Thursday, June 21, 2018

What Is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization?

 


A key topic of discussion within the cryptocurrency space is the ultimate implications of cryptocurrency and the underlying blockchain technology. One of the first transformational possibilities shared among the community was the idea of the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). 

What Is a DAO?
A Decentralized Autonomous Organization represents an environment that handles some function or output in a manner that is entirely self-governing, self-sustaining, and self-fulfilling. The term was first coined in 2013 by Daniel Larimer, creator of BitShares, perhaps the first working example of a DAO. The famous early example was given by former Bitcoin contributor Mike Hearn, who described a future DAO as an autonomous vehicle that seeks out and picks up a passenger, drops them off at their destination, and uses the Bitcoin received from the passenger to recharge at an electricity station, before finding its next passenger.

To put it more broadly, a DAO can represent any form of production or protocol in which the mechanisms for its purpose are carried out automatically, through the use of algorithms and machinery, made possible through an integration of blockchain technology. In contrast to real-world methods of production, a DAO looks like a business in which the job of manager/CEO is replaced completely with an automatic process, and business decisions are left entirely up to the token-holding participants who make up the ecosystem within and around the business.

Current Instances
Perhaps the most widely known Decentralized Autonomous Organization is The DAO, a failed autonomous investment fund launched on the Ethereum network. Due to insecurity, The DAO was hacked soon after its launch, and resulted in the Ethereum Classic fork.

Besides The DAO, there are a number of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations that populate the cryptocurrency space. Alongside BitShares, DASH's development protocol is a DAO. DASH holders vote on projects for the development team to pursue, and the developers are funded via a development pool of DASH that a portion of each block mined goes towards. DigixDAO and Maker are two more examples. Both provide autonomous ecosystems that create and govern stablecoins. Digix's DGD represents digital grams of gold, while Maker's Dai is a tokenized US dollar.

Recent Developments
While the first plans for DAOs utilized the distributed financial ledgers of Bitcoin and other altcoins, the introduction of Ethereum's smart contracts completely expanded the possibilities for DAO structures and entities. Smart contracts enable the algorithm-backed system to encapsulate exponentially more than what was previously imagined.

Finance, medicine, and insurance are three industries that will likely be transformed by such platforms. Each of them faces major externalities that are addressed by an autonomous organization of capital and labor, and initiatives within the cryptocurrency space are already beginning to take on these three sectors.

Future Implications
Several academics and economic theorists are beginning to view Decentralized Autonomous Organizations as capable of enabling a global transition to a post-capitalist society. When implemented correctly, a DAO unifies many of the elements beginning to emerge amidst what many theorists suggest is an ongoing evolution beyond capitalism. These elements include the programmable economy, the token economy, and the sharing economy.

The automation of an entire component of the production function in any output (the manager/CEO organizer) indicates that the DAO can potentially be superior in terms of efficiency when competing with firms in any industry, as the DAO eliminates a major input cost entirely. Perhaps within the next few decades, the DAO could pioneer a transition from a worker/manager relationship to a participant/algorithm one.

Bitcoin Businesses Denied Banking Services in Ireland

 


Leading companies from the crypto sector in Ireland have complained they are being denied services by some of the country's major financial institutions. Among the affected businesses are bitcoin exchange Bitcove, winner of the bank-sponsored "Best Business Startup" award, and Ireland's "longest running" bitcoin broker, Eircoin.  

Banks Close Accounts of Award-Winning Startup
Several Irish businesses have been forced to either stop trading cryptocurrencies or seek partners abroad after local financial institutions refused to offer them banking services. Some of them have lost their bank accounts, while others have never been allowed to open one in the country, the local press reported.

Bitcoin exchange Bitcove, which has been operating since 2014 and had previously worked with Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Permanent TSB and Bank of Ireland, is one of the affected companies, The Irish Times reported. One of its co-founders, Peter Nagle, told the newspaper the banks closed its accounts stating they do not support companies offering cryptocurrency exchange facilities. The trading platform has since been using the services of "a more progressive banking partner" in Europe.

"Particularly disappointing was Bank of Ireland. We were participants on the Ignite startup program, which is backed by the bank. Our business and its progress were reviewed monthly by a panel which included Bank of Ireland representatives. At the end of the incubator Bitcove won the award, but then just a few months later our accounts were frozen and eventually closed," Nagle explained.

One of Ireland's First Bitcoin Brokers Also Hit
Bitcoin Businesses Denied Banking Services in IrelandAnother crypto firm that has suffered from the clampdown is Eircoin, one of Ireland's oldest bitcoin brokers, which closed a couple of months ago. An affiliated consulting business was also refused banking services. "We are being shuttered due to a negligent and defensive banking system," Eircoin's cofounder Dave Fleming said, quoted by the Irish daily. He added that his company, along with other cryptocurrency sellers, had previously consulted with the Central Bank of Ireland which told them that as long as they were abiding by the regulations their operations were in line with the law.

Bank of Ireland, one of the four largest Irish commercial banks, admitted in a statement it was not providing banking services to virtual currency exchange platforms, but noted that its customers were not prevented from transacting cryptocurrency. AIB Group, another "Big Four" bank, denied it was refusing services to companies from the crypto sector. A spokesman was quoted as saying, "We don't discriminate in relation to providing banking services to cryptocurrency companies nor have we been systematically exiting such companies." According to the official, some of these businesses are unable to comply with the anti-money laundering and know your customer requirements that the bank is obliged to adhere to.

Bitcoin Businesses Denied Banking Services in IrelandThe Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) stated that it wasn't aware of any policy to close accounts of companies trading cryptocurrencies. However, the organization presenting 70 traditional financial institutions noted that Irish lenders are expected to take measures to minimize the risk of facilitating "financial crimes which are enabled by cryptocurrencies," such as money laundering and terrorism financing.

Sharp Contrast
The negative attitude of the legacy financial institutions towards crypto businesses sharply contrasts with the view of Ireland as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction in general. Recently, it was reported that a new government-backed platform will promote the country as a hub for developers of applications based on the technology behind cryptocurrencies. Blockchain Ireland was launched by the Irish Blockchain Expert Group in partnership with a young company called Consensys. The initiative is supported by Enterprise Ireland, the Department of Finance, members of the industry and representatives of academic institutions. The agency promoting foreign investment in the country, IDA Ireland, has also backed blockchain and crypto projects.

Bitcoin Businesses Denied Banking Services in Ireland

Cryptocurrencies and the related economic activities received another recognition by authorities in Dublin with the decision of the Irish revenue service to issue guidelines on the taxation of crypto transactions. The new "Tax and Duty Manual" clarifies related matters and confirms that in most cases the existing tax regulations apply to the crypto sector. According to the advisory, crypto incomes and profits are subject to direct taxes such as corporate tax, income tax, and capital gains tax. Officials have also stated that for VAT purposes bitcoin constitutes a currency. The Irish tax agency regards cryptocurrencies as "negotiable instruments" and exempts them from the value added tax.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Delegated POS vs POW and why Ripa Exchange is on the right track

 


Proof of Work can be thought of as the traditional method Blockchains use to validate and finalize transactions. In fact, many of the major cryptocurrencies still use this methodology including Ethereum and Bitcoin.

The way Proof of Work validates blocks:

Miners within the system are required to process and finalize transactions using very complicated algorithms. This has an immediate and somewhat counterproductive impact on the performance of the network as a whole. This is also one of the reasons why Bitcoin is yet notorious for serious delays when completing transactions.

Although many still the advantage of such a system enhances network security making it virtually impenetrable. But it places undue strain on electricity, requires plenty of workspace, and demands extra cooling as well.

How DPOS is different to POW and POS?




Delegated Proof of Stake, and DPOS for short takes a completely different approach to transaction validation. The first difference is that miners are chosen specifically who hold fair amounts of tokens on the network. And they are rewarded with amounts of the cryptocurrency for the duties of producing blocks and confirming transactions.

The incentives, therefore, provide a layer of social trust across the entire network. But the biggest benefit is that DPOS turns out faster with this
streamlined approach.

Why DPOS is better then POW

Clearly, the greatest advantage DPOS has over POW is speed. Transactions can now be completed in seconds. And thousands of transactions per second do not stress the network in any noticeable ways.

Energy requirements are also significantly cut down, and the system is more efficient overall. The best part is security is not hampered in any way. DPOS is also way more decentralized than POW.

How RIPAEX working on DPOS is a very solid and innovating project


Ripa Exchange — which promises to remain free of charges to its constituent membership, is making exclusive use of the DPOS protocol. This will ensure transactions are quick, secure and with many extra benefits to its members.

With DPOS people are not randomly selected for the purpose of delegation. They are voted in by existing members of the network. Those with the most votes are called Witnesses.

In a sense, the network is run mainly under the direction of ordinary people. There is a bold spirit of democracy inside the system of DPOS which encourages miners to prove themselves.

As the network gets bigger, Witnesses find themselves competing with one another. This results in each of them trying to perform better as time goes on. They also have to pay attention to following set protocols, since they are in a sense governed by the people in the rest of the network. This helps to keep everyday operations running fair, compliant and efficient.

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Thailand Expects to Approve Five ICO Projects out of 50

 


The Thai financial regulator is expected to approve five ICO projects once the new regulatory framework takes effect this month. Out of 50 ICO projects in the country, only five satisfy the registration requirements set out by the regulator this week.

Five ICO Projects Expected to be Approved
Thailand Expects to Approve Five ICO Projects Out of 50The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to approve five initial coin offering (ICO) projects once the law to regulate cryptocurrencies and ICOs goes into effect, according to the Bangkok Post. The Commission approved the relevant regulations earlier this week and expects them to become law by the end of the month, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported.

While the SEC has not revealed which ICO projects will be approved, Mr. Thawatchai Kiatkwankul, the Commission's director of corporate finance in the equity department, was quoted by the news outlet:

Out of 50 ICO projects expecting to raise funds from the Thai capital market, five are ready as initial pilot projects.

The announcement follows two recently launched ICOs in Thailand: Jfin Coin by Jay Mart Plc's subsidiary, J Ventures Limited, and ZMN tokens by Zmine Holdings.

New ICOs Expected in Q3
Before the law takes effect, the regulator has put the brakes on all new ICOs. However, "Previously-leveraged companies are still able to make transactions as normal since the law does not apply retroactively," Krungthep Turakij explained.

Mrs. Tipsuda Thavaramara.
Mrs. Tipsuda Thavaramara, Deputy Secretary-General of the Thai SEC in charge of Policy and Corporate Finance Groups, said this week that an ICO issuer must first gain approval from the ICO portal it wants to be listed on, Prachachat Turakij described. ICO portals will act like financial advisors to the issuers, making sure that all know-your-customer (KYC) rules are followed. After gaining the approval of the ICO portal, the SEC will take about two months to review the ICO before approving it.

Companies wanting to issue tokens must satisfy a number of criteria set by the SEC. For starters, they must have registered capital of at least 5 million baht (~US$156,625).

Retail investors can only invest up to 300,000 baht (~$9,343) per ICO project or no more than 70% of the total value of offered tokens, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported. The limits do not exist for institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investors.

Thai SEC's Future Plans for ICOs
Mr. Thawatchai Kiatkwankul added that in the future the Commission "is preparing to expand and combine its unit for registration of ICOs with initial public offerings (IPOs)," the Bangkok Post conveyed. Citing that ICO projects have growth potential, he further noted that the SEC will work with ICO portals to screen potential scams.

The publication elaborated, with reference to the director:
Rules and regulations related to digital asset investment and transactions could be eased, given that market participants are more educated on digital asset investment and domestic competition is on a par with other digital asset markets.

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Coinbase Acquires Investment Firms to Offer Regulated Crypto Securities

 


Coinbase is seeