Is Mobile Crypto Mining a Thing and Can It Be Profitable ...

Non-KYC options are listed below, but assuming you have a willing parent or guardian, here's an example of how that would work for a minor in the US via CashApp. Ensure your upfront with the parent or guardian as to what your doing.

1. Get a summer job with some source of direct deposit income.
2. Ask your legal guardian to help you open a "Youth Spending" checking account also called UTMA.
3. Ask for a debit card attached to the account.
4. Have your summer job paychecks direct deposited to the account.
5. Download the CashApp and link it to your phone number AND email.
6. Link the CashApp to your Youth Spending Debit card and checking account.
7. Attempt to transfer $25 from your debit card into your CashApp, assuming you have the money.
8. Ask your guardian to fill in their SSN when prompted.
9. Attempt to buy $20 in stock, ask your guardian to answer the questions.
10. Go to the Bitcoin section and click to enable bitcoin deposit and withdraw.
11. Ask your guardian to scan their license and take a selfie.

You can also apply for a CashCard which you can add to Google Pay, Android Pay, Garmin Pay, or whatever. Once all the verification are done (a day or two) you will be able to buy and sell US stocks and bitcoin in the app for a 2% fee. For all of these steps, questions about identity, name and address should all be answered as the guardian, not the minor. So the account name is in the name "Adult Smith" not "Minor Smith". Same with SSN and ID checks. You can choose to put your name on the face of the CashCard and Debit Card since this carries no legal weight. The accounts are all still legally in your parent's or guardian's name.
For even lower fees you could ask your parents or guardians to KYC through Binance, Kraken, Gemini or Coinbase to link your checking account to a real exchange.
For those with guardians or parents that would not agree to KYC for you, here are some non-KYC options, though the fees are much (much) higher than 2%.

• P2P exchanges (e.g., LocalBitcoins, Bisq, HodlHodl, Paxful, etc.,)
• Purse.io/earn (shop Amazon for BTC, must be 13yo).
• Mycelium Local Trader
• Meetup.com - Bitcoin or any meetup you can find. Ask (discretely) to buy BTC for cash after the meeting.
• Switch to Brave Browser and get small amounts of cryptocurrency while you surf, but you can't cash out till your 18.
• Buy altcoin then convert to Bitcoin. Different coins have different P2P buy options.
• Mining <= Super crazy risky unless your a savaont, makeing a profit is hard.
• Craigslist sell for Bitcoin (double the price and offer 50% off if paid with Bitcoin)
• Work for crypto (mow lawns and offer 50% off if they pay with Bitcoin).
• Look at a Bitcoin Job Board to see if you could do any work there.
• Look at Lopp's ATM List. There may be some non-KYC ATMs near you, but they are rare.

Please remember that bitcon is easy to steal. Since minor's have limited standing in US courts, most exchanges don't want to deal with them. If you proceed there is a 100% chance that someone will try to scam you. Make sure you catch every scammer you encounter, or you will go broke fast.
Source: Bitcoin for Kids

