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Crypto Stories You May Have Missed (XII)

27/4/2018

Bitcoin Dollar

It’ not a Bubble, George Soros Plans to Invest in Cryptocurrencies
The new blueprint for utility token ICOs in a sophisticated investor market
Africa Could Be the Next Frontier for Cryptocurrency

Crypto Security: How to securely own a digital asset
Is Bitcoin's Future Already in Your Pocket?

Which Monero Are You?
Amazon patent wants to unmask Bitcoin users, sell data to law enforcement, others
Many Bitcoin Miners Are at Risk of Turning Unprofitable
Best Places To Get Cryptocurrency Trading Ideas

Blockchainpreneur: ‘I don’t know any good Ethereum developer that isn’t a millionaire’
4 Ways to Improve Your Blockchain Marketing
3 Ways to Play Cryptocurrencies Without Actually Buying Them

IMF Says Central Banks Have Needless Fears About Cryptocurrencies

The best place to read these stories and more is to head off to our Flipboard magazine (online):
The Blockchain Is The Future (Click Read Magazine to start Reading)

View my Flipboard Magazine.

A much better option would be for you to read the magazine on your iPad using the Flipboard app. If you do not have the Flipboard app, download in the app store, install, and enter the "Blockchain Is The Future". This magazine is curated by Olusegun Oyekanmi

Bitcoin - Crossing the $10k Psychological Barrier

26/4/2018

There has been some euphoria concerning the price of Bitcoin, which has risen over the last few days. Nevertheless, this has not stopped some pundits declaring that the long-awaited uptrend has arrived. For a moment I thought here we go again. But on second thoughts, the charts might just be telling us there is cause for celebration (limited cause for celebration).

Looking at the chart below, one can see some encouraging signs (See grey circle). Proponents of the Ichimoku Clouds will see two key things. First, the blue line (conversion line) or Tenkan-sen has crossed over the red line (base-line) or Kijun-sen on the 20thof April. Second, it looks like the green cloud line (Sekou Span B) will cross over the red cloud line (Sekou Span A) any time soon indicating bullish sentiments.

Third, the candles for the 23rd and 24th are breaking out of the clouds. If all three events continue, conditions may have just turned bullish. This may signify that the price of Bitcoin crosses the US$10,000 psychological barrier. If that happens, we may be in for another price run. But as I have always said, let’s wait and see.

Bitcoin Price

Bitcoin Bitfinex Exchange Prices

New Flipboard Magazine - AI & Machine Learning

25/4/2018

AI & ML Flipboard Magazine

Hardly a day goes by that Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning (ML) is not mentioned. As AI & ML continue to creep into our lives daily, it was considered necessary to curate these stories for your understanding and reading pleasure. We hope you find satisfaction in this magazine.

The best place to read these stories and more is to head off to our Flipboard magazine (online):
AI & Machine Learning

A much better option would be for you to read the magazine on your iPad using the Flipboard app. If you do not have the Flipboard app, download in the app store, install, and enter the "AI & Machine Learning". This magazine is curated by Olusegun Oyekanmi

Which Monero Are You?

19/4/2018

Monero's 4 coins

The Four Monero Projects. Image courtesy of The Crypto Desk (thecryptodesk.com)

Monero has been in the news recently especially on matters of its’ hard fork, which took place on April 6th. For those that don’t know, Monero is a peer-to-peer decentralized digital currency that offers a high level of anonymity for users and their transactions. Because of these characteristics and more, Monero was beloved by many.

Hard forks in Monero were not new as one was done every six months as part of the upgrade process. Mining in Monroe was done with CPU (Central Processing Unit) and GPUs (Graphical Processing Unit), which was ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) resistant. The lack of ASIC mining has led hardware manufacturers such as Bitmain to develop CryptoNight ASIC miners. As part of the hard fork, Monero changed the CryptoNight Proof of Work (PoW) hashing algorithm. This change is also backward-incompatible, thus rendering all ASIC mining equipment useless.

