional ones, as they are ‘too volatile, too risky, too energy intensive and because the underlying technologies are not yet scalable.’”

She also mentioned that high profile cases of exchange hacks, like the Mt Gox debacle, has caused mainstream investors to be wary of big investments into the space.

Technical Innovations Will Push Bitcoin Into the Limelight

Nonetheless, Lagarde said there will inevitably and undoubtedly be more technical innovation. These digital currencies will continue to grow and thrive. She said, just like the internet, cryptocurrencies will scale and quickly slither their way into the mainstream consciousness. In other words, central bankers should not ignore the technology or underestimate it. The ABC news article quoted her:

Not so long ago, some experts argued that personal computers would never be adopted, and that tablets would only be used as expensive coffee trays, so I think it may not be wise to dismiss virtual currencies.

Furthermore, Lagarde believes computers will be able to assist governments and other organizations. They will be able to set policies, perform bureaucratic tasks, spot bubbles, and manage other aspects of the financial system.

Mainstream Awareness and Other Perspectives

IMF Chief Tells Central Bankers Not to Underestimate Bitcoin

From the mainstream perspective, Lagarde represents a growing number of influential people who recognize the power of bitcoin and blockchain. However, there are still those who disagree or believe bitcoin is bound to break. People like Jamie Dimon and Jordan Belfort recently called bitcoin a fraud. Not to mention, China recently banned ICOs and acted to ban some bitcoin exchanges.

However, these comments and actions did not harm bitcoin. For every negative comment or publicity, there are positive comments and activities. For instance, Japan recently endorsed 11 exchanges and became Asia’s dominant bitcoin hub. The love of bitcoin and cryptocurrency seems to be accelerating at a greater pace despite significant push back.

Do you think the central bankers will respond to Lagarde? Will the mainstream fully embrace bitcoin soon? Let us know what you think in the comments below.


Images via Shutterstock, Marieclaire.fr (cover photo), and Forbes


At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.

Zk-Starks? New Take on Zcash Tech Could Power Truly Private Blockchains

“A myth,” that’s what one developer called it.

At a meeting of the team behind the monero cryptocurrency last week, suspicion was high about a new item on the roadmap – so-called “zk-starks.” Described as a “trustless” solution to a problem that’s long prevented anonymous blockchains, to some of the developers assembled it sounded like fantasy.

But while the blockchain industry is certainly no stranger to outlandish claims, the cryptographic technique is perhaps setting records in the levels of eyebrow-raising it has triggered. Heralded as a more secure version of zk-snarks, the creators of zk-starks claim their cryptography can remove the need for the contentious “trusted setup” necessary with the previous iteration of the idea.

Stepping back, zk-snarks are an evolution of a cryptographic technique first described in the 1980s. While seemingly complex, the idea is simple at heart – zero-knowledge proofs enable parties to verify if a statement is correct without receiving anything more than a true-or-false statement. In the blockchain world, the idea has become most often associated with zcash, the first large-scale blockchain that baked the cryptographic tool into its protocol layer.

But, while heralded at the time as a breakthrough, the platform’s use of zk-snarks left room for improvement. For one, there’s the fact that there’s no way to tell with any real certainty that the elaborate procedure used to set up the cryptocurrency wasn’t in some way compromised.

A year after the launch, the zcash team is still putting out audits on the matter. Yet as critics point out, their results, while helpful in mitigating doubts, can’t ever be conclusive.

Should zk-starks be able to remove this roadblock – the impact could be felt far and wide. While there may be little that seems to unite the diverse developers working on private and public cryptocurrencies, privacy has emerged as perhaps a universal touchpoint.

Groups as diverse as banking consortium R3 and ethereum have had zk-snarks on their list for exploration, despite their different needs and technologies.

And zk-starks could find a similarly broad reception – the new technology promises to be cheaper, faster, more scalable and more secure than zk-snarks.