The Crypto King Report January 8th: KuCoin Picks 6/6 (Today’s Pick: PURA) NEW ICO Picks (2 New Ones!) BNTY (600%), KCS (500%), DRGN (400%), DBC (150%), ELIX (100%), SNOV (70%), TRX, POWR, ADX (NEO link), ENJ(Wallet), NEO, PAY, ICX, STRAT, XEM, ARDR, and CONFERENCES
I appreciate all my loyal followers! For tips and strategy hours before being posted to the message boards follow on Reddit, Instagram: JaketheCryptoKing and Twitter: JbtheCryptoKing. And now on Discord: https://discord.gg/JfkWfUy (join the group to reach me directly and see posts early!). If the title is a foreign language to you read my Cryto-101 post and let’s go from there: https://redd.it/7m48ne . See posts first in the new Subreddit: TheCryptoKingdom. Remember in trading minutes matter, hours are eternities.
Did you see SNOV yesterday!? We are officially 6/6 on KuCoin picks and as promised I have another one for you guys today! None of the KuCoin picks have even shown signs of pulling back. KCS will continue its dominance as KuCoin is one of the few exchanges accepting new traders (referral link below). Another very positive thing for us KuCoin early entrants is that Binance and Bittrex have suspended allowing new traders. That means guys like you are flocking to alternative exchanges (like KuCoin) to get involved in the crypto world. KuCoin has increased their daily volume every single day for the past 2-week, their twitter eagerly displays this info, and they updated their servers to handle significantly higher trading capacity. More money flowing into altcoins means the market caps will increase accordingly. Look for our moons to continue mooning. Remember moonshots are not to be day traded, they will likely end up on major exchanges which is when they will have their true moon. You could have made 70-100% on DRGN or KCS my first week posting moonshots, but if you held them, you would have made 400%. I have increased my portfolio % in moonshots as they’ve been outperforming all other sectors of crypto. This allows me to HOLD while still finding new moonshots!
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. If you do not diversify and HOLD forever, eventually you will become the hog, and get slaughtered. Traders try to make 10-20% per year, bonds earn 5% on a good year. We are earning 20-200% a day on moon shots daily. I fully support being invested in them, as I am, but this is the riskiest part of the entire crypto world. I would highly recommend removing a % of your profits from your current moonshots and either rotating them into other moonshots you have smaller holdings in, or investing in the 2 below ICOs. This does 2 important things, 1. It locks up your funds for 1 month so you don’t suffer fluctuations in the alt market, and 2. Provides you a discount for a coin that will probably be listed as a moonshot in 2 months because at 4x ICO value it will still be undervalued when compared to the total market!
So now everyone’s favorite part (as it is mine too considering we’ve been making 50% on anything held 24hrs, 100% on anything held 48hrs, and 150%-200% on anything held 72hrs).
Let’s hear it for SNOV, ELIX, DBC, BNTY, DRGN, and KCS. Not only has the moonshot list had huge gains, we have had other 100%ers in the last 10 days. XRP, BNB, NXT (80% if you were late to the party), ENJ, NEO, ICX, and XEM. We have had a very successful week, make sure you don’t forget to tip the dealeresearcheRedditer who is putting in all this effort to share winners with you!
Today’s Moonshot KuCoin Pick: PURA (The early bird gets the worm, get in early!)
Referral link for KuCoin: https://www.kucoin.com/#/?r=1cH1M
PURA is a coin predominantly traded on KuCoin. It is also one of the few that is down a decent % from yesterday with no news to support this drop. With so many alts correcting I suspect PURA will have corrected by the time I finish writing this post, or by late tomorrow afternoon. It’s trading at 4000Satoshis at 9am (as I am writing this), I expect 5500-8000 Satoshis to be approached if not surpassed by the end of day Monday (based on sell walls a spike to just under 8000Satoshis is my best estimate). There are minimal sell walls and this one should be off to the races once a few big buyers are holding. In September PURA updated their systems to have INSTAPAY, PRIVATEPAY, MASTERNODES and FAIRMINING. Unlike the ridiculously slow BTC, ETH and LTC network PURA lets you send coins instantly (seconds literally). This is what makes INSTAPAY so impressive. What about Privatepay? It lets you send the crypto using a private wallet. MASTERNODES allow anyone to mine PURA on their computer creating a larger PURA network. With a wallet already out, a mining platform set up, one of the smallest market caps on KuCoin (98million), and ways to send crypto instantly and privately I expect PURA to rival many of the larger cap coins. If PURA makes it to a larger exchange I see an easy 3x here. If PURA hits $1billion as a market cap which is very achievable within months of arriving at a larger exchange this coin will be a 10xer. Finding coins that can appreciate 10x with an exchange listing and minimal news is a very difficult thing to find. PURA is it. We are 6/6 on the moonshots so far…will we make it 7/7 as of Tuesday?!
SNOV was my pick yesterday and it appreciated nicely. It is still a favorite of mine with room to grow. Yes, we’ve all experienced a nice gain and I always follow my rule, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. However, we have to compare SNOV to other recent moonshots. Anyone who has sold a moonshot to date has lost out as my first 2 picks KCS and DRGN are up the higest %s. This demonstrates that HOLDING is as important as monitoring important times to buy and sell. I’ve added $$ (well BTC) to KuCoin as the opportunities here are much more significant than on Binance and Bittrex with new $$ and traders flowing in and new coins being listed regularly there are endless possibilities. 3 days ago money flooded into BTC as you could see in the BTC price rise. I predicted this 48hrs prior that institutional money would get involved within the next 72hrs, and we had our 20% BTC price climb. What happens immediately following a BTC price climb? The alts respond! I expected SNOV to have overreacted to the BTC climb and was correct. 24hrs prior this coin was trading at 1200Satoshis. SNOV has corrected to the pre BTC price collapse but has yet to excel like the many others located on KuCoin. Sunday’s pick was SNOV, I personally am doubled down by rotating $$ out of stagnant positions in Binance and Bittrex. I am going to continue ride the alt wave all day as SNOV, DRGN, BNTY, ELIX, KCS, and PURA (Today’s Pick!) should all trend north today. I also plan on transferring a decent amount for more KuCoin picks! Diversification is key, but it is important to still HOLD. You can be diversified among moonshots!
Monday’s move is to purchase PURA, set a price target of 60,000-70,000Satoshis over the next 72hr period. Leave a very large % in to allow it the opportunity to continue to moon, but make sure to have some crypto available for tomorrow, if not Tuesday’s next moonshot!
I believe PURA should have the highest return in the next 72hrs when compared to alternatives on KuCoin. However, SNOV should continue to trend north as new traders flock to KuCoin snapping up cheap shares. BNTY should continue its rise as it gets added to a new exchange and provides actual bounties for digital tasks (so cool!). DRGN is not left to die by Disney and is leading the charge to get on Binance (they also have a production deal coming up!). I am extremely bullish on DRGN even at a 400% increase this week. I expect a Disney associated press release in the next few weeks and a new exchange listing. KCS will win because it is one of the few exchanges still accepting new patrons, AND they give 90% of the trade commission back to KCS holders and as referrals. This type of referral and KCS dividend is unheard of in exchange marketplaces. DBC is downright amazing, combining AI and the blockchain. The moonshots have all increased, yes, but a moon is not a 70% increase. HOLD (and accumulate PURA!).
Crypterium and Covesting met their hard caps :/ but the good news is most of you were involved in these ICOs. When an ICO meets its hard cap it is clear there was significant interest and a greater likelihood of mooning immediately after exchange listing. Both the two I am now presenting I expect to reach hard caps in the coming weeks.
ICO 1: KYC Legal: KYC Legal (please use the referral as I make no $ spending countless hours researching these ICOs and coins ) referral: https://bookbuild.kyc.legal/?ref=23734776ffa2051a83eb8bc1
The first I am presenting is a new favorite of mine because of the all so dreaded KYC form. Know Your Customer. If you’ve completed an ICO recently you know the form I’m talking about. The form they give you at the end, after you’ve sent your .5eth but before they will release their tokens. Basically stating you understand this market is unregulated, etc. Well a blockchain token has in essence solved this problem. I HATE KYC forms and if the KYC system was set up in a way in which you wouldn’t have to fill out that form repeatedly for every ICO it would be more convenient for all investors and ICO companies. KYC Legal intends to do just that. According to the founder DR, “This is a simple and quick way to complete client identification procedures, which can then be used to verify the client’s identity during various financial operations (so-called KYC (“know your customer”) requirements that financial institutions and companies working with the money of private individuals use to identify and verify counterparties before starting a financial transaction). This niche is completely untapped and I HATE KYC forms enough to think this is a brilliant idea. They are calling it a “Universal alternative to Personal IDs,” on the block chain. Brilliant concept and there are 2 days left to receive the 38% discount from the final price. A 38% gain prior to token sale completion is significant, imagine what will happen when the hard cap is reached and it hits the first exchange. KYC Legal: https://bookbuild.kyc.legal/?ref=23734776ffa2051a83eb8bc1
ICO 2: HOQU Referral: https://www.hoqu.io/?ref_id=7e8ace30413be0fe224fa60d3e57868f
According to HOQU directly, “HOQU is a decentralized affiliate platform combining the performance-marketing model with blockchain technology. The aim of the project is to create a decentralized ecosystem, which will be used to build CPA services, ranging from affiliate programs to affiliate networks and related products. HOQU integrates advertisers, networks and affiliates into a single platform, significantly reducing the financial costs for all market participants.” Currently we have decentralized markets for advertisers, networks, and affiliates, HOQU intends to combine all 3 into one platform on the blockchain. This satisfies the need to fulfill a niche market. Not to mention their team is exceptionally active posting on twitter and doing shows across the U.S., currently at a crypto convention in Las Vegas. This is an active team (not a scam hiding in Eastern Europe or Asia) with a niche implementable platform. I see this being a true moon candidate following listing on an exchange! Please use my referral, thank you: https://www.hoqu.io/?ref_id=7e8ace30413be0fe224fa60d3e57868f
All below information has been updated on Monday at 1am EST. This will help individuals follow what information has been repeated/edited.
Personally I am using funds that were in BTC, ETH, and LTC to buy new alts. BTC spiked 2 days ago making alts exceptionally cheap! I’d recommend adding funds in FIAT, selling BTC, or selling alts you do not have faith in to reallocate to strong January plays (either on Binance, Bittrex, or KuCoin - My new favorite if you’ve been following our %s).
As expected today was be a big day for ENJ as their wallet and Minecraft plugin debut are approaching quickly! I believe besides moonshots, STRAT and NEO will be the top performers overall in January. NEO has conferences and guaranteed publicity the entire month and STRAT has a new ICO platform.
Make sure to open an account to trade these coins on Binance: https://www.binance.com/?ref=15316928
My 3 favorite conference plays for the next 2 weeks are: WAVES, ARK, and SONM. These 3 are all at events in the next 2 weeks of January (Waves and ARK are at a conference in Miami I will be attending!). The cost of attendance to these conferences start at $1,000 (I will need tips to cover costs !). However, they provide exposure to the top individuals and founders of coins with billions of dollars in market cap. In comparison to other coins speaking at the largest January events WAVES, ARK, and SONM’s price has not appreciated this week in correlation to the others. They are also the smallest market cap coins presenting at these huge conferences. This provides an opportunity to purchase WAVES, ARK, and SONM at an undervalued price. As their conferences in mid-January approach I expect their price to trend north rapidly, peaking on the day of, or day after the conference. These should be focal points if you shy away from moonshots (which you shouldn’t!).
TRX (BUY) Lots of individuals were hating on my Reddit 2 days ago about me calling TRX to recover from .16, here we are back above $.21! The price fell over 30% 2 days ago and has almost completely recovered! TRX has a game coming out this month and I expect it to continue to trend North as one of Binance’s cheapest options with a monetized game on the horizon. I do not know if you played Cryptokitties but it crashed the Ether network. TRX is a much faster and less expensive network to process information on. I expect the game this month to be the second that monetizes gaming through cryptocurrency leading to TRX’s short term success. I’d expect another 100-300% returns leading up to the release of a game on their TRX platform.
STRAT (BUY and HOLD). I have an interesting update!!! STRAT is developing a Breeze wallet with Tumblebit which makes Bitcoin transactions private through the STRAT network. The biggest problems with BTC is its transparency and it’s speed. STRAT will help alleviate the transparency aspects for those who want to conceal how much they send/receive. A wallet that manages to conceal your BTC holdings (makes it similar to privacy coins). STRAT’s money for advertising has been saved with the anticipation of a high volume publicity campaign upon release of their new wallet and ICO platform. Once funds are spent advertising the STRAT ICO platform, their 2 flagships are announced, and their wallet is functional (all happening this month) I expect the price not only to trend north but more than double if not triple. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 100%-300% returns on a fairly safe crypto investment (normally the riskiest coins provide this monthly). Their twitter confirmed the 2 ICOs coming out in the next few weeks, when the official announcement is made we are looking at 100-200% gains.
STRAT is on the cusp of being able to host ICO’s for other companies. This is extremely valuable technology and they’ve announced it will be ready to go this week. Would anyone like to know the going rate of an ICO? 20-40BTC. Per ICO these small companies and their coin holders are making $250k-$600k at the current BTC prices. This is a very big business. They’ve also announced 2 Flagship ICOs that will be available on their STRATIS network in January. The platform to host ICOs goes live this week, and within 2 weeks we find out which ICOs STRAT is hosting, then their wallet and advertising rollout. This should be a very positive 2 weeks for STRAT. As the crypto market continues to expand, the need for new ICO platforms will expand as well. This is my safest, favorite coin for January.
ICX (BUY and HOLD) ICX has had about a 50% run this week and continued to perform yesterday. This is again a good opportunity to buy as I am still very bullish on this coin. The price will trend north until the end of the month where the blast off will occur. The Koreans love this little coin so much it is hosting its first blockchain conference in the tallest building in Seoul at the end of January. This will be enormous exposure for a coin which Koreans are already in love with. Their mainnet although once delayed was promised to be released prior to their January conference. Based on big news and Asian trading volume this should continue to trend North. Asians trade more than Americans. Koreans are the highest volume trading country in Asia, and they happen to love ICX. ICX should continue to trend north leading up to their conference in the end of January. This is an accumulate on dips until the January 25th conference. I am not sure we will see many more dips unless BTC has a run to 25k but continue to accumulate, this should trend north toward $20 by the end of January.
TNB (BUY) has a BETA version of the Android and IOS wallet being released this month. This is one of the few coins that didn’t take a beating yesterday. Being able to take your funds with you is exceptionally important. Having a good looking interface is equally important. TNB looks to accomplish both tasks this month. It is also one of the cheapest coins on Binance, a plus for those looking for cheap coin acquisitions! I like TNB as a cheap Binance coin with truly significant potential.
POWR(BUY), is a semi-finalist in an event coming up on January 9th. This event should provide plenty of exposure for one of the few ICOs supported by a government (Australia). A county that struggles with power grid failure could succeed in implementing the first cryptocurrency related directly to trading power, electricity on the blockchain. I expect a strong 2 weeks from POWR. Expect to see significant returns in the next 72hrs especially if they are not only a semi-finalist but make the finalist list!
ENJ (BUY and HOLD), Did you see yesterday’s gains, almost 30% up from the prior day’s dips!? I hope you listened on this one! Enjin is coming out with a Minecraft Plugin and Digital Wallet for your phone. The coin is a token designed specifically for gaming, a quickly expanding realm for digital currency. With a Minecraft Plugin and Digital Wallet being completed shortly this coin should continue to appreciate. They are also running a promotion giving away free ENJ on the Minecraft platform to get users involved. What could be a better boost to your coin value than a working Minecraft Plugin and a brand new wallet?
ARDR(BUY) Honestly, Bittrex is beginning to frustrate me. I haven’t received my IGNIS and ARDR has been unable to be sold, bought, or transferred in weeks. I recommend moving $ to KuCoin and enjoying these insane %s. However, currently like many of you I have a large holding in ARDR which I still believe strongly in but would like the opportunity to sell if I choose! Their platform successfully launched Jan 1st. All those NXT you’ve been holding for the free IGNIS are used specifically on the ARDR block chain. With a new platform and coins to be used on it this will be a positive week for ARDR with exceptionally high returns correlated with the new platform and IGNIS’s continued appreciation. I believe ARDR and its new network will experience positive publicity and a successful launch of IGNIS. I would continue to buy and hold as the ARDR network gets rolling.
XEM(BUY), They had their pop 2 days ago and has since decreased with the rest of the market! It is time to get XEM on sale prior to their hackathon beginning this week! Each coin has a specific reason for their being undervalued. Catapult, which is version 2.0 of NEM is to be released very soon. Following Catapult is a 4-week hackathon beginning the first week in January. There is nothing better to build awareness and test out their new Catapult network they’ll be releasing this week, then a worldwide hackathon and a new update to their NEM network. XEM will have a pop this week when Catapult goes live, followed by a 4-week awareness rally driven by a worldwide hackathon.
ADX (BUY), has had an impressive run but taken a recent dip. It remains a favorite of mine for multiple reasons. One of my favorite parts about ADX is they have a profitable platform already for coin holders. This is essential for every coin. Without a platform for a functioning coin, the coin is just unique code using up electricity. ADX advertised space on EasyJet boarding passes successfully last month and now is selling over 1 million more advertising spaces. This is a profitable coin with a strong future already occurring. ADX wins because NEO wins, Asian markets enjoy trading even more than the U.S. currently. This trend should continue as ADX continues its trend north. Their next partnership or announcement will lead to the next big pop in price, but as far as a coin goes, this is a safe option with stable returns that has a functioning and profitable platform.
NEO (BUY and HOLD), is an important hold in all portfolios as it is hands down the Asian Ether. NEO has one of the biggest January’s of any coin and is up over 70% since I recommended it originally. NEO has meetups in Dublin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, and London the first two weeks of January. Everyone sees the upcoming calendar and realizes the next 2 months will provide more exposure than any 12-month period in crypto history. NEO is the latest addition to the buy and HOLD list. They end the month of January speaking at 2 of the largest blockchain conferences in the world. This will be one of the strongest plays for January 2018.
PAY (BUY and HOLD I believe they have a strong platform and an upcoming rollout which will allow users to deposit crypto and receive cash at ATMs or use it as a Debit Card. This is an important transition as few enjoy the hassle laden process of transferring back to bank accounts. If you must divest this is one I would divest from.
Some Lovely Followers Requested I Provide Addresses for “Thank You’s and Holiday Cheer” Here are 4 address to help provide my girlfriend with presents so I can spend more time researching! What is 5% of the 200% I earned you this week?
ETH: Address: 0xdef6b4415635d15b0dc50e7039ef73c33e622f22 LTC Address: LiTtwXUMCMmch5oKUXfrXMqXWnG6jLg3qD BTC Address: 1LFLx3cXD1xiqCrupZJKf8p6pR23JRZWtP DASH Address: Xi9637XDyW2Q6wtRyGLsNXbJHj4UZ2M3kN (cheapest way to send!) KCS Address: 0x56d0a5b42a8313c36d8fe7a37ee3ccade7e4e6e1
XMR Deposit Address:44tLjmXrQNrWJ5NBsEj2R77ZBEgDa3fEe9GLpSf2FRmhexPvfYDUAB7EXX1Hdb3aMQ9FLqdJ56yaAhiXoRsceGJCRS3Jxkn XMR Deposit ID: b72e438346259f2828feaec4b04f0a95034b6364853f6f33d2370f57a37a1753

As cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology become more abundant throughout our society, it’s important to understand the inner workings of this technology, especially if you plan to use cryptocurrency as an investment vehicle. If you’re new to the crypto-sphere, learning about Bitcoin makes it much easier to understand other cryptocurrencies as many other altcoins' technologies are borrowed directly from Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is one of those things that you look into only to discover you have more questions than answers, and right as you’re starting to wrap your head around the technology; you discover the fact that Bitcoin has six other variants (forks), the amount of politics at hand, or that there are over a thousand different cryptocurrencies just as complex if not even more complex than Bitcoin.
We are currently in the infancy of blockchain technology and the effects of this technology will be as profound as the internet. This isn’t something that’s just going to fade away into history as you may have been led to believe. I believe this is something that will become an integral part of our society, eventually embedded within our technology. If you’re a crypto-newbie, be glad that you're relatively early to the industry. I hope this post will put you on the fast-track to understanding Bitcoin, blockchain, and how a large percentage of cryptocurrencies work.

Community Terminology

Altcoin: Short for alternative coin. There are over 1,000 different cryptocurrencies. You’re probably most familiar with Bitcoin. Anything that isn’t Bitcoin is generally referred to as an altcoin.
HODL: Misspelling of hold. Dank meme accidentally started by this dude. Hodlers are much more interested in long term gains rather than playing the risky game of trying to time the market.
TO THE MOON: When a cryptocurrency’s price rapidly increases. A major price spike of over 1,000% can look like it’s blasting off to the moon. Just be sure you’re wearing your seatbelt when it comes crashing down.
FUD: Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt.
FOMO: Fear of missing out.
Bull Run: Financial term used to describe a rising market.
Bear Run: Financial term used to describe a falling market.

What Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin (BTC) is a decentralized digital currency that uses cryptography to secure and ensure validity of transactions within the network. Hence the term crypto-currency. Decentralization is a key aspect of Bitcoin. There is no CEO of Bitcoin or central authoritative government in control of the currency. The currency is ran and operated by the people, for the people. One of the main development teams behind Bitcoin is blockstream.
Bitcoin is a product of blockchain technology. Blockchain is what allows for the security and decentralization of Bitcoin. To understand Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, you must understand to some degree, blockchain. This can get extremely technical the further down the rabbit hole you go, and because this is technically a beginners guide, I’m going to try and simplify to the best of my ability and provide resources for further technical reading.

A Brief History

Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto. The identity of Nakamoto is unknown. The idea of Bitcoin was first introduced in 2008 when Nakamoto released the Bitcoin white paper - Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Later, in January 2009, Nakamoto announced the Bitcoin software and the Bitcoin network officially began.
I should also mention that the smallest unit of a Bitcoin is called a Satoshi. 1 BTC = 100,000,000 Satoshis. When purchasing Bitcoin, you don’t actually need to purchase an entire coin. Bitcoin is divisible, so you can purchase any amount greater than 1 Satoshi (0.00000001 BTC).

What Is Blockchain?

Blockchain is a distributed ledger, a distributed collection of accounts. What is being accounted for depends on the use-case of the blockchain itself. In the case of Bitcoin, what is being accounted for is financial transactions.
The first block in a blockchain is referred to as the genesis block. A block is an aggregate of data. Blocks are also discovered through a process known as mining (more on this later). Each block is cryptographically signed by the previous block in the chain and visualizing this would look something akin to a chain of blocks, hence the term, blockchain.
For more information regarding blockchain I’ve provided more resouces below:

• How Does a Blockchain Work - Simply Explained
• Blockchain 101 - A Visual Demo
• Bitcoin for Beginners - Andreas Antonopoulos

What is Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin mining is one solution to the double spend problem. Bitcoin mining is how transactions are placed into blocks and added onto the blockchain. This is done to ensure proof of work, where computational power is staked in order to solve what is essentially a puzzle. If you solve the puzzle correctly, you are rewarded Bitcoin in the form of transaction fees, and the predetermined block reward. The Bitcoin given during a block reward is also the only way new Bitcoin can be introduced into the economy. With a halving event occurring roughly every 4 years, it is estimated that the last Bitcoin block will be mined in the year 2,140. (See What is Block Reward below for more info).
Mining is one of those aspects of Bitcoin that can get extremely technical and more complicated the further down the rabbit hole you go. An entire website could be created (and many have) dedicated solely to information regarding Bitcoin mining. The small paragraph above is meant to briefly expose you to the function of mining and the role it plays within the ecosystem. It doesn’t even scratch the surface regarding the topic.

How do you Purchase Bitcoin?

The most popular way to purchase Bitcoin through is through an online exchange where you trade fiat (your national currency) for Bitcoin.
Popular exchanges include:

• Coinbase
• Kraken
• Cex
• Gemini

There’s tons of different exchanges. Just make sure you find one that supports your national currency.

Volatility

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are EXTREMELY volatile. Swings of 30% or more within a few days is not unheard of. Understand that there is always inherent risks with any investment. Cryptocurrencies especially. Only invest what you’re willing to lose.

Transaction & Network Fees

Transacting on the Bitcoin network is not free. Every purchase or transfer of Bitcoin will cost X amount of BTC depending on how congested the network is. These fees are given to miners as apart of the block reward.
Late 2017 when Bitcoin got up to $20,000USD, the average network fee was ~$50. Currently, at the time of writing this, the average network fee is $1.46. This data is available in real-time on BitInfoCharts.

Security

In this new era of money, there is no central bank or government you can go to in need of assistance. This means the responsibility of your money falls 100% into your hands. That being said, the security regarding your cryptocurrency should be impeccable. The anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies alone makes you a valuable target to hackers and scammers. Below I’ve detailed out best practices regarding securing your cryptocurrency.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication is a second way of authenticating your identity upon signing in to an account. Most cryptocurrency related software/websites will offer or require some form of 2FA. Upon creation of any crypto-related account find the Security section and enable 2FA.

SMS Authentication

The most basic form of 2FA which you are probably most familiar with. This form of authentication sends a text message to your smartphone with a special code that will allow access to your account upon entry. Note that this is not the safest form of 2FA as you may still be vulnerable to what is known as a SIM swap attack. SIM swapping is a social engineering method in which an attacker will call up your phone carrier, impersonating you, in attempt to re-activate your SIM card on his/her device. Once the attacker has access to your SIM card he/she now has access to your text messages which can then be used to access your online accounts. You can prevent this by using an authenticator such as Google Authenticator.

Authenticator

The use of an authenticator is the safest form of 2FA. An authenticator is installed on a seperate device and enabling it requires you input an ever changing six digit code in order to access your account. I recommend using Google Authenticator.
If a website has the option to enable an authenticator, it will give you a QR code and secret key. Use Google Authenticator to scan the QR code. The secret key consists of a random string of numbers and letters. Write this down on a seperate sheet of paper and do not store it on a digital device.
Once Google Authenticator has been enabled, every time you sign into your account, you will have to input a six-digit code that looks similar to this. If you happen to lose or damage the device you have Google Authenticator installed on, you will be locked out of your account UNLESS you have access to the secret key (which you should have written down).