The traditional CPU and GPU mining brought decentralization. ASIC mining, on the other hand, could potentially take away a lot that decentralization, hence, the resistance. Another reason for the resistance is that ASIC could launch a denial-of-service (DoS) attacks on non-ASIC miners and non-mining nodes on the network.
So, what has happened after the hard fork? It resulted in four coins being created with all sharing the pre-hard fork original blockchain. Here is a very brief description of all four coins:

Monero Classic (XMC)
The first of the hard forks courtesy of a Singapore-based group. This group is made up of reputable miners and developers. They believe that ASIC development is healthy and should be market driven. This group also believes that changing the PoW leads to more centralization.

See the table below for a quick comparison of Monero and Monero Classic. (Table courtesy of Monero.org)

Characteristics	XMR	XMC
Protocol	Cryptonote	Cryptonote
Block Time	120 seconds	120 seconds
Difficulty	Retargeted every block based on the last 720 blocks	Retargeted every block based on the last 720 blocks
Coin Supply	Infinite	Infinite
Max Block Size	No hard-coded size	No hard-coded size
RingCT Support	Yes	Yes
Team	Core developer team	Private team
ASIC Resistant	Resistant	Friendly to ASIC

Monero-Classic (XMC)
Ah yes, this is not a double take. These are different coins with this one having a hyphen. This coin is handled by a Chinese rep called PZ. PZ believes that the emergence of technologies such as ASIC is normal in the course of cryptocurrencies. It (the coin) is promoted by AntPool a mining pool owned by Bitmain. Bitmain has, however, denied any connection.

Use table above for comparison.

Monero 0 (XMZ)
Called Monero Zero, its’ representatives call themselves “Proof of Work Maximalists” and stated that they are “concerned users”. This group also strongly disagrees with the strategy of continuously hard forking of Monero. They believe this is not stable nor sane as a strategy. In addition, the group concludes that this is not a fork, but the original Monero. They also believe that Bitmain is trying to destroy Monero.

See table below for quick comparison (Table courtesy Monero.org).

Characteristics	XMR	XMZ
Protocol	Cryptonote	Cryptonote
Block Time	120 seconds	120 seconds
Difficulty
Coin Supply	Retargeted every block based on the last 720 blocks	Retargeted every block based on the last 720 blocks
Max Block Size	No hard-coded size	No hard-coded size
RingCT Support	Yes	Yes
Team	Core developer team	Private team
ASIC Resistant	Resistant	Friendly to ASIC

Monero Original (XMO)
Not much is known about this incarnation of Monero. This team has released statements to the effect that Monero is about freedom of choice, diversity and for the fans to have the possibility of remaining on the original chain. HitBTC has announced that it would make XMO balances available to all XMR holders. HitBTC may offer XMO exchange services in the future.

See table below for quick comparison (Table courtesy Monero.org).

Characteristics	XMR	XMO
Protocol	Cryptonote	Cryptonote
Block Time	120 seconds	120 seconds
Difficulty	Retargeted every block based on the last 720 blocks	Retargeted every block based on the last 720 blocks
Coin Supply	Infinite	Infinite
Max Block Size	No hard-coded size	No hard-coded size
RingCT Support	Yes	Yes
Team	Core developer team	Private team
ASIC Resistant	Resistant	Friendly to ASIC

One more thing, on April 30th, Monero V will be created from the scheduled hard fork. The table below shows the technical comparison. (Table courtesy Monero.org)

Characteristics	XMR	XMV
Protocol	Cryptonote	Cryptonote
Block Time	120 seconds	120 seconds
Difficulty	Retargeted every block based on the last 720 blocks	Retargeted every block based
Coin Supply	Infinite	Capped at 256 Million XMV
Max Block Size	No hard-coded size	Dynamic, max 2xM100
RingCT Support	Yes	Yes
Team	Core developer team	Private team
ASIC Resistant	Resistant	Friendly to ASIC

Now that you know which Monero is which, which one are you?