Slowing emerging

But despite the possibilities, little information about zk-starks has been published to date.

First presented at an ethereum meetup back in January, the team behind the tech – comprised of researchers associated with zcash – are still working to complete the code. To date, just one aspect, called the FSA algorithm, is available online.

One of the team’s more public figures is Eli Ben-Sasson, a professor at the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel, who helped pioneer zk-snarks back in 2015 and whose work draws on a long lineage of computer scientists dealing with zero-knowledge proofs.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Ben-Sasson said he was “a big believer in transparent proofs,” and has been “passionately researching” the topic for 15 years. Still, he summarises the challenge he faces in building zero-knowledge designs as one that’s core to cryptography.

As he explains:

“Hiding information is very easy using encryption. The hard part is proving and maintaining integrity under the veil of encryption.”

Perhaps because of this, Ben-Sasson admits the issues inherent in the zk-snarks used to establish the zcash blockchain, believing the technology is too risky for valuable or business-sensitive information.

With zk-starks, however, he sees room for big improvements.

The stakes

One of the key problems zk-starks can solve relates to the need for zero-knowledge blockchains to create a “master key,” according to Ben-Sasson.

In the case of zcash, it’s believed the key was destroyed, but the implications that it could be out there are chilling. For one, this key would allow a bad actor to forge false payments and completely ruin the integrity of the blockchain. Further, in order to destroy the key, a coordinated effort is required in what is known as the trusted setup.

But this setup is complicated to perform securely. For one, it’s difficult to verify it really happened, because it can’t have any witnesses (anyone viewing the ceremony could reversibly generate the key).

When zcash performed its ceremony, the team went to great lengths to ensure it wasn’t compromised, but it’s next to impossible to completely secure. And for a high-profile entity like a bank, there’d simply be too much interest in trying to sabotage it.

Ben-Sasson said:

“There’s going to be a huge incentive for governments and central organizations to try a put their hands on this key that will allow them to write a cheque for any amount … with increased value there is increased incentive to attack.”

Zk-starks seek to remove this risk, and in the process, take a lot of the heavy machinery associated with zk-snarks with it. Unlike zk-snarks, zk-starks don’t rely on public key cryptography at all.

Actually, all zk-starks need to function is one algorithm similar to that performed by computers when mining the bitcoin blockchain.

However, while mining involves the same encryption pattern repeatedly, zk-starks use random numbers so the steps involved cannot be predicted.

The use of a single algorithm is minimal compared to zk-snarks, which by contrast relies on a cluster of the tools. The impact of is that while a zk-snark takes about 28 minutes and 18.9GB to compute, a zk-stark promises to reduce calculation time down to a fraction of a second, and storage down to 1.2MB.

Monero’s motives

And monero’s interest in the scheme, while early, is perhaps proof that there might be further development of the concept across blockchain communities.

One of the more innovative privacy-focused blockchains, monero uses entirely different cryptography than zcash based on a combination of stealth addresses and ring signatures. Rather than use zero-knowledge systems, the cryptocurrency offers privacy by heavily distorting information.

Because its system is well-functioning today, it arguably hasn’t had a need for zero-knowledge proofs, but the idea that the network could further toughen privacy measures is leading the developer team to consider it.

Currently, zk-snarks are being considered for sidechains which would increase privacy by allowing payments to occur from separate blockchains –and which would then self-destruct following the transaction.

But to implement the idea, monero would have to face the problem of the trusted set up – making the zk-starks concept an enticing one.

So enticing, in fact, that lead developer Riccardo Spagni, who has called zcash “a complete security farce” – seems willing to look past the rivalry toward a common goal. He describes zk-starks as “preferable” and told CoinDesk that monero will be looking to integrate the tech if and when it’s usable.

And they’re not the only ones who have problems will the trusted setup. If ethereum is to implement zk-snarks as formerly planned, it’ll have to run an equivalent of the zcash security ceremony – but one that can scale to thousands of participants.

Such complications show that the concept is one that meets a compelling need – one likely to be further developed in a new white paper published in the next year.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Zcash Company, the for-profit entity that develops the Zcash protocol.

Boy with jetpack image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Interested in offering your expertise or insights to our reporting? Contact us at [email protected].

The Bitcoin ETF Holy Grail — Another Firm Attempts the OddsAgainst SEC

The Bitcoin ETF Holy Grail — Another Firm Attempts the Odds Against SEC

News

According to public records, another company has filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission to create two bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) based on Bitcoin derivatives. ETF firm Proshares Capital Management aims to get its bitcoin-futures products listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with a proposed maximum aggregate offering price of $1M per ETF.

Also read: Ledger Holdings Generates $11.4 Million to Open U.S. Bitcoin Options Exchange

U.S. Firm Proshares Files for Two Bitcoin ETFs

The Bitcoin ETF Holy Grail — Another Firm Attempts the Odds Against SEC
The Proshares Trust II was filed with the SEC on September 27.

Proshares is an ETF management firm that launched in 2006 and offers over 140 alternative funds that cover a broad spectrum of investments. The company has products listed on the NYSE, Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE), Nasdaq, and other mainstream trading platforms. Now the Maryland-based business is creating its “Proshares Trust II” a bitcoin ETF that derives its Net Asset Value (NAV) from derivatives rather than holding the currency in reserves.

Proshares further states in its Form S-1 filing that the Bitcoin-based funds are not appropriate for all investors and investing in the shares involves significant “risks.”

“The funds are not appropriate for all investors and present many different risks than other types of funds, including risks relating to investing in bitcoin futures contracts, exposure to bitcoin, and, in the case of the Inverse Fund, risks associated with the use of leverage,” explains Proshares S-1. “The performance of the bitcoin futures contracts in which each fund invests, and therefore the performance of the funds, can be expected to be very different from the price of bitcoin.

The value of a fund’s investments in bitcoin futures contracts may not be correlated with the price of bitcoin and may go down when the price of bitcoin goes up (and vice versa).

Other Mainstream Bitcoin Investment Vehicles and Attempts

The Proshares ETF filing follows other companies trying to create these bitcoin-based mainstream investment vehicles. Just recently, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved the firm Ledger X’s Swap Execution Facility for bitcoin options. Additionally, the well-known CBOE Holdings Inc. plans to add bitcoin futures to their product list. However, financial management firm, CME Group, said it would stop its plans to list bitcoin futures. The recent filing also follows Grayscale Investments and Van Eck Associates withdrawing proposals for two U.S. based funds.  

Bitcoin Technology and Regulatory Guidelines Continue to Evolve

The Bitcoin ETF Holy Grail — Another Firm Attempts the Odds Against SECProshares says it understands that bitcoin is a nascent technology and explains how different the bitcoin economy is throughout the entire S-1 filing. For instance, the firm says “bitcoin is a new technological innovation with a very limited operating history, and the price of bitcoin on the bitcoin exchange market is highly volatile, which could have a negative impact on the performance of Bitcoin Futures Contracts and the performance of the Funds.”

Bitcoin is available for trading 24-hours a day and, as such, the price of bitcoin may change dramatically when the market for bitcoin futures contracts is closed or when shares are not available for trading on the exchange.

In addition to emphasizing that bitcoin is still a very new technology, Proshares also notes that regulatory guidelines towards the decentralized asset are still in the gray area too.

“The global regulatory landscape for bitcoin and other digital assets has been inconsistent and continues to evolve,” Proshares concludes. The U.S. regulatory landscape may give Proshares some trouble with its filing submitted this past Wednesday due to the recent proposal withdrawals of other U.S. ETF attempts. According to Van Eck Associates, the SEC asked the firm in a formal letter to withdraw its trust amendment until bitcoin derivatives instruments exist.   