Hardware Wallets

A wallet is what you store Bitcoin and cryptocurrency on. I’ll provide resources on the different type of wallets later but I want to emphasize the use of a hardware wallet (aka cold storage).
Hardware wallets are the safest way of storing cryptocurrency because it allows for your crypto to be kept offline in a physical device. After purchasing crypto via an exchange, I recommend transferring it to cold storage. The most popular hardware wallets include the Ledger Nano S, and Trezor.
Hardware wallets come with a special key so that if it gets lost or damaged, you can recover your crypto. I recommend keeping your recovery key as well as any other sensitive information in a safety deposit box.
I know this all may seem a bit manic, but it is important you take the necessary security precautions in order to ensure the safety & longevity of your cryptocurrency.

Technical Aspects of Bitcoin

TL;DR

• Address: What you send Bitcoin to.
• Wallet: Where you store your Bitcoin
• Max Supply: 21 million
• Block Time: ~10 minutes
• Block Size: 1-2 MB
• Block Reward: BTC reward received from mining.

What is a Bitcoin Address?

A Bitcoin address is what you send Bitcoin to. If you want to receive Bitcoin you’d give someone your Bitcoin address. Think of a Bitcoin address as an email address for money.

What is a Bitcoin Wallet?

As the title implies, a Bitcoin wallet is anything that can store Bitcoin. There are many different types of wallets including paper wallets, software wallets and hardware wallets. It is generally advised NOT to keep cryptocurrency on an exchange, as exchanges are prone to hacks (see Mt. Gox hack).
My preferred method of storing cryptocurrency is using a hardware wallet such as the Ledger Nano S or Trezor. These allow you to keep your crypto offline in physical form and as a result, much more safe from hacks. Paper wallets also allow for this but have less functionality in my opinion.
After I make crypto purchases, I transfer it to my Ledger Nano S and keep that in a safe at home. Hardware wallets also come with a special key so that if it gets lost or damaged, you can recover your crypto. I recommend keeping your recovery key in a safety deposit box.

What is Bitcoins Max Supply?

The max supply of Bitcoin is 21 million. The only way new Bitcoins can be introduced into the economy are through block rewards which are given after successfully mining a block (more on this later).

What is Bitcoins Block Time?

The average time in which blocks are created is called block time. For Bitcoin, the block time is ~10 minutes, meaning, 10 minutes is the minimum amount of time it will take for a Bitcoin transaction to be processed. Note that transactions on the Bitcoin network can take much longer depending on how congested the network is. Having to wait a few hours or even a few days in some instances for a transaction to clear is not unheard of.
Other cryptocurrencies will have different block times. For example, Ethereum has a block time of ~15 seconds.
For more information on how block time works, Prabath Siriwardena has a good block post on this subject which can be found here.

What is Bitcoins Block Size?

There is a limit to how large blocks can be. In the early days of Bitcoin, the block size was 36MB, but in 2010 this was reduced to 1 MB in order to prevent distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS), spam, and other malicious use on the blockchain. Nowadays, blocks are routinely in excess of 1MB, with the largest to date being somewhere around 2.1 MB.
There is much debate amongst the community on whether or not to increase Bitcoin’s block size limit to account for ever-increasing network demand. A larger block size would allow for more transactions to be processed. The con argument to this is that decentralization would be at risk as mining would become more centralized. As a result of this debate, on August 1, 2017, Bitcoin underwent a hard-fork and Bitcoin Cash was created which has a block size limit of 8 MB. Note that these are two completely different blockchains and sending Bitcoin to a Bitcoin Cash wallet (or vice versa) will result in a failed transaction.
Update: As of May 15th, 2018 Bitcoin Cash underwent another hard fork and the block size has increased to 32 MB.
On the topic of Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash and which cryptocurrency is better, I’ll let you do your own research and make that decision for yourself. It is good to know that this is a debated topic within the community and example of the politics that manifest within the space. Now if you see community members arguing about this topic, you’ll at least have a bit of background to the issue.

What is Block Reward?

Block reward is the BTC you receive after discovering a block. Blocks are discovered through a process called mining. The only way new BTC can be added to the economy is through block rewards and the block reward is halved every 210,000 blocks (approximately every 4 years). Halving events are done to limit the supply of Bitcoin. At the inception of Bitcoin, the block reward was 50BTC. At the time of writing this, the block reward is 12.5BTC. Halving events will continue to occur until the amount of new Bitcoin introduced into the economy becomes less than 1 Satoshi. This is expected to happen around the year 2,140. All 21 million Bitcoins will have been mined. Once all Bitcoins have been mined, the block reward will only consist of transaction fees.

Technical Aspects Continued

Understanding Nodes

Straight from the Bitcoin.it wiki

Any computer that connects to the Bitcoin network is called a node. Nodes that fully verify all of the rules of Bitcoin are called full nodes.

In other words, full nodes are what verify the Bitcoin blockchain and they play a crucial role in maintaining the decentralized network. Full nodes store the entirety of the blockchain and validate transactions. Anyone can participate in the Bitcoin network and run a full node. Bitcoin.org has information on how to set up a full node. Running a full node also gives you wallet capabilities and the ability to query the blockchain.
For more information on Bitcoin nodes, see Andreas Antonopoulos’s Q&A on the role of nodes.

What is a Fork?

A fork is a divergence in a blockchain. Since Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer network, there’s an overall set of rules (protocol) in which participants within the network must abide by. These rules are put in place to form network consensus. Forks occur when implementations must be made to the blockchain or if there is disagreement amongst the network on how consensus should be achieved.

Soft Fork vs Hard Fork

The difference between soft and hard forks lies in compatibility. Soft forks are backwards compatible, hard forks are not. Think of soft forks as software upgrades to the blockchain, whereas hard forks are a software upgrade that warrant a completely new blockchain.
During a soft fork, miners and nodes upgrade their software to support new consensus rules. Nodes that do not upgrade will still accept the new blockchain.
Examples of Bitcoin soft forks include:

• P2SH
• BIP66

A hard fork can be thought of as the creation of a new blockchain that X percentage of the community decides to migrate too. During a hard fork, miners and nodes upgrade their software to support new consensus rules, Nodes that do not upgrade are invalid and cannot accept the new blockchain.
Examples of Bitcoin hard forks include:

• Bitcoin Cash
• Bitcoin Gold

Note that these are completely different blockchains and independent from the Bitcoin blockchain. If you try to send Bitcoin to one of these blockchains, the transaction will fail.

A Case For Bitcoin in a World of Centralization

Our current financial system is centralized, which means the ledger(s) that operate within this centralized system are subjugated to control, manipulation, fraud, and many other negative aspects that come with this system. There are also pros that come with a centralized system, such as the ability to swiftly make decisions. However, at some point, the cons outweigh the pros, and change is needed. What makes Bitcoin so special as opposed to our current financial system is that Bitcoin allows for the decentralized transfer of money. Not one person owns the Bitcoin network, everybody does. Not one person controls Bitcoin, everybody does. A decentralized system in theory removes much of the baggage that comes with a centralized system. Not to say the Bitcoin network doesn’t have its problems (wink wink it does), and there’s much debate amongst the community as to how to go about solving these issues. But even tiny steps are significant steps in the world of blockchain, and I believe Bitcoin will ultimately help to democratize our financial system, whether or not you believe it is here to stay for good.

Final Conclusions

Well that was a lot of words… Anyways I hope this guide was beneficial, especially to you crypto newbies out there. You may have come into this realm not expecting there to be an abundance of information to learn about. I know I didn’t. Bitcoin is only the tip of the iceberg, but now that you have a fundamental understanding of Bitcoin, learning about other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, and Ethereum will come more naturally.
Feel free to ask questions below! I’m sure either the community or myself would be happy to answer your questions.
Thanks for reading!

Related Links

Guides

• Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash
• Bitcoin vs Ethereum
• Bitcoin vs Litecoin

