BREAKING: Everything red – What’s going on at the crypto market?

Published12. November 2018 Post authoradmin

The crypto market has to be feathered properly and falls to a total market capitalization of 560 billion US dollars. Almost all coins are going down in the double-digit range.

The exact background of the Bitcoin news can only be speculated about now

If that is not Bitcoin news: The entire market for crypto currencies turns deep red on Tuesday, the 24-hour change rate of the individual coins moves between 10 % and 30 % in the minus area. Most heavily it meets with Ripple, Cardano, NEM and Stellar (ever -25% to -30%) straight the boom Coins of the last weeks. What all the Bitcoin news mentioned have in common is that they are supposedly cheap currencies that can be purchased for an amount below or around the one-US dollar mark (keyword pennystocks).

The market as a whole is falling considerably and can now only hold 560 billion US dollars. This is its lowest level since Christmas, when the price plummeted in the course of large profit releases in view of the public holidays. For the lead currency Bitcoin, the almost 12,000 US dollars on which the crypto currency has fallen today even represent the lowest value within a month. However, it should not be forgotten that this mark was the achievement of a new all-time high a month ago.

Really obvious external shock triggers are not discernible in the clarity with which it was partly possible in the past. However, there are a few clues that might take us in the right direction. Yesterday, for example, the usual bonuses paid to brokers at the beginning of the year took place on the American stock exchanges, which usually have a strong impact on market movements in the following days. A look at the trading volumes of CBOE and CME reveals that the Bitcoin futures were also affected by the increased speculation. For example, major investors may have bet on a fall in the Bitcoin price in order to hedge themselves against this or speculate specifically on it. This principle is also called hedging in stock market circles and enables profits to be realised both when prices rise and fall.

Another source of unrest could be China

Apparently, the Chinese government is planning to further restrict trading in crypto currencies and is against access by private servers to centralized trading. Above all, the focus should be on institutional investors with market power. The entire sector will therefore have to undergo a stricter examination – from central exchanges to investors to wallet providers. More precise steps have not yet been specified.

The extent to which both events influence the currently highly nervous market cannot be confirmed with absolute certainty. However, it does provide indications as to why this price slump is likely to be temporary.

The top-down approach

Published9. November 2018 Post authoradmin

Let us assume the example of hospitals, doctors and health institutions. They store large amounts of data and patient information, but so far they have been stored centrally and individually. A blockchain could ensure that the data is decentralized and thus accessible to all institutions concerned.

The problem with this cryptosoft is that it will ultimately be implemented at the local level

In an architecture meeting, the cryptosoft blockchain can be mentioned as an alternative, but in most cases it will be left with a proposal that has not been implemented like this: https://www.onlinebetrug.net/en/cryptosoft/. The decision to organize data via the blockchain would have to be made at the strategic or industry level instead. A decision that ultimately has to be taken top-down and does not work with a bottom-up approach. The network effect puts the bottom-up approach through its paces, unlike nice-to-have technologies or technologies that are complementary rather than subsidiary.

The network of institutions in itself would have to agree to put the patient first and store data in such a way that they can always be retrieved in his favour when needed. This approach contradicts the conventional egocentric architecture of data storage. In principle, it must be determined in which way the so-called Electronic Health Records (EHR) are stored.
The organizational structure would have to break away from its process orientation in order to be able to accept patient orientation.

The complexity of the challenge

One of the most difficult questions that (not only) the Healtcare sector has to face is the question of the beginning. Especially in this example field, which is subject to strict regulation and bears a great deal of responsibility, data storage is an enormously important task. If, in extreme cases, data can lead to other decisions, e.g. by a doctor, when he rescues a patient, then it must be stored in a very stable system and retrievable at any time. This prevents new technologies or prototypes from being quickly tested in a real environment.

How a Bitcoin secret White-Hat Helped Hackers Solve a Murder Case

Published6. November 2018 Post authoradmin

In November 2016, US federal police authorities found a dead woman in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. A suicide was reported to the officers. A 9mm pistol was found next to her elbow. The officers, however, ruled out suicide based on the evidence.

Hitman and the Bitcoin secret

The Bitcoin secret story began in May 2016. The hacker „bRpsd“ broke into the database of a Darknet website for contract killers. The site called „Besa Mafia“ provided a platform for connecting clients and contract killers. A contract killing cost between $5,000 and $200,000. Customers who did not want to provoke deaths could beat up a victim for $500 or have the car set on fire for $1,000.