What do you think about Protoshares filing for two new bitcoin-based ETFs? Let us know in the comments below.


Images via Shutterstock, Proshares, and the SEC S-1 filing. 


Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. 

SEC Charges ICO: US Agency Takes Action Against Alleged Token Scammer

The SEC has brought what appears to be its first charges against a company utilizing the initial coin offering (ICO) fundraising model.

In a press release issued late today, the U.S. securities regulator charged two companies and their founder, businessman Maksim Zaslavskiy, with violating anti-fraud and registration provisions of federal securities laws.

Allegedly, Zaslavskiy sold cryptocurrencies backed by assets that did not exist in two token sales, one for a project called Diamond Reserve Club World, and the other for an effort called the REcoin Group Foundation, the SEC said.

As evidence of the claims, the SEC said REcoin’s ICO was purportedly meant to raise funds for investing in real estate. But while Zaslavskiy told investors that REcoin had a “team of lawyers, professionals, brokers, and accountants,” the SEC claims he had not hired any personnel to invest the raised funds.

Further, while he claimed that the company had raised “between $2 million and $4 million” but in fact had only raised $300,000, the regulator said.

Likewise, DRC World was formed after the government “interfered” with REcoin, according to a statement attributed to Zaslavskiy and posted on a bitcoin forum on September 11.

According to the SEC, DRC World advertised that it would invest in diamonds, and would provide its investors with discounts for products, but the company did not invest in diamonds or have any business operations.

Both companies and Zaslavskiy’s assets were frozen through an emergency court order by a federal district court in Brooklyn, New York.

Overall, the announcement from the SEC is the latest indication that the agency is paying more attention to the Wild West of ICOs. Earlier this week, the regulator said it had created two new units focused on policing cybercrimes — including violations related to distributed ledger tech and ICOs — and protecting mom-and-pop investors.

The SEC is now looking for the companies to pay penalties in addition to returning all funds raised. In addition, the SEC is looking to prevent Zaslavskiy from participating in any digital securities offerings in the future.

The investigation is ongoing.

SEC image by Shutterstock.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at [email protected].

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.

Russia Likely to Ban Bitcoin Payments, Deputy Finance Minister Says

Alexey Moiseev, the deputy finance minister of Russia, said earlier this week that he expects pending legislation on cryptocurrencies will feature a ban on payments made in cryptocurrency.

According to the state-backed news source TASS, Moiseev – who previously said that bitcoin should be classified as a kind of asset in Russia and limited to qualified investors – told reporters on Monday that “no regulator doubts that payments will be banned.”

That comment aside, further statements from Moiseev on the matter suggest that the question is still an open one subject to debate in the State Duma, Russia’s national legislature.

“The discussions will continue. I think that within the framework of these discussions we will decide what we will do with it,” he said, going on to remark:

“In any case, there is a market. It is developing rapidly, and there are certain advantages that could be used. I mean the advantages associated with attracting investments for projects through the ICO. I have a positive attitude to this, but there is another point of view. In order to make a decision, consensus will be necessary.”

Moiseev said that he expects a long-in-the-crafting bill to be completed in October, though given past developments in Russia, the bill could conceivably see further delays. Even still, the deputy finance minister indicated that further deliberations in the Duma will decide what ends up in the finalized measure.

“I think we will determine it within a month. I think in October, and then we will discuss it before submitting it,” he said.

Image Credit: ID1974 / Shutterstock.com

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at [email protected].

Another Fork? Bitcoin Gold Project Plans to Fork BitcoinNext Month

News

After the hard fork on August 1 that produced Bitcoin Cash, many bitcoiners have been waiting for the possibility of a fork taking place this November with the Segwit2x plan. However, a lot of bitcoin proponents don’t know about another fork called “Bitcoin Gold” (BTG) that’s scheduled to take place on October 25th.