Exchanges

• How to use Coinbase
• How to use Binance

Author's Note:
Elastos was discussed in this group twice, albeit 7 and 9 months ago, respectively. To do the project justice my intention is to give existing and new CryptoMoonShots group followers an update as the overall market has changed considerably and to factor in project-specific developments following the two mentions of Elastos here.
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Definitions:
Content Creators and/or Developers: Individuals and enterprises that generate, design, and create digital assets.
Digital Capital: An individuals videos, photos, written text, written or spoken ideas, music, time, and attention
Big Tech: Companies like Alphabet, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter to name a few.
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Project Introduction:
The design philosophy of Elastos originated from Rong Chen, a former senior software engineer at Microsoft. Building on his experience at Microsoft, Chen wanted to create a platform in which applications and services are not allowed to access the Internet directly. Without access to the network, malware would not be able to steal user data or attack other services on the Internet. Chen’s vision was subsequently developed into an open-source, lightweight operating system for virtual machines (github.com/Elastos). In 2017, blockchain technology was integrated into Chen’s vision, enabling development of the Elastos Smart Web.
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The project is focused on developing a decentralized internet platform where digital assets are owned, distributed, and monetized by Content Creators and/or Developers that own it. To understand this, it is imperative to understand the current internet model (Internet 2.0). Big tech currently owns the internet and everything in it: your videos, your photos, your written text, your ideas, your music, your time, your attention - and the most important in this context - the means of distribution - let's call this Digital Capital. In the current model, Content Creators and/or Developers are forced to distribute their capital through channels owned by Big Tech, which rob creators of their rights and profits.
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Elastos is building the boundlessly scalable platform where digital capital can be published, distributed, and monetized by creators while allowing creators and developers to retain their rights. This platform will allow for decentralized applications (Dapps) to operate on a peer-to-peer network with no centralized control. Consumers can access these Dapps via their mobile phones without changing their operating system. The old Internet is a Web of information. If you click a URL, you get data. Elastos is creating a Web of apps. When you click a URL, you get code. The Elastos Web will be a special economic zone where Elastos tokens function as the base currency.
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The project is open-source software whose development process has been sponsored by industry giants such as the Tsinghua Science Park, the TD-SCDMA Industrial Alliance and the Foxconn Group for more than 200 million RMB. The project has published more than ten million lines of source code, including four million lines of original source code. The Elastos blockchain utilizes merged mining with Bitcoin, the process by which consensus is reached on both chains simultaneously. In this case, the Bitcoin blockchain works as the parent blockchain to Elastos, with the Elastos chain as its auxiliary blockchain. The mining pools will deploy merged mining code and miners will submit proof of work to both blockchains at the same time. Energy consumption does not increase with merged mining, and will be equal to the energy consumed for mining either alone. Through this mechanism, the Elastos blockchain has an extremely strong guarantee of computing power and will then be able to provide blockchain innovations at a global scale. It makes full use of existing Bitcoin computing resources in addition to being environmentally friendly.
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Live Products
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Elastos SPV Wallet
Elastos provides an SPV Wallet SDK equipped with a series of wallet-related interfaces to enable users to develop unique wallets that connect to the Elastos blockchain. Sample applications are available now.
Elastos Blockchain Merged Mining
Elastos’ main public blockchain is merged mined with bitcoin, which enables pre-existing bitcoin miners to update their clients to simultaneously mine Elastos without expending excess energy. The merged mining is currently open only to the BTC.com mining pool.
Elastos DID Sidechain Service
Elastos provides a Decentralized ID (DID) Sidechain Service to be used in applications. On the Elastos ecosystem, every user, every device and every app has its own DID and can store any value that is associated with that ID on this sidechain. The DID service paves the way for a more secure and trustable internet, as this allows for seamless interoperability between DApps and IDs are assigned to users from the blockchain rather than having them assigned by a company.
Elastos TV Box
Although Elastos does not sell the TV Box directly, the Elastos Carrier is embedded inside. The Elastos TV Box is presently used for simple features such as remote control in a decentralized peer to peer fashion. In the future, these TV Boxes and many other IoT devices that have Elastos Carrier installed will be capable of running as IPFS nodes for supporting the distributed file storage network for the Elastos ecosystem.
Elastos Dittobox
Any individual can establish a unique dittobox server on a personal computer that integrates ownCloud server and Elastos Carrier. The dittobox server can be installed onto a computer behind the router, and all files stored on the server are accessible from anywhere in the world via the Elastos Carrier network.
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Beta Products
Elastos Blockchain PoW + DPoS
Elastos main blockchain will employ a hybrid consensus of PoW + DPoS where the PoW is merged mined with bitcoin and both are used to package blocks while the DPoS nodes are used for signing. This creates a finality in the blocks which will prevent the chain from forking.
Elastos Token Sidechain Service
Elastos DApps utilize this service to generate application-specific native tokens within the Elastos ecosystem. As such, each application can create its own token on demand, and without friction.
Elastos Smart Contract Sidechain Service
Elastos provides a unique sidechain service that is designated to running and executing smart contracts. These smart contracts are compatible with ERC20 and ERC721 tokens, which enables Ethereum DApps to run smoothly within the Elastos ecosystem.
Elastos Hive
Elastos will provide a distributed storage system that apps can utilize to store files, messages in a p2p chat, videos, music, and more.
Elastos Elapay
Elapay is a payment tool that enables payment with ELA. Two types of payments will be supported. The first is “Pay On Order,” which encompasses standard commercial purchases, and will require merchants to integrate Elapay service into their web apps in order to offer users this payment option alongside the likes of credit card and cash payments. The second is “Point to Point Pay,” which involves individuals exchanging funds between themselves. “Point to Point Pay” uses an html5 page that can be shared on social media outlets such as Facebook or Wechat to send or receive ELA. Elapay can be expended for a variety of purposes – from purchasing a virtual asset in an online video game to standard online shopping expenditures. It simply represents another method of paying for goods and services at checkout.
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Alpha Products
Elastos Trinity
A cross-platform browser application that runs on Android and will be available for iOS in the future. This is a form of the Elastos virtual machine and a demo of Elastos Runtime where decentralized applications written for Elastos run in a secure sandboxed environment. These are Ionic framework applications. Also, the SPV wallet functionality and the payment functions will be embedded inside the browser so that other DApps that run on Trinity can easily integrate with the available features.
Elastos Carrier SDK
Elastos Carrier provides SDK for Android (Java), iOS (Swift/Objective C), and nodeJS that can be utilized to connect to the decentralized peer to peer network that takes over all of the network traffic on the Elastos ecosystem, such as messaging, file transfer, and more.
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On January 16, 2019 the Intelligent Grouping and Resource Sharing (IGRS) board issued Elastos a formal membership certificate, thus making official its entrance into the IGRS Industry Association. In conjunction with Association members, Elastos will explore the opportunities and potential synergies presented by blockchain and IoT, in the joint hopes of creating a robust IoT industry ecosystem.
Source: https://news.elastos.org/elastos-joins-the-igrs-industry-association/
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Recently an ecosystem partner meetup revealed 900k TV Boxes sold and 180k registered DIDs via our partner app Viewchain. The Elephant Wallet also hit the Apple App Store and Google Play.
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In June, 2018 Elastos partnered with ioeX, an internet of things platform that was much anticipated. The ioeX project is a behemoth on its own and is built on the Elastos platform.
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**There are countless other exciting milestones that were achieved in 2018 and planned for 2019. Refer to https://news.elastos.org/.*\*
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Market Sizing, Factors, and ELA's Potential
In the current market, Elastos' market cap of fluctuates between $31 million and $35 million with ~14,574,261 ELA coins in circulation ($2.1 to $2.3 per ELA) and total coin supply of 34,104,561.
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ELA is currently listed on LBANK, CoinEgg, Huobi, HBUS, Kucoin, BCEX, and BIT-Z, the majority of which are low volume exchanges.
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Binance Exchange controversy: Although various sources say different things, the evidence points to one plausible story: The Elastos foundation refused to pay Binance's listing fee and backed out of the listing the coin. Binance followed suit by tarnishing the project reputation using various media.
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Based on the projects scope, the team's background and leadership, the project's backers, affiliations, and partnerships, and projects with similar mandates the project has the potential to be worth close to $500 million (15x) in the short term (less than 12 months) and several billion over the longer term (1 to 2 years).
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The largest barrier to achieving it's objectives is adoption by developers. The chicken or the egg dilemma is that some argue listing ELA on major exchanges will incentivize developers to build on the platform because the coins value will appreciate others ague that the underlying technology must far outperform the incumbent to incentivize migration and hence drive the coins value. It's probably a combination of the two.
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I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this assessment.
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Thanks!

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cyberlaws Cyberpunk_Music CyberVeinOfficial cyclocross cynicalbritofficial czech CZFirearms

Coinbase Tutorial. A Definitive Guide for Newcomers.

As cryptocurrencies become more abundant throughout our society, more information must be prevalent to educate the newcomers into the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. If you’re new to cryptocurrencies, then you’ve come to the right place as Coinbase is one of the simplest cryptocurrency trading platforms to get started on. Once you understand Coinbase, more advanced trading platforms such as Binance won’t seem as intimidating.

What is Coinbase?

Coinbase is a cryptocurrency trading platform which allows you to buy and sell five different cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin. Note that there are over thousands of different cryptocurrencies but these four are what Coinbase specializes in.

Making a Coinbase account

Creating a Coinbase account is very simple but there’s much more to it compared to something like creating a Reddit account. Be sure to have either your driver’s license, passport, or identification card at hand as you’ll be asked to provide this information via upload.
Coinbase currently has a sign-up promotion going on. If you haven't signed up yet, sign up using this link and you'll receive $10 free in bitcoin (after you spend $100).

Why does Coinbase need to see my ID?

Coinbase needs to be able to verify your identify because they are a regulated financial service company operating in the US. As they state on their website:

As a regulated financial service company operating in the US we are periodically required to identify users on our platform. This ensures we remain in compliance with KYC/AML laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate, something that is necessary for us to be able to continue to offer digital currency exchange services to our customers.

Once you’ve created your account, you’ll have to wait until you get approved before you’re allowed to start buying and trading on the platform. This can take upwards of 7 days till approval. Coinbase will also make two distinct small charges towards your bank account. You will need to find these charges and register them into Coinbase as a part of the approval process.
The time in which it’ll take to get approved will vary person to person, just be patient and you eventually will get approved. In the mean-time I highly recommend taking some extra steps done to ensure the security, and longevity of your account.

Securing Your Coinbase Account

Two Factor Authentication

Upon signing into your Coinbase account, you’ll be sent a text message containing a code in which you will have to input allowing you to access your account. This is a security measure done to ensure it is specifically you trying to access your account, it’s important to note that a hacker could still compromise your account through a social engineering attack with what is known as a phone porting attack. This attack is done after obtaining your phone number and various other personal information, the hacker will then call up your phone carrier impersonating you, and then attempt to port your number over to a new device. Once a hacker has access to your text messages, they can then access your account with your SMS two-factor authentication code. If you’d like to see a real example of how this can play out, Cody Brown shares his example of how he lost $8k worth of bitcoin to this attack.
Anyways, the best way to prevent this is through the use of an authenticator. The most common being Google Authenticator. I don’t want to get into too much technical details as to how authenticators work. Think of it as a digital key, stored on a device that changes every 30 seconds.
In order to enable authenticator for Coinbase, go to Settings > Security and Enable Authenticator as shown here. After that a prompt will appear along with a QR code and a secret code (comprised of a random string of 16 letters & numbers). You will need to open up your Google Authenticator app and scan in your QR code. You will also need to write down your secret code and keep it in a safe place such as a safe and/or security deposit box.
Once enabled, any time you wish to access your Coinbase account or make trades/transfers, you will need access to the 6-digit code provided by your authenticator.
IMPORTANT: If you lose access to the device you’ve enacted authenticator on, you ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT be able to recover your account UNLESS you have that 16 digit secret code. This is a serious matter that should be taken with serious caution. It is important you take preventative security measures to ensure the security of your cryptocurrency. I highly recommend calling your bank and opening a security deposit box. This will mostly likely cost a yearly fee but the peace of mind alone is worth it IMO.

