Bitcoin Price Completes Bullish Monthly Close Above $4100 @bitcoinist #Bitcoin #Bitcoin Price #News #News teaser #bitcoin #bitcoin price #Halving

Bitcoin price inched higher April 1 as the largest cryptocurrency begins a new month trading above $4100.

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Bitcoin Price Holds Above $4100

Data from cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp, which traditionally hosts a more conservative price tracker than other major exchanges, showed Bitcoin at $4112 at press time Monday.

BTC/USD had hit $4129 earlier in the day, marking a high not seen since a retest of the $4000 barrier in late December 2018.

As Bitcoinist reported, concerns had lingered that a failure to close out March above $3800 would result in a fresh bearish move for the Bitcoin price.

Now, however, it would appear support remains firmly in place for BTC/USD, which has managed to stay above $4000 since March 29.

Predictably, Bitcoin advocates from trading circles were buoyed by the latest price action, entrepreneur Alistair Milne summarizing the mood on social media.

“Pretty much every OG Bitcoin trader I respect is now leaning bullish,” he wrote Sunday.

Hopes Run High In 2nd Bull Week

Bitcoin price has long caused a headache for traders and investors alike after halving from $6500 to a low of $3100 last November.

Part of what many see as a necessary bear market retraction from all-time highs of $20,000 in December 2017, the pace of price decreases has since slowed. This in turn has led to concerns that the current bullish trend is a red herring, and that further losses are even essential to decisively end the Bitcoin bear market.

That theory has nonetheless failed to dent the enthusiasm of many well-known industry figures. As Bitcoinist variously noted, crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, serial investor Tim Draper and others remain highly confident about Bitcoin price potential by 2020.

Estimates for year end vary, with a separate trend also emerging around the May 2020 Bitcoin block reward halving event.

According to calculations from venture capital firm Pantera Capital released last week, the impact of block halving may begin to appear on the market as soon as June this year.

“Although there’s only a few data points, it seems that Bitcoin’s price has shown patterns with block reward halvings,” a summary post read following near-completion of Pantera’s third VC fund.

We have seen a couple of these cycles where the tide begins to shift roughly a year in advance of these dates. Inflection points occurred 376 and 320 days prior to the 2012 and 2016 ‘halvings’, respectively. Taking their average of 348 days could indicate a bottom on June 10, 2019.

What do you think about the Bitcoin price? Let us know in the comments below!

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Images via Shutterstock, Tradingview.com

The post Bitcoin Price Completes Bullish Monthly Close Above $4100 appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.

source https://www.tokentalk.co/Bitcoinist/bitcoin-price-completes-bullish-monthly-close-above-4100-5ca1d5682133cad2642fe7a2

TRON prohibits gambling DApps for the Japanese market in an effort to comply with local regulations @TheBlock__ #Companies #dApps #gambling #Japan #law #Regulations #Tron

The TRON Foundation has issued a statement explaining that it aims to abide by loc...

The TRON Foundation has issued a statement explaining that it aims to abide by local laws and regulations, particularly focusing on Japan and its anti-gambling policies.

In an effort to conform with Japanese laws and regulations which forbid gambling in Japan, TRON states it “does not encourage or recommend any gambling DApps regarding the Japanese market.” It also discourages Japanese DApp developers from developing any gambling DApps for the platform. It also suggests developers working on gambling apps should block users with Japanese IP addresses.

“TRON will collaborate with Japanese government and provide necessary support if any TRON DApps violate Japanese laws and regulations,” TRON wrote in the statement. This statement is particularly contrasting to Justin Sun, CEO of TRON Foundation, saying that TRON performs way better than Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of decentralization.

source https://www.tokentalk.co/The Block/tron-prohibits-gambling-dapps-for-the-japanese-market-in-an-effort-to-comply-with-local-regulations-5ca1c9b02133cad2642fe7a1

Randomized Proof of Work, Privacy, and its Own Lightning Network: Usechain Makes Bold Promises @bitcoinist #News #News teaser #usechain

The alpha versi...

The alpha version of the Usechain (USE) mainnet is now live, after more than one year in development. 

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Usechain purports to be the first mirror identity blockchain project — but what does that even mean?

Randomized Proof of Work

According to Huining Cao, it’s all about Randomized Proof of Work (RPow). Cao told CNBC Africa’s Ran Neuner, according to a press release:

We map each person to the blockchain using Mirror Identity Protocol(MIP), so that each person can only have one account on the blockchain, there is a one-to-one correspondence. This allows us to use new consensus algorithm call Randomized Proof of Work(RPOW). Using RPOW, each account will receive a random number and this random number will be compared to a public random number to determine the likelihood of them to mine the next block. In this way, it will be very fast and energy efficient.

Providing Both Privacy and Regulatory Compliance?

The press release also notes that Usechain is apparently quite useful for law enforcement, as the network “can use multiple signature to have access to the ID information” of someone who uses the blockchain to evade taxes, fund terrorists, or launder money. (Nothing says economic freedom like the blockchain checking in on you.)

Though this sounds off-putting, Cao claims that Usenet almost miraculously provides privacy on top of this regulation-friendly behavior. HE stated:

However, the users also want privacy, so the hurdles to get to the intervention must be high; that’s why we use multiple signature. That is what we call a mirror identity. It is a muddled up identity that needs to be unscrambled. With this technology, we can build a blockchain platform that is compliant with regulation and provide financial services.

Usechain’s Own Lightning Network

Usechain’s boldest promise, however, comes at the end of the press release, which states that it will “introduce lightning network-like channel technology in the future to scale up to one billion users.”

We’ll believe that when we see it.

What do you think of Usechain and its bold promises to provide regulatory compliance, privacy, and Lightning Network-like solutions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Randomized Proof of Work, Privacy, and its Own Lightning Network: Usechain Makes Bold Promises appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.

source https://www.tokentalk.co/Bitcoinist/randomized-proof-of-work-privacy-and-its-own-lightning-network-usechain-makes-bold-promises-5ca188112133cad2642fe79e

The Interchange: MakerDAO, what art thou? @TheBlock__ #Genesis #Lending #Maker #Payments #Regulation #Apple Card #regulation #The Interchange

MakerDAO: A regulatory triple threat?

At SXSW, the SEC’s Senior Advisor for Digital Assets, Valerie Szczepanik, made a few comments on how algorithmic and crypto asset collateral-backed stablecoins could potentially be conside...

MakerDAO: A regulatory triple threat?

At SXSW, the SEC’s Senior Advisor for Digital Assets, Valerie Szczepanik, made a few comments on how algorithmic and crypto asset collateral-backed stablecoins could potentially be considered securities. Two statements Szczepanik made in particular have left me with a lingering worry for Maker that I just can’t shake. According to Decrypt Media:

 

“It is when a central authority controls price through a mechanism tied to the issuance, creation or redemption of another type of digital asset, or by keeping the price within a certain band controlled by supply and demand in some way that a stablecoin might be getting into the land of securities,” Szczepanik noted.

Join Genesis now and continue reading, The Interchange: MakerDAO, what art thou?!

source https://www.tokentalk.co/The Block/the-interchange-makerdao-what-art-thou-5ca16e492133cad2642fe79d

Messaging company Line is expanding into fintech @TheBlock__ #Fintech #fintech #LINE #Message app

Line is betting on a future in fintech, as per a report by The Financial Times. 

Japanese-based Line is shifting its focus from messaging to its businesses in fintech, which it plans to be profitable in three years, according to the FT.Line is betting on a future in fintech, as per a report by The Financial Times. 

Japanese-based Line is shifting its focus from messaging to its businesses in fintech, which it plans to be profitable in three years, according to the FT.

“There are challenges to expanding into new areas like fintech and payment,” Line co-CEO Shin Jungho told the FT. “But if users want this and it is an area where we can contribute to improving their lives, we need to take on the challenge even if there are some risks.” 