Also read: Japan’s Financial Authority to Begin Bitcoin Exchange Surveillance Next Month

Bitcoin Gold Plans to Fork Bitcoin and Change the Consensus Mechanism

Another Fork? Bitcoin Gold Project Plans to Fork Bitcoin Next MonthYes, you read that correctly bitcoin enthusiasts might see another hard fork this October that produces another token called Bitcoin Gold. The project first announced on Bitcointalk.org in July was created by Jack Liao, the founder of Lightning ASIC a mining firm based out of Hong Kong and an anonymous developer named “h4x3.” The forked protocol aims to change bitcoin’s consensus algorithm allowing users to mine the currency with graphic processing units (GPU) among other changes. According to the development team, Bitcoin Gold will use the Equihash algorithm used by the altcoin Zcash rather than bitcoin’s original SHA256.    

“Bitcoin Gold implements the UAHF (User Activated Hard Fork) proposal to accept GPU mining,” explains the website archive. “Miners can choose the size of the blocks they want to mine, with a default of 1 MB. It includes replay and wipeout protection.”

For too long, Bitcoin has been held back by the centralized mining industry. GPU brings Bitcoin into the modern age with an exciting technological roadmap to enable massive on-chain scaling well into the future with decentralization.

 Most Bitcoin Proponents Unaware of this Project

Even though it was announced back in July the news of the Bitcoin Gold fork is just starting to come around people’s radar. Some believe the announcement and the project’s website is a “troll attempt” to create confusion and dilute the power of the Bitcoin Cash fork and Segwit2x. The Bitcoin Gold protocol has available code on Github for review and has multiple social media accounts for Twitter, Facebook, and a Slack channel. Currently, there are over 250 members in the Bitcoin Gold Slack channel, and many of the visitors seem excited about the new fork. Even though the user-activated hard fork will take place on October 25 the full network launch is scheduled for November 1.

Another Fork? Bitcoin Gold Project Plans to Fork Bitcoin Next Month
Most people are unaware of the Bitcoin Gold project. However, it was announced back in July and Jimmy Song also mentioned the fork at the Breaking Bitcoin conference.

 Evil ASIC Manufacturers 

There is a lot of discussion happening on the team’s Slack channel and it seems the team has a lot of work to do if BTG developers hope to fork on October 25. For instance, at the moment there is no testnet for miners to test the protocol, reveals the BTG lead developer. “We are working on core protocol and will launch the testnet ASAP,” the BTG programmer reveals in a conversation on the team’s general chat Slack channel. “[Mining] profitability is determined by the price and mining difficulty, but the price is hard to predict,” he adds.

Another Fork? Bitcoin Gold Project Plans to Fork Bitcoin Next Month
The Bitcoin Gold team shares this photo which shows the differences between each bitcoin on the team’s Slack channel.

The developer also throws out a few opinions throughout the general chat channel about mining centralization. “ASIC leads to centralization — Evil ASIC manufacturers want to take up Bitcoin,” the BTG developer emphasizes. News.Bitcoin.com briefly spoke with Bitcoin Gold’s lead developer who calls himself “H4x3” over the team’s Slack channel about the project. “I can confirm the PoW will be changed to Equihash and the fork date is October 25,” explains the developer. We sent some questions to Jack Liao and H4x3 because the lead developer told us our questions were “too sensitive” to answer alone. The BTG team has not yet responded to our emailed questions.

Another Fork? Bitcoin Gold Project Plans to Fork Bitcoin Next Month
Bitcoin Gold’s lead developer H4x3 says if an ASIC is created to mine BTG the team will change the algorithm.

    Possible Reasons for a Very Unorganized and Confusing Fork Proposal

Another Fork? Bitcoin Gold Project Plans to Fork Bitcoin Next Month
Some speculators believe the Core development team might be behind Bitcoin Gold in response to Bitcoin Cash and Segwit2x. This photo of Adam Back talking about BTG was found in the team’s Slack channel.