Phishing Schemes

I’d like to briefly touch on phishing schemes. Phishing is the act of attempting to obtain personal information through the use of social engineering. Common phishing schemes/methods include: fraudulent e-mails in which the sender tries to impersonate an entity of authority (we’ve all received these sketchy e-mails before) and websites registered under the misspelling of a popular domain. In the world of crypto, it is essential to be attentive to schemes like these as it is much easier to fall victim than you may think. The anonymity of crypto alone makes it very appealing to hackers & scammers. You should always be on the lookout for fraudulent schemes.
Some preventative actions you may want to consider taking:

• Creating a bookmarks folder of all the popular crypto-related sites you visit
• Creating email inbox rules to distinguish trusted entities.
• As a safety precaution, ensure you have authenticator enabled throughout all your crypto-related accounts with the security keys kept in a safety deposit box.
• Use a hardware wallet to store your cryptocurrency instead of keeping them on exchanges (I’ll touch more on this later)

Funding Your Coinbase Account

Congratulations, your Coinbase account got approved! You can now start funding your account… or so you thought.
Upon your first cryptocurrency purchase with Coinbase, it is very likely your bank will automatically flag the purchase as fraudulent. If this happens to you (which it most likely will), you will need to call up your bank and let them know to let the purchase go through.
Once you’ve taken care of that, buying and selling cryptocurrency is relatively self-explanatory. Just go to Buy/Sell in the menu and choose which currency you’d like to buy/sell as shown below.
https://imgur.com/isNuaSJ

Funding Limits

Coinbase has weekly limits as to how much cryptocurrency you may purchase. Your limits will not start out this high but increase with proper verification and the longer you have an account.
Weekly Buy Limits

• Cash: $100,000
• Bank Account: $25,000
• Credit/Debit Card: $7,500

Weekly Sell Limits

• $100,000

Credit/Debit Card and bank account purchases are both instantaneous, however, for bank account purchases, it'll take 5-7 business days for you to see the charge in your account.
For information see:

• Coinbase Account Limits
  
• How long does a purchase or deposit take to complete?
  

Fees

There’s three distinct fee’s you will encounter with Coinbase.

• Conversion & Exchange Fees: These are fees you’ll encounter through the buying, selling or exchanging of crypto. A fee is charged when you convert fiat to crypto.
  
• Transfer Fees: A fee is charged if you’re transferring crypto to a different wallet (IE: Crypto Binance). Note that if this wallet happens to be another Coinbase wallet, there is no fee.
  
• Mining Fees: These's are inherent fee's you'll encounter with any sort of crypto transaction. Mining fee's will also change depending on which cryptocurrency you are purchasing. I don't want to delve to much into the technical aspects as to why this is (as it can get very technical). I'll have to save this for a later post.
  

Note that the Bitcoin network is notorious for insanely high fee's. Purchase and transaction fee's upwards of $50+ are not uncommon during periods of high network congestion. Using Bitcoin to purchase something like a cup of coffee is completely trivial, and as we advance forward into the space, it's becoming more apparent that Bitcoin's main use case will be that of a digital gold rather than a global payment network.

Lowest Possible Fee With Coinbase

If you're going to be making large crypto purchases through Coinbase, ideally you'd want to get the lowest fee possible. I have found that the best way to do this is by your linking a bank account rather then by purchasing through debit/credit card. See photo.

• Funding via bank account: 1.46% fee
  
• Funding via debit/credit card: 3.83% fee
  

See photo.
As you can see, both allow instantaneous availability of funds. However, it'll take 5-7 business days for the bank account transfer charge to appear in your account.
Note: The fee you receive will also depend on how large of an amount you are purchasing. Expect fees to be a bit higher for smaller purchasing amounts and lower for larger amounts.

Fees Continued

It's important to know that fees will change depending on what country you're from and what cryptocurrency you happen to be purchasing. For more information on Coinbase fees I highly recommend visiting their fee disclosure page.

Avoiding Coinbase Transfer Fees Using GDAX

There is a bit of loophole to avoid Coinbase transfer fees. This is done through Coinbase’s advanced trading platform known as GDAX. It looks intimidating, but it’s a lot easier to use than they make it seem. Luckily, as Coinbase user, you technically already have a GDAX account. Simply follow the sign-up steps for GDAX, and you’ll find your information pre-populated. No need for long wait-times for verification etc.
To mitigate Coinbase transfer fees, send your money: Coinbase - GDAX - wallet of your choice

Sending & Receiving Cryptocurrency

Sending and receiving crypto with Coinbase is super easy…

Sending

Go to Accounts in the menu, look for the currency you’d like to send, then click Send. A prompt will come up instructing you to put in the recipients address and the amount you’d like to send. Ethereum example.

Receiving

Go to Accounts in the menu, look for the currency you’d like to receive, then click Receive. A QR code and random string of numbers will appear. That random string of letters & numbers is your wallet address. This string is what you’d give to someone if you were looking to receive crypto. Your wallet address is also crypto specific. This means that if you try to send Litecoin to your Bitcoin wallet address, the transaction will fail.
Random LPT: If you’re ever needing to transfer a large amount of crypto to another wallet, I recommend sending a test amount which is basically just a small amount of crypto. If said small amount appears in the wallet, you know you have the correct address. If not… you may need to just wait a bit longer and hopefully it will appear, or you’ve sent it to the wrong wallet address.

Securing Your Cryptocurrency

There are many ways you could go about securing your cryptocurrency. I’m going to discuss two.

The Vault

The Vault is a feature Coinbase offers free of charge to safeguard your funds by adding multiple layers of security. With the vault, there is a designated time frame for withdrawals. This helps to safeguard against hackers getting into and emptying your account. Additionally, you can have other people (or email addresses) needed to confirm these withdrawals for an added layer of security.
Warning: The vault is a feature you should use if you are planning on holding your cryptocurrency for a longer period of time. It is not recommended if you are looking to turn quick profits through buying and selling often due to the 3 day waiting period for withdrawals.

Ledger Nano S

The Ledger Nano S is a cryptocurrency hardware wallet. It allows you to store your cryptocurrency in physical device akin to that of a USB drive. You would then ideally keep this in a safe at home. This is my personal preferred method of storing cryptocurrency because I don’t have to worry about hackers potentially gaining access to my cryptocurrency online, rather, that security falls into my own hand. I just have to make sure I don’t lose or damage my Ledger, and even if I managed to do that, there is a 16 word recovery phrase provided by the Ledger in the event of a lost, damaged, or stolen Ledger. As long as you have the recovery phrase, you can recover all your cryptocurrency.
So after purchasing crypto through Coinbase, instead of leaving my digital goods on the exchange, I transfer it to cold storage (which is another word for hardware wallet IE: Ledger Nano S).

My Primary use of Coinbase

I primarily use Coinbase as an easy access point into the crypto world. Coinbase makes it very easy to purchase the largest of cryptocurrencys and once you have access to these, you can start purchasing more niche cryptocurrencies such as Ripple, EOS, IOTA, NEO, etc... You would do this through the use of much larger exchange such as Binance.
You cannot directly convert fiat to crypto with Binance yet. So in order to fund a Binance account, you need to convert your fiat to crypto through an exchange that allows you to do so, (this is where Coinbase comes into play) send that crypto to your Binance account, then make a purchase.
The way I go about doing this is:

• 1st I purchase Ethereum through Coinbase. I purchase Ethereum instead of Bitcoin, because as I mentioned before, Bitcoin is notorious for insanely mining and transaction fees. Ethereum has much lower fees.
  
• 2nd I send said Ethereum to my Binance account
  
• 3rd Once I receive that Ethereum on my Binance account, I make my niche cryptocurrency purchase through the Binance exchange.
  

I have a step-by-step guide that details out this process. You can view it here.
PHEWWWW. That was a lot of words... Anyways, I hope this was beneficial to you crypto newbies out there. I plan on making more tutorials like this in the future :) If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments sections down below. I’m sure either myself or the community would be able to respond.

Related Links

Exchanges

• How to use Binance

Guides

• Beginners Guide to Bitcoin, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency
• Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash
• Bitcoin vs Ethereum
• Bitcoin vs Litecoin

Hi,
As a novice, please can you help me with some expert advice.
I am right now using my son laptop to do everything and wanted to get into bitcoin but since this laptop is not mine and my son likes to click on anything that pop on the screen am worry it might get compromised hence losing my bits.
I've read lot and to be honest already decided that as safety, i will be purchasing either the ledger nano s or the trezor though not sure which is right as i wanted to purchase some others crypto too such as ethereum and ripple maybe dash or monero.
1: is it possible to safely backup all of these into one ledger or trezor ? or i have to buy separately for each crypto?
2: for my first time, i want to use coinbase but i just read somewhere on reddit that coinbase will take 1 month before you can transfer your bits to own wallet and the btc will lose value. is it true?
3: i was also wondering about this scenario. lets say today i buy 1 btc from exchange where the value is £6000. now i left it in the exchange and in 3 month btc value is like £10000. if i want to use my bit, now the value will still be the original £6000 or the new 10000. am always baffle about this.
4: where i leave there is a btc atm i think satoshi. if i start with coinbase then transfer to my own wallet or the ledgetrezor, can i use this hw wallet to buy directly from the satoshi btc atm without going through coinbase ? if so is this anonymous?
5: as am interested also in trading, is binance the right choice?
6: i use android phone but wanted to know which wallet should i go for.
7: ohh forget to state, i am located in london and will start first either with bank transfer or visa debit? i can also use paypal.
​
Again thank you for these awesome resource everyone and was a trill reading all this past weeks.
again thanks in advance for your responses.

Crypto News

• According to a research study conducted by blockchain researcher Alex Lebed and crypto consultant Alexey Akhunov, the implementation of recently launched Gemini Dollar (GUSD) can be changed by a Gemini custodian every 48 hours. In reviewing GUSD’s white paper, the code of GUSD’s smart contracts are able to be changed every 48 hours to become non-transferrable or frozen at any moment. The white paper cites a need for the ability to manage token transfers in case of unforeseen circumstances.
• After his appointment this summer, Zimbabwe’s finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, is taking a pro-cryptocurrency stance in seeking solutions to Zimbabwe’s cash problem. Zimbabwe’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, has historically taken the opposite stance. Ncube has promised to try to judge the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe towards establishing a cryptocurrency division within the central bank.
• Bitcoin’s hashpower has doubled since just before the start of the summer, despite cryptocurrencies observing a largely bear market. Fundstrat analyst, Sam Doctor, believes that the reason for mining hashpower growing despite price declines is because miners are trying to position themselves for the future, despite losing out on currency profits. Furthermore, this implies that the Bitcoin mining community believe in the success of Bitcoin for the long-term.
• Civil, a blockchain startup aimed at distripting media, will offer its crypto token to accredited and unaccredited investors next week. The interesting thing about Civil is the structure of its initial coin offering sale. Civil’s ICO will require buyers to complete a quiz that demonstrates their knowledge of token sales and not allow users to sell tokens until their wallet has demonstrated some level of use, dubbed ‘proof-of-use'.
• Crypto exchange, Coinbase, is expanding from 20 to 150 employees amidst the move to its new New York City office. The digital asset exchange said that despite the crypto bear market, institutional demand for Coinbase’s services did not recede, saying institutions saw this year as an opportunity to enter the market when things are not too frothy.
• Despite banning cryptocurrencies, China has seen a spike in offerings of cryptocurrency custody services. For example, InVault a Chinese startup that offers crypto custody services, specifically marketing to crypto exchanges. A crypto custodian would hold a client’s assets for safekeeping, but Chine could potentially disallow any mainland organization that is either holding virtual currencies or holding assets that belong to other companies that have no legal standing in China’s mainland.
• Japanese financial services company, SBI Holdings, will launch a consumer payments application on Android and iOS using Ripple’s blockchain technology, dubbed MoneyTap. MoneyTap will enable domestic bank customers to transact instantly, 24-hours a day and seven days a week using a QR code, a phone number, or a bank account number. The intended launch of MoneyTap is somewhere between September and December 2018.
• Mastercard has filed patents for the use of blockchain technology in keeping track of consumer payments. The payment services giant filed a series of very similar patent filings last week to the US Patent and Trademark Office. In the patents, Mastercard outlines a distributed edger that could be used to record point-to-point transactions as they are processed. Particularly, a blockchain ledge would be ideal for streamlining account management by simplifying the process in which purchase orders are registered and monitored, one of the patent application details.
• The Korean Customs Service (KCS) and Samsung SDS have agreed to implement Samsung’s blockchain technology in an exports customs clearance system. A memorandum of understanding has been signed by the two entities, and sees 48 other organizations join the agreement, including government organizations, shipping operations, and logistics firms.
• South Korean cellular carrier, LG Uplus, will launch a blockchain-based overseas payment services, it announced Sunday. The cellular carrier will work with companies in Japan, Taiwan, and the US to offer users of three mobile services cheaper and faster payments while traveling internationally. The project is slated to launch in 2019.
• The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, will soon begin its private beta testing of a crypto-fiat exchange in Singapore, announced via tweet by CEO Changpeng Zhao on Saturday. Allegedly, the fiat-crypto exchange will support the local Singaporean Dollar. Singapore was ranked as the world’s third most favorable country for initial coin offerings in mid-July.
• Tezos’ native token, XTZ, saw gains of over 30% this weekend in anticipation of the networks official launch today, Monday. XTZ began to see price gains after developers tweeted that Tezos’ leaves beta and officially launches Monday. Trading volumes of XTZ also jumped 169% on Friday, touching a nine-week high of USD$5.13 million. The Tezoz project raised USD$232 million via ICO in July 2017.
• Venture capitalist, Tim Draper, predicted that total cryptocurrency market capitalization will reach USD$80 trillion within the next 15-years, according to news outlet DealStreetAsia. Draper went on to explain that the recent slide in cryptocurrencies is attributed to people who have not yet adopted digital currencies as a new asset class.

Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-study-gemini-custodian-is-able-to-alter-or-reverse-gemini-dollar-transactions https://www.ccn.com/cryptocurrency-could-solve-zimbabwes-cash-shortages-finance-ministe https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-crypto-jobs-hiring/ https://www.coindesk.com/proof-of-use-civil-believes-this-ico-model-lets-it-sell-anyone-tokens-legally/ https://news.bitcoin.com/btc-hashpower-doubles-during-bear-market-as-miners-sacrifice-profit-for-position/?utm_source=OneSignal%20Push&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=Push%20Notifications https://www.ccn.com/chinas-crypto-custody-sector-is-growing-despite-the-mainland-ban/ https://www.ccn.com/sbi-nears-launch-ripple-blockchain-payments-app-moneytap-in-japan/ https://www.coindesk.com/mastercard-patent-filings-tout-blockchain-for-immutable-data-records/ https://www.ccn.com/samsung-sds-to-power-worlds-first-exports-customs-clearance-blockchain-in-korea/ https://www.coindesk.com/lgs-mobile-arm-to-trial-blockchain-payments-for-overseas-travelers/ https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-to-start-closed-beta-testing-of-new-crypto-fiat-exchange-in-singapore https://www.coindesk.com/tezos-token-makes-gains-in-approach-to-official-launch/ https://cointelegraph.com/news/tim-draper-predicts-total-crypto-market-cap-of-80-trillion-in-next-15-years https://www.coindesk.com/gas-aint-gold-why-ethers-price-could-tank-even-if-ethereum-succeeds/ https://www.coindesk.com/proof-of-use-civil-believes-this-ico-model-lets-it-sell-anyone-tokens-legally/ https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-crypto-jobs-hiring/ https://www.coindesk.com/tezos-token-makes-gains-in-approach-to-official-launch/ https://www.coindesk.com/lgs-mobile-arm-to-trial-blockchain-payments-for-overseas-travelers/ https://www.coindesk.com/mastercard-patent-filings-tout-blockchain-for-immutable-data-records/ https://cointelegraph.com/news/tim-draper-predicts-total-crypto-market-cap-of-80-trillion-in-next-15-years https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-to-start-closed-beta-testing-of-new-crypto-fiat-exchange-in-singapore

Developments in Financial Services

• Decentralized security token exchange, DSTOQ, has launched a platform called its minimum viable product (MVP). MVP allows people to invest in real assets such as stocks, bonds, and commodities using cryptocurrencies. This platform runs using Stellar’s blockchain testnet, and all transactions will happen completely on-chain.
• Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), the world fourth largest bank by assets, announces it will making its first loan on a blockchain system. The loan, valued at USD$300k, is meant to support the local tea industry in the Guizhou province and is backed by a piece of agricultural land.
• “Civilized blockchain”1 company Billon, has partnered with Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) to develop blockchain technology solutions. Billon implements blockchain solutions for the main purpose of processing fiat currencies. FIS will utilize Billon for document and identity management, the exploration of joint sales and product development opportunities, and smartphone micropayments among other services.
• SBI Group, a Japanese financial services company, has announced plans to develop a platform to trade cryptocurrency derivatives. The platform would help crypto investors hedge their risk by offering cryptocurrency credit default swap (CDS) trading. SBI will accomplish this through its recent 12% purchase of North Carolina-based digital marketplace developer Clear Markets.
• Equity research provider Fundstrat Global Advisors has announced that it will begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for accessing research reports. Fundstrat is using payment operator BitPay, which has processed over USD$1 billion in Bitcoin payments CY2017, to process their new BTC payments accepted from institutional investors, high net-worth clients, and financial advisors.
• The most popular cryptocurrency markets tracking platform, CoinMarketCap (CMC), has added a professional-grade API, and support for derivatives markets to its services. The API provides developers with access to aggregated data packages, providing everything from price and market cap, to trading pair data and conversions. CMC is marketing this product to those who need to back-test trading strategies, and run simulations more accurately.
• Logos Network, a decentralized payments platform, successfully raised USD$3mm in seed funding. Logos is hoping to build a quick and scalable P2P payments network on a new blockchain. The payments network plans to be quick, scalable, and secure.
• The Stuggart Börse, Germany’s second largest stock exchange, has announced an initiative to construct a multilateral cryptocurrency trading platform, as well as an initial coin offering (ICO) platform. The exchange already launched in May a crypto trading app called Bison, which features zero-fee transactions.
• Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and 22 others, will develop a Microsoft cloud-based digital asset ecosystem. ICE is creating a new company for this, called Bakkt, which will work closely with companies including Starbucks and BCG. The ecosystem is planned to be a one-stop-shop for all consumers, from retail to institutional, to buy, hold, sell, and spend cryptocurrencies on a communal network. ICE will also launch physically-delivered BTC futures contracts.