Line has also made headlines in the crypto world. In 2018, the firm launched its own cryptocurrency and a $10 million token fun to invest in blockchain-related projects and initiatives.

source https://www.tokentalk.co/The Block/messaging-company-line-is-expanding-into-fintech-5ca15de12133cad2642fe79b

Inside Accelor’s “trusted execution” alternative for blockchain @decryptmedia #Technology #Accelor #Blockchain #ENTREPRENEURSHIP #FPGA #Huawei

A team of electrical engineers building a sensitive chip previously worked for Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant. Does it matter?

The post Inside Accelor’s “trusted execution” alternative for blockchain appeared first on Decrypt Media.

source https://www.tokentalk.co/Decrypt/inside-accelors-trusted-execution-alternative-for-blockchain-5ca10bd92133cad2642fe79a

Making ATM Bitcoin Payments via Lightning Network Is Becoming a Reality @bitcoinist #Bitcoin #Bitcoin Technology #News #News teaser #bitcoin #Bitcoin ATM #Felix Weis #Lightning Network #Weiss Ratings

Deve...

Developer and researcher Felix Weis successfully executed, as a proof-of-concept, the world’s first ATM Bitcoin transaction on the Lightning Network.

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World’s First Lightning-enabled Bitcoin ATM ‘Worked Fine’

On March 31, 2019, Weis publicly demonstrated a transaction via Lightning Network at a bitcoin ATM, during the Lightning Hackday, in Hong Kong, as shown in the video below.

Rockstar @FelixWeis buying bitcoin via Lightning at an ATM. #LightningHackdayHK at @bitworkasia pic.twitter.com/VmsK2GSaB2

— Bitcoin Association (@bitcoinorghk) March 31, 2019

Later, Weis described the transaction as:

Just a proof of concept ‘top up your existing channel.’ Lots of bugs but two different mobile wallets worked fine.

Bitcoin Lightning Network Capacity Rises Over 1,000 BTC

The crypto industry is becoming increasingly enthusiastic about the Lightning Network because it offers to drastically lower BTC’s transaction fees while making it possible to execute near-instant transactions.

Moreover, the demonstration of making ATM Bitcoin payments over the Lightning Network comes when Weiss Crypto Ratings has just upgraded Bitcoin from a “C-” to a “B-” (good) because its technology had dramatically improved.

Weiss highlighted these conclusions in a comprehensive report on the crypto market entitled “Dark Shadows with a Bright Future, ” published in March 2019.

Specifically, the Weiss evaluation considered four factors: adoption rate, technology, risk, and reward. And, it highlighted the effect of the advent of the Lightning Network in the upgrade, as follows,

Bitcoin has been upgraded with the roll-out of its Lightning Network and is the best positioned to become a popular store of value for savers and investors.

The Lightning Network is a decentralized system where participants can implement trustless micropayment channels to perform one or multiple payment transactions off-blockchain.

These channels reside off the Bitcoin blockchain. Transactions occur between these channels. Upon completion, transactions are transmitted, as a single transaction, to the blockchain. Then, the payment channel is closed, and transactions are transcribed onto the blockchain.

Therefore, regardless of the number of transactions performed, the BTC blockchain is accessed twice, at the opening of the channel and the closing of the channel.

The implementation of Lightning Network nodes continues to gain momentum. As of this writing, according to 1ML, a Lightning Network monitoring website, the network now boasts 7,744 nodes and 39,129 channels. And the network capacity reaches over 1,059 BTC.

Will Bitcoin ATMs use Lightning Network to cut costs in the future? Let us know in the comments below!

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Images courtesy of  via Twitter/@bitcoinorghk, Weiss Crypto Ratings, Shutterstock

The post Making ATM Bitcoin Payments via Lightning Network Is Becoming a Reality appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.

source https://www.tokentalk.co/Bitcoinist/making-atm-bitcoin-payments-via-lightning-network-is-becoming-a-reality-5ca109812133cad2642fe799