It’s likely that many bitcoin proponents are viewing the project as a joke or another method of “crypto-trolling.” There’s a lot of good reasons people believe its a prank because the project seems extremely unorganized for a hard fork slated for the end of October. Further, there is speculation from community members about the team’s intentions to change the bitcoin algorithm to conform with GPU miners. Jack Liao manufactures GPU miners that can mine the Zcash algorithm Equihash and speculators believe this is the primary reason to clone bitcoin and make it GPU compatible.

News.Bitcoin.com will be following the development of this story closely and will update this article if the BTG team responds to our questions.

What do you think about the proposed Bitcoin Gold hard fork allegedly scheduled for October 25? Do you think this project is trolling or a joke? Let us know what you think in the comments below.


Images via Shutterstock, Twitter, and the Bitcoin Gold Slack channel. 


Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin.    

Bitcoin Cash Gains More Infrastructure In the Midst ofSegwit2x Drama

Bitcoin Cash Gains More Infrastructure In the Midst of Segwit2x Drama

Emerging Markets

This week the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) ecosystem is seeing further infrastructure growth as wallet providers, merchants and exchanges continue to announce BCH support. The entire BCH network is seeing improvements every day, while the legacy chain and Segwit2x supporters argue relentlessly.  

Also read: Singapore-Based Bitcoin Startups Deal With Bank Account Closures

Bitcoin Cash Revamps Its Website, While More Infrastructure Support Flocks to the Network

The Bitcoin Cash network is currently closing in on two months of existence, and has so far seen an abundance of infrastructure support over the past few weeks. This week the company Bitpay added BCH support to its Copay wallet giving BCH proponents another credible open source light client. Additionally, the popular exchange Bitstamp enabled BCH withdrawals, and the currency will be available for trade on the platform in three days. Alongside this, Xapo has announced that BCH withdrawals are available and that customers must send the funds to a valid external BCH account before December 14th.

In addition to a few businesses supporting BCH or allowing withdrawals, the project also has a revamped website. Bitcoincash.org has a few new features, like a live feed of the current market value of BCH against USD, EUR, JPY, and CNY. The site also has a large list of full node clients, wallets, services, and exchanges that list BCH for trade. As far as on-chain scalability is concerned, the development team says research is underway to allow massive future increases.

The Accept Bitcoin Cash Initiative  

Bitcoin Cash Gains More Infrastructure In the Midst of Segwit2x Drama
The Accept Bitcoin Cash Initiative has a comprehensive list of websites/merchants who accept BCH.

Another website called “The Accept Bitcoin Cash Initiative” was also created for the nascent BCH network. The web portal is a community-curated list of sites/merchants that accept bitcoin cash and users can submit new sites/merchants to the Github repo. Currently, the site has a list of merchants and service providers with categories like food, entertainment, cloud services, social media, gambling, VPN services and more.

“This site was built as a means to connect consumers and merchants, while spreading awareness and promoting global adoption of Bitcoin Cash,” explains the Accept Bitcoin Cash Initiative website. “It is our hope that as time goes on, more and more sites will be accepting Bitcoin Cash as a fast and secure payment method, with the added benefits of low fees, no third-party, atop a very strong decentralized network.”

BCH Market Value Stays Relatively Stable As Both Chain’s Mining Profit Parity See Minimal Fluctuations

Bitcoin Cash Gains More Infrastructure In the Midst of Segwit2x Drama
Profit parity with BTC has been fairly consistent over the past month.

The value of bitcoin cash is currently hovering around the US$450 price range, and has dropped to the fourth position in regard to cryptocurrency market capitalizations, due to Ripple (XRP) seeing a 10 percent price spike. BCH markets are seeing lighter volumes than weeks prior as the digital asset is averaging roughly $150M in 24-hour trade volumes this week. At press time the BCH chain is operating at 9.69 percent of the legacy chain’s difficulty and BTC is 3 percent more profitable to mine. However, mining profit parity between both chains has been relatively the same since August 27 with very minimal changes.