Regulatory

• The Chamber of Digital Commerce, an American advocacy group promoting the blockchain industry, is producing new guidelines to aid the in the responsible growth of the initial coin offering (ICO) markets and cryptocurrency markets all together. These guidelines were released in a whitepaper detailing current and future regulations for investor reference, a set of principles for trading platforms and token sponsors to follow, and a general discussion about the growth of the cryptocurrency industry so far.
• The South Korean government has proposed revisions to its tax law, affecting cryptocurrency exchanges. The proposition states that cryptocurrency exchanges will be exempt from the tax benefits given to startups and small-mid-sized businesses. It is important to note that new propositions might be made to change this before implementation, but the South Korean government doesn’t believe that crypto transaction companies do not generate added value like other companies do.
• Indian cryptocurrency traders are finding ways to circumvent the India government’s decision to ban cryptocurrency trading. Traders are now making use of a Dabba trading which refers to making OTC trades that are off the books. Dabba traders execute trades through platforms at international banks in Dubbai, Europe and the UK. Indian stock traders have used this method for years, and has experienced an upsurge after the crypto ban.
• The U.S. Consumer financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has created an Office of Innovation. The Office of innovation is responsible for the development of a regulatory framework surrounding new products and services in the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and microlending fields. This regulatory sandbox could give some guidance on creation of regulatory frameworks around innovative fintech companies.
• South Korea Financial Supervisory Service is advising local regulators to work towards creating an integrated blockchain system for stocks transactions. The group finds the use of a centralized ledger to be inefficient and vulnerable to hacks.

General News

• It was recently reported that HTC will be releasing a new mobile phone utilizing decentralized ledger technology, but Litecoin (LTC) founder Charlie Lee announced July 29th that he will be one of HTC’s advisors on the smartphone. The phone will be called Exodus and is expected to be the first blockchain phone. Exodus’s built-in cryptocurrency wallet will now natively support LTC and the Lightning Network (LN), in addition to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
• Cointelegraph.com reported that digital asset exchange Huobi will begin supporting trades in the Indian rupee (INR) on its over-the-counter (OTC) service. Huobi’s peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platform will allow INR users free trading in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT). This comes at a good time for Indian cryptocurrency traders after the Reserve Bank of India banned banks from dealing with cryptocurrency-related companies in early July.
• IOHK, the company behind the popular cryptocurrency Cardano (ADA), announced that it has launched the testnet for a new Cardano virtual machine. The virtual machine, called IELE, provides developers with a stronger and more reliable platform for developing smart contracts on Cardano’s blockchain.
• IoT and blockchain platform Ambrosus has announced the launch of its mainnet, called AMB-NET 1.0. Ambrosus improves pharmaceutical and food supply chains by allowing companies to record private and public supply chain data on its blockchain. Organizations can work with the Ambrosus Network through its native AMB token.
• San Francisco-based platform, DCEX, will begin accepting registration applications for its new cryptocurrency exchange. DCEX’s base currency, the currency participants use to exchange for other currencies, will be Ripple’s XRP. This is a change from the cryptocurrency exchange norm of using Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as base currencies. Not basing all transactions off of Bitcoin is a step in the right directions for pushing the market to be more independent from it.
• Thomson Reuters, a Canadian mass-media and information company, has announced a partnership with CryptoCompare, a cryptocurrency data tracking resource. CryptoCompare will provide Thomson Reuters will trade and order book data on 50 cryptocurrencies.
• Major Cineplex, the largest movie theater chain in Thailand, is integrating cryptocurrency payments to permits moviegoers to buy anything from tickets to popcorn. Major Cineplex is partnering with RapizPay to deploy the digital currency payment system. This comes a week after the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission began allowing cryptocurrency operators to file license applications.
• Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency services in the world, has announced in a blog post that Jeff Horowitz, an ex-Pershing exec, has joined as company’s new Chief Compliance Officer. Horowitz has ample background experience for this position, as he was Managing Director and Global Head of Compliance for Pershing, a banking regulator for the FDIC, and even led compliance and anti-money-laundering (AML) programs at Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Salomon Brothers.
• Binance, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange, has made its first-ever acquisition, purchasing crypto wallet provider Trust Wallet. This move appeals to cryptocurrency investors wary of keeping their coins on centralized custodial services as Trust Wallet now introduces Binance users to decentralized custody. The decentralized wallet will be offered on mobile platforms, and supports coins built off of Ethereum’s protocol. You can read more about decentralized exchanges in our latest Crypto Quant Shot: Atomic Swaps, Decentralized Exchanges, and the Future of Crypto Exchanges.
• Google has announced that later this year, it will introduce open-source integrations of Ethereum and Hyperledger applications through its Google Cloud Product marketplace. This move pushes Google into the blockchain services industry, thereby joining others such as Amazon Web Services, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft Azure.
• U.S. lawmakers working with the Congressional Valley Fever Task Force are looking for blockchain applications to help fight infectious fungal diseases. The lawmakers have proposed a bill as a part of the FORWARD Act for the creation of a blockchain pilot hoping to improve the way doctors share information about endemic fungal diseases such as Valley Fever. If information could be exchanged between doctors quicker and more efficiently, they would be better equipped to treat these infectious diseases.
• Mobile engagement firm MobileBridge, has launched a blockchain loyalty program called Momentum. Momentum will offer other companies many data-based insights, and consumers full custody of their earned cryptocurrency rewards. Consumers can earn loyalty cards and other rewards for simply shopping at their favorite stores. These rewards can be exchanged for Momentum tokens, and then other branded reward tokens to be used with other companies.
• CoinMarketApp, a cryptocurrency news multi-use app, has released compatibility with iOS and Android smartphones. CoinMarketApp is not like typical cryptocurrency apps, in that it offers crypto historic data, prices, mining information, trustworthy news, and even portfolio services.
• Northern Trust, an asset manager with USD$954bn in AUM announces plans to start a custody service for digital assets. Pete Cherecwich, Northern Trust’s head of corporate and institutional business, explained that the firm plans to offer custodial services similar to others, but with lower fees.
• Swissquote, a Switzerland-based online banking firm which recently added cryptocurrency investing to its services, has seen a 44% profit increase in this C1H2018 relative to C1H2017. Throughout the second half of CY2017, Swiss quote has allowed trading in Bitcoin (BTC) with the EUR and USD, as well as Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple (XRP).
• MINDOL is a blockchain platform aiming to disrupt the entertainment provider industry in Japan. MINDOL’s whitepaper states a growing demand for and heavy government investing in spreading Japanese culture throughout the world, including animations, games, music, and movies. MINDOL hopes to regularly produce programs on TV. MINDOL’s central network, called eMINDOL, lets consumers purchase products, watch content, and even invest in the projects and artists they like.
• Telegram, a popular desktop and mobile app messenger, recently executed an ICO, raising USD$1.7 billion. However, US-based cybersecurity startup Virgil Security, praised the fact that Telegram published the application’s API on an open source platform for developers to review, but has uncovered several security flaws with Telegram’s ID verification app Passport. Virgil discovered issues with their encryption methods and the way they protect stored data. These issues are very important to fix if Telegram wishes to begin accepting payments on its platform.
• Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading services, has now allowed users in the UK to purchase cryptocurrencies with the British Pound. Before this announcement, users in the UK would have had to acquire Euros in order to purchase cryptos on Coinbase, which sometimes took multiple days.
• The government of Queensland, Australia is giving USD$8.3mm to a crypto start-up as part of the state’s innovation funding initiative. The start-up’s goal is to increase the number of tourists to Central Queensland through selling travel offers based in different cryptocurrencies.
• RandomCrypto, a fintech firm working with cryptocurrencies has released a Bitcoin (BTC) mining calculator, which improves upon the details given by competing products. Random Crypto CEO Josh Metnick says he developed this product after “many years of getting screwed… by mining companies,” and that his goal is to “bring more truth, accuracy, and transparency to [proof-of-work] mining.”1 The calculator shows that at today’s current BTC prices, most bitcoin mining hardware on the markets is unprofitable.
• Chinese company Seven Stars Cloud, has announced plans to build a USD$300 million crypto hub in Hartford, CT. Seven Stars Cloud is a fintech company hoping to create a community for itself and other fintech firms to collaborate on machine-learning, robotics, and crypto-related projects. The firm is also trying to launch a fintech college at schools near Hartford, CT such as Yale University, University of Hartford, University of New Haven, and University of Connecticut.
• Canaan Creative, the world’s second largest provider of Bitcoin mining components has announced a new product called the AvalonMiner Inside. The Avalon Miner Inside is essentially a television with built-in Bitcoin (BTC) mining capabilities. The TV will be powered by artificial intelligence and will also enable voice dictation. The mining components possess a 2.8 trillion hashes-per-second hash rate, and even includes a profitability calculator to measure performance.
• Bitfi, a cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer claiming it is “unhackable”, denies claims that it was hacked. Bitfi and its official partner John McAfee offered a $100,000 bug bounty in July to try to get people to hack its wallet. But when one twitter user claimed to have done this, Bitfi CEO Daniel Khesin denied these claims amid no evidence of a hack, and because of the fact that the “hacker” refused the bounty reward.
• Switzerland-based cryptocurrency platform MCO has added Litecoin (LTC) to its supported coins. MCO enables users to purchase, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies from its mobile app. Formerly known as Monaco, MCO has amassed over 180,000 downloads, and expects to widen its user base as it adds more coins to its platform. This app will soon integrate with a Visa card allowing international purchases.
• Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange OKEx says it will have to claw back millions in USD$ following a single user’s large bet on bitcoin futures (the user lost “the bet”). Each futures contract has a notional value of $100, and OKEx estimate the total value of the position was over $400 million. OKEx initiated a forced liquidation of the account but because of the size, the exchange has had to trigger “societal loss risk management” mechanisms because of the size of the order. After insurance coverage is considered, the aggregate loss to investors is around BTC$1,200 (USD$8.8mm), which will "split proportionately by all profited traders' realized + unrealized gains".
• Coinbase Commerce, Coinbase’s non-custodial merchant payment service, has launched a product integrating with e-commerce company WooCommerce. WooCommercie is currently used by between 21% and 28% of all web stores, and affiliated stores will now accept cryptocurrency payments from Coinbase Commerce users.