Crypto Stories You May Have Missed (XI)

18/4/2018

Bitcoin Piggy Bank

It's been a while, so it is that time of the week to talk about crypto stories you may have missed. Here are just some of them:

Australia Rolls Out New Cryptocurrency Regulations

Will Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining increase the price of phones?
Bitcoin ‘creator’ Craig Wright is facing accusations of plagiarism

Who Is Nick Szabo, and Is He Satoshi Nakamoto?
This is all it would take for bitcoin to become a worthless cryptocurrency
THE ONE TRUE BITCOIN: Inside the struggle between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash
What Happens In Cyberspace Stays Online Forever: Cryptocurrencies And Privacy
Bitcoin market opens to 1.6 billion muslims as cryptocurrency declared halal under Islamic law
Meet the Stablecoins Taking on Tether

People Who Own Cryptocurrency Are Getting Slammed With More Taxes Than They Expected
THE PROS AND CONS OF ICOS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
What Are The 7 Highest-Risk Cryptocurrencies?
How to Crush the Crypto Market, Quit Your Job, Move to Paradise and Do Whatever You Want the Rest of Your Life
These Countries Won’t Tax Your Bitcoins Too Much
Measuring Token Velocity: NVT Ratio
It’ not a Bubble, George Soros Plans to Invest in Cryptocurrencies

Why A Florida Orange Grove In 1946 Is The Key To Understanding Regulation Of ICOs

The best place to read these stories and more is to head off to our Flipboard magazine (online):
The Blockchain Is The Future (Click Read Magazine to start Reading)

View my Flipboard Magazine.

A much better option would be for you to read the magazine on your iPad using the Flipboard app. If you do not have the Flipboard app, download in the app store, install, and enter the "Blockchain Is The Future". This magazine is curated by Olusegun Oyekanmi

Bitcoin Price, Cautious Optimism Required

13/4/2018

Bitcoin on Bitfinex

Bitcoin Price on Bitfinex Exchange Earlier

I am not someone who wants to rain down on anyone’s party but the bitcoin fam as well as press seemed to have lost their minds even if for a brief moment. Bitcoin’s price rise in the last 24 hours or so has sent everyone into a frenzy. Headlines such as: “I’m Thinking $250,000 by 2022: Tim Draper Reveals New Bitcoin Price Target” or this example - “Crypto Hedge Fund Says Worst Is Over for Bitcoin” are abound. If one had just dropped in from Mars, you wouldn’t be blamed if you thought some cataclysmic event had just ended.

Personally, I think people should wait and see before writing such headlines. I suppose people want to see the heady days of bitcoin $20,000 once more, and can’t wait for it to happen! I don’t blame them because I would love to see the same but I am more cautious than most. As I am writing, the price of all the top ten cryptos with the exception of EOS have fallen slightly. Maybe not enough to panic but fallen nonetheless with bitcoin under $8000. As has been said in the past, no one knows where the price is headed but I suppose your guess is as good as mine.

Crypto Stories You May Have Missed (X)

11/4/2018

Bitcoin

It's that time of the week for your dose of crypto stories, here are just some of them:

6 tips for a successful initial coin offering
Governments lose control of exchange rates as bitcoin traders evade border controls
The 7 Best Bitcoin Wallets to Get in 2018
Ethereum Community Considers Hard Fork To Fight ASIC Miners
How to Explain Bitcoin to Your Grandchildren
What the Fed Could Learn From Bitcoin
Why Nobel Winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz is Wrong about Bitcoin
Someone Is Mining Empty Blocks on the Electroneum Network
5 Reasons Bitcoin Has a First-Mover Disadvantage
Foxconn will make the world's first blockchain smartphone
Bitcoin vs Oil and Gold: There Is a Difference

The best place to read these stories and more is to head off to our Flipboard magazine (online):
The Blockchain Is The Future (Click Read Magazine to start Reading)

View my Flipboard Magazine.

A much better option would be for you to read the magazine on your iPad using the Flipboard app. If you do not have the Flipboard app, download in the app store, install, and enter the "Blockchain Is The Future". This magazine is curated by Olusegun Oyekanmi

Bitcoin - Any Good Price Guesses?