Bitcoin Cash Gains More Infrastructure In the Midst of Segwit2x Drama
Software developer Gavin Andresen advises a BCH holder and says BTC may see some drama this year.

The Bitcoin Cash Lifeboat in a Sea of BTC Drama

The BCH community seems pleased with all the infrastructure building taking place within the new network environment. Currently, Core supporters are busy focusing in on the upcoming November Segwit2x hard fork and seem to be paying little attention to bitcoin cash. Quite a few speculators believe bitcoin cash might be a lifeboat if things get messy between Core and Segwit2x supporters.

What do you think about the Bitcoin Cash network’s past two months of progress? Let us know what you think in the comments below.


Images via Shutterstock, the Accept Bitcoin Cash Initiative, Bitcoincash.org, Coindance, and Coinsalad. 


Bitcoin News is growing fast. To reach our global audience, send us a news tip or submit a press release. Let’s work together to help inform the citizens of Earth (and beyond) about this new, important and amazing information network that is Bitcoin.

Morgan Stanley CEO: Bitcoin Is ‘More Than Just AFad’

The head of one of Wall Street’s biggest banks believes bitcoin is “more than just a fad.”

James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, made the comments during an event hosted by the Wall Street Journal today. According to Bloomberg, Gorman said that the privacy features of cryptocurrency are compelling.

He said:

“The concept of anonymous currency is a very interesting concept – interesting for the privacy protections it gives people, interesting because what it says to the central banking system about controlling that.”

That said, Gorman isn’t personally invested, though he did say he has encountered a number of people who have bought a stake in the market.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people who have,” he said at the event. “It’s obviously highly speculative but it’s not something that’s inherently bad. It’s a natural consequence of the whole blockchain technology.”

Gorman’s moderated stance stands in contrast to comments issued this month by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who made headlines when he said he believes bitcoin is a “fraud.” He later doubled down on those remarks, predicting that governments would move more forcefully to crack down on cryptocurrencies.

According to Bloomberg, Gorman himself pointed to that question of future regulatory developments around cryptocurrencies, wondering aloud when regulators would “decide [they] want to control monetary flows for money laundering and privacy and capital outflows and all the other reasons.”

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at [email protected].

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.

Watch: Jesse Ventura Moderates Colorado Governor Candidates in Bitcoin Debate

Two candidates jockeying for Colorado’s 2018 gubernatorial election threw their support behind cryptocurrencies during a debate over the weekend.

Appearing during the Nexus Conference in Aspen, Democrat Erik Underwood and Republican Lew Gaiter spoke about privacy, voting and issues facing the Colorado cannabis industry – and how cryptocurrencies and blockchain can fit into the equation. Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Venture, ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees and Christina Tobin, the founder of The Free and Equal Elections Foundation, moderated the debate.

Underwood and Gaiter are among a broad slate of candidates vying for the Colorado governorship, with the actual vote set for next November. Per the Denver Post, as many as ten candidates are planning to enter the race or are preparing to do so.

Gaiter, commissioner for Colorado’s Larimer County, voiced support for blockchain in the public sector, calling for the state to take a more leading role among other regions in the US.

“We need to become more technology friendly and I think that blockchain, cryptocurrency is a great place where we can be leading-edge,” he said.

Underwood, a former Republican candidate for the US Senate now seeking the Democratic nomination, also advocated for the government to play a role.

He even said that he is developing a plan for a Colorado-based cryptocurrency that would be used to help alleviate banking and payment issues in the state’s cannabis industry. Colorado voters approved the legalization of both the use and sale of marijuana in 2012.

“I have a plan to create a cryptocurrency for Colorado. And what this cryptocurrency will do is that it will link up with the cannabis industry, so we know exactly how much we’re taking in for taxes.”

Both Gaiter and Underwood said that they would defend any use of cryptocurrency or blockchain by Colorado in the event of pressure from the US government, with Underwood saying that he would take the issue to court if need be.

“We do what’s best for Coloradans. And to answer Governor Ventura’s question, we’ll go to court if necessary,” said Underwood.

A recording of the debate can be found below.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in ShapeShift.

Image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at [email protected].

Singapore-Based Bitcoin Startups Deal With Bank AccountClosures

Regulation

According to reports, a few banks in Singapore have ceased doing business with several startups that operate with cryptocurrencies. Singapore’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry Association claims that over ten companies have had issues with Singapore banks and that the corresponding financial institutions have provided no reasons for the account closures.

Also read: Korea’s Largest Messenger App Launching Exchange With 110+ Cryptocurrencies

‘We Do Not Fit Anywhere In the Current Regulatory Framework’

Singapore-Based Bitcoin Startups Deal With Bank Account ClosuresJust recently the Singapore-based startup, Coinhako, a digital currency exchange and wallet service, told its customers it had to stop processing Singapore dollar trades. According to Coinhako, one of the largest banks in Southeast Asia, DBS Group Holdings, closed the company’s account and did not detail why it was ending the banking relationship.

“The closure of our bank account might be due to matters pertaining to anti-money laundering rules and know-your-customer requirements,” explains Coinhako’s co-founder, Yusho Liu. “That’s why we go the extra mile to meet compliance standards set by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Even though we don’t fit anywhere in the current regulatory framework, Coinhako is fully committed to working towards a common consensus with the banks to allow for a more conducive environment going forward.”

Fintech and Blockchain Advocacy Groups Say Banking Issues Are Becoming More ‘Common’

Advocacy groups such as the Singapore Fintech Association, and Singapore’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Industry Association (Access), say that many businesses have approached them about banking issues. Access says over ten startups have had problems with Singapore’s financial institutions and the trend is becoming more “common.” Access Chairman Anson Zeall explains, “from our analysis, it appears to be common among leading Fintech hubs.” Even though Singapore’s central bank denies having had any influence over the decisions of these private banks, it did recently clarify the bank’s stance towards initial token offerings (ICO).

Singapore-Based Bitcoin Startups Deal With Bank Account Closures
Speculators believe the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) issues with ICOs may be the reason private banks are closing cryptocurrency companies’ accounts.

MAS Wants to Remove the “Risks” Associated With Virtual Currencies

MAS is concerned about ICOs, as evidenced by its recent statements towards this new token sale economy. The Singapore bank emphasized that the function of digital tokens has “evolved beyond just being a virtual currency”, and explained that it is committed to maintaining Singapore’s role as a “reputable financial center and fintech hub.” However, that requires “strong controls” so the central bank can curb the risks of money laundering and pyramid schemes. MAS claims it has not participated in the decision-making made by private banks and the “termination of business relationships.”

Coinhako Says ‘We Are Not Alone’

Coinhako says the startup is in the process of creating a relationship with alternative Singapore-based banks and hopes to be back up and running in roughly three weeks. The Singapore bitcoin company says it knows it’s not the only cryptocurrency business model trying to operate within this nascent industry, while also dealing with the traditional banking system.

“Regulations and the exact role of the blockchain in society continues to present as a grey area to everyone,” Coinhako notes in its closure statement. “Coinhako is not alone in the bitcoin community in having to deal with challenges presented by correspondent banks. Various other bitcoin-related companies have faced similar problems in recent days.”

What do you think about Singapore banks ending their banking relationships with cryptocurrency startups? Do you think it has anything to do with the ICO regulatory crackdowns taking place worldwide? Let us know what you think in the comments below.


Images via Shutterstock, Coinhako, and the MAS headquarters.


Have you seen our new widget service? It allows anyone to embed informative Bitcoin.com widgets on their website. They’re pretty cool, and you can customize by size and color. The widgets include price-only, price and graph, price and news, forum threads. There’s also a widget dedicated to our mining pool, displaying our hash power.