The hacker was able to locate several Bitcoin secret folders, including chat histories between customers and website administrators. The hacker uploaded the finds to a public website. From now on it was suddenly clear to everyone: „Besa Mafia“ was a fake.

The connection

The independent scientist, Chris Monteiro, also hacked the site. Among other things, he investigated the inflow of money to the site. White-Hat hackers see themselves as ethically and morally acting hackers. Since the term „hacker“ has been increasingly negatively evaluated in recent years, a spin-off developed into the term „white-hat hacker“, who uses his skills for moral purposes.

Through the fake offers of the Besa Mafia at least 50 Bitcoins were collected (about 113,000 Euro at the current rate 05.07.2017). When further investigations were made, a message was found from a Besa Mafia administrator:

„This website is supposed to rip off criminals. We report them [the criminals] for two reasons: to prevent murder, which is good and fair; and to avoid theories that we’ll associate with murderers if we get caught.“

The Besa Mafia Leak eventually helped the police. After Amy Allwine was found dead, the police confiscated electronics, among other things. The pseudonym „dogdaygod“ and the associated e-mail address „dogdaygod@hmamail.com“ were found on a laptop. Investigators also found Bitcoin addresses and chat histories between the Besa Mafia and dogdaygod. The pseudonym could be identified without a doubt as Amy Allwine’s husband, Stephen Carl Allwine.

The goal
After the analysis of the data found and the restriction to Allwine’s e-mail address, a letter of complaint was found. Allwine is said to have paid between $10,000 and $15,000 for a hit man to shoot his wife and then set the house on fire.

The Besa Mafia administrator is said to have informed Mr. Allwine that the hit man was arrested by the local police authorities after he was reportedly seen stealing a vehicle. Later information could not give any conclusions as to whether this really happened.

On 24 March 2017, Stephen Allwine was convicted of murder. In addition to the electronic evidence, the drug Scopolamine was found in Mrs. Allwine’s body. The dose exceeded 45 times the normal dose, which usually leads to apathy. Several pieces of evidence indicated that Mr. Allwine had also purchased the drug through a Darknet marketplace.

From Ripple, RippleNet, RippleLabs, xCurrent and crypto trader

Published3. November 2018 Post authoradmin

The following article is the continuation of our guest author’s scientific treatise and takes a close look at the Ripple ecosystem.

The biggest difference between Ripple and the other crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is that Ripple is issued by a single company – Ripple Labs. All ripples have already been produced – 100 billion of them. Ripple Labs owns 61.3 billion ripples. In early 2018, when Ripple recorded its highest ever price of 2.39 US dollars, Forbes drew the following picture:

Amazing development of the crypto trader

The founder and former crypto trader of Ripple Labs, Chris Larsen, owns 5.19 billion ripples and 17 percent of the shares in Ripple Labs. Together, this amounts to approximately $37.3 billion. Brad Garlinghouse, the current CEO of Ripple Labs and crypto trader, holds 6.3 percent of the shares in Ripple Labs and also owns Ripple. His assets are estimated at $9.5 billion.

Co-founder Jed McCaleb, who left the company in 2013, has 2 billion ripples. Another 5.3 billion ripples will be paid to him on a monthly basis. Of the 61.3 billion ripples owned by Ripple Labs, 55 billion ripples were transferred to a trust fund.

In mid-2017, Ripple Labs decided to transfer the 55 billion ripples to an electronic trust fund, which was implemented electronically by means of a so-called Smart Contract, in order to counter the growing concerns about the crypto currency Ripple. This fund releases 1 billion ripples a month to Ripple Labs for the next 4.5 years. Ripple Labs thus wanted to prevent Ripple from flooding the market, which would cause the price per Ripple to drop to a bottomless pit. Ripple Labs pays its employees with the ripples that become free. What remains is returned to the fund and distributed monthly.

The Ripple Blockchain is not limited to Ripple, but can also transfer other currencies (or other things such as airline miles).

Transaction fees

Transaction fees are always paid in Ripple. According to Ripple Labs, the transaction fees are automatically adjusted to the network load. This is to prevent individual players from sabotaging the network. Each transaction must specify how many ripples are connected to it. These ripples are then destroyed upon completion of the transaction. The transaction cost in January 2018 will be 0.00001 XRP.

Gateways
At Ripple, the transfer of funds is handled by so-called gateways. Gateways are companies or individuals who maintain Ripple’s block chain in a similar way to the miners at Bitcoin or Ethereum. So if, as shown in Figure 1, people want to exchange money in the form of Ripple or other currencies, they must first register with a gateway. This registration must not be anonymous, but requires compliance with banking regulations regarding identities. Therefore, money laundering with Ripple is not possible.