5/4/2018

Yours truly like many others stayed up late (2 am Central African Time (CAT) to be exact) to watch the price of the cryptocurrencies. For one brief moment over the last few days, the price of bitcoin looked like it just might rise. This was not to be. Looking at the daily chart, one would have seen a bit of a bullish move. But come yesterday, a bearish engulfing pattern emerged. This has continued today with the price of Bitcoin below $7000.

As usual, crypto-pundits are touting what Bitcoins’ price will be come later this year. Some have said that the price will fall to $4000 before any climb. Others have said hodl your coins and watch it rise to $25000 later this year. I have said it then and will say it again, no one knows. In a blog piece I wrote earlier this week, I gave a figure of $6881 as the support level. That support level has been broken. And as I pen this, the price is currently $6774.1 (on the Bitfinex Exchange). Does this mean there is more pain to come for some or is this the end of the bearish run? From all indications, especially when I look at the Ichimoku Cloud charts, things are bearish. Other indicators such as the moving averages all indicate sell. The oscillators on the other hand are in the most cases neutral.

Bitfinex Bitcoin Daily Price Chart

Bitfinex Bitcoin Daily Price Chart Courtesy Tradingview.com

No matter how bad a market looks, someone is making money in this volatility and uncertainty; that person might as well be you. So where will the price be later today? Your guess is as good as mine.

Crypto Stories You May Have Missed (IX)

4/4/2018

Crypto Stories

As usual every week, we bring you crypto stories you may have missed. Here are some of them:

How Fear Is Being Used to Manipulate Cryptocurrency Markets
Crypto projects that raised hundreds of millions of dollars are being 'intentionally non-transparent'
ICOs Are Keeping More of the Pie to Themselves
Wendy McElroy: The Satoshi Approach to Privacy
‘Gold Bug’ Peter Schiff’s Company Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash
Telegram On Track to Push Its Cryptocurrency Sale to $1.7 Billion
6 Cryptocurrency Scams and Risky Assets Investors Should Beware Of
The Basics of Mined vs. Non-Mined Cryptocurrency, Explained in Plain English
What the World’s Governments Are Saying About Cryptocurrencies
Economists’ cryptocurrency aims to avoid pitfalls of bitcoin
How To Cash In Your Bitcoin
Most Privacy Coins Aren’t That Private
Satoshi Nakamoto Is Not Relevant
All you need to know about Crypto Airdrops. AKA Free Money
Why Cryptocurrency is the Next Operating System for Capitalism
DeSearch — Once Source for all Things Crypto

The best place to read these stories and more is to head off to our Flipboard magazine (online):
The Blockchain Is The Future (Click Read Magazine to start Reading)

View my Flipboard Magazine.

A much better option would be for you to read the magazine on your iPad using the Flipboard app. If you do not have the Flipboard app, download in the app store, install, and enter the "Blockchain Is The Future". This magazine is curated by Olusegun Oyekanmi

Bitcoin - What Price Next

3/4/2018

Each morning, I have had the unfortunate pleasure of waking up to the familiar red background around Bitcoin price. In short, another set of losses for some as the price drops lower. Bitcoin’s volatility alone is enough to give many a heart attack but as some who have traded know, you need volatility in a market to make money. Some pundits are already harping on about the death of Bitcoin but this now rings hollow with many. Other pundits have advocated the HODL principle. In other words, hold on to your coins if you have a long-term view. As for the day or swing traders, most of them have lost money. They won’t tell you about it but when in a dark corner, they confess all.

Truth be told, no one is sure what the price will be. Most are just guessing. Maybe today will different because as I write I am watching the price of Bitcoin. I am looking a support of $6,881.20 on the Bitfinex exchange. Current price on Bitfinex $6,986.10. I also have a global average Bitcoin chart open with a support of $6,897.97. Falling through these support levels would mean more pain. I am invested in very little Bitcoin so need not worry. So why are you watching the price you may ask. Reason, where Bitcoin goes others follow. Will the price be on the rise today? Your guess is as good as mine. Let’s just wait and see.

Global Average Price of Bitcoin

Global Average Bitcoin Price

Bitfinex Price of Bitcoin

Bitfinex Bitcoin Price