Figure 1: Gateways at Ripple identify their customers according to bank standards (i.e. not anonymously), transfer crypto currencies and other money, and maintain the block chain that Ripple calls RippleNet.

People can buy Ripple by exchanging it for real currencies. This affects the Ripple’s exchange rate. The more people buy Ripple, the higher the price. And the more gateways exist or the more stock exchanges use the Ripple Blockchain (alias RippleNet), the more stable and safe this technology becomes. So the theory.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Joseph Lubin, founder of a company focused on Ethereum, said he was amazed by the development of the Ripple (or XRP token). According to Lubin, Ripple is a useless digital currency. The only benefit is that Ripple Labs can use it to collect a lot of money to finance its projects. Since September 2016, Ripple Labs has sold about $185 million worth of Ripple Labs.

Blockchain breakthrough? Investor outlook

Published28. Oktober 2018 Post authoradmin

Michael Terpin is co-founder of BitAngels. A decentralized entrepreneur and investor group. He also runs Transform Group, a PR and marketing consulting firm focusing on blockchain.

In this CoinDesk review, Terpin divides the blockchain industry into three sectors and gives them an outlook for 2017. Looking back to 2016, one can certainly say that the blockchain sector has earned a fair share of victories, defeats and debates.

For the year 2017, however, the sector is progressing with self-confidence. Of course, there is still a chance of catastrophic events (which have occurred several times in the short life of this industry), but equally likely is parabolic growth.

So how can investors identify patterns in a growing industry?

First, an understanding of the fundamentals. I divide the industry into three categories (Bitcoin, other public blockchains and consortia, and private ledgers). Building on these categories, I give my forecast for these areas in the coming year.

Bitcoin
When David Johnston and I co-founded BitAngels more than three and a half years ago, Bitcoin was still a novelty among traditional investors. He was going through one of his toughest chicaneries. In early 2013 it stood at 13 US dollars, rose to 233 US dollars and then quickly dropped back to 50 US dollars.

When we started, the price recovered to USD 120. Everyone was curious to see if the price would recover completely by the end of the year. An investor at our first meeting, Vinny Lingham (now CEO of Blockchain-Startup Civic), made the extraordinary statement that Bitcoin would reach the price of 1,000 US dollars by December. He was right.

Prewound to December 2016 and the prehistory is strongly reminiscent of events in 2013. Long-term investors have already recognized this for Bitcoin. From my side, however, the ecosystem has greatly improved.

While all the madness of the market is still based on supply and demand, the dependence on a single exchange, Mt Gox, is no longer there. Exaggerated pricing is no longer likely today. There are dozens of independent exchanges supported by VCs and compliant by regulators.

The big trends for Bitcoin in 2017 will be from my point of view the following

1. the 1% are now getting attention
Well-known family offices already invested in 2013, when Barry Silbert offered his Bitcoin Investment Trust to accredited investors (the price was just over USD 100 per Bitcoin).

The investment became public as GBTC, which is technically not an ETF. But it was based on holding Bitcoin and actually the trade was covered (one share was covered by 0.1 BTC).

SeekingAlpha called it the „stupid investment of the week“ in March. The prices of Bitcoin and GBTC have since doubled.

2. the first Bitcoin ETF comes onto the market
One thing I predicted in a January 2014 meeting was that Bitcoin would have to get to the mainstream through an ETF. Be it on NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), so any investor can benefit as easily as buying a gold or silver ETF. (The other two things Bitcoin would need to succeed are Bitcoin debit cards and a Bitcoin exchange, which must be available in all 50 US states. Both things happened in the same year).

It now seems very likely that the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust (COIN) will be listed on NASDAQ this year.

3. the price will be higher in direct correlation to the war on cash
India, Venezuela and now Pakistan – while each new government is trying to make the banknotes even bigger (in the case of India „big“ is just 7 US dollars and in Venezuela it is even less), the people are trying to find ways to convert their cash into hard cash: Gold, Silver and Bitcoin (the only hard investment that is also digital).

While this is not as violent as the ban on cash, capital controls (China) and hyperinflation (Venezuela and much of Africa) mean that many people don’t have the opportunity to buy Euros or USD, hoping to find a currency that loses its value more slowly.

For some time Argentinians have bought stereos as a means to store their value somewhere.

Bitcoin captures the value better than used goods and in the end is even more liquid than a DVD player.

4th Bitcoin will continue to grow
My personal assessment is that Bitcoin will reach the $2,200 mark by the end of 2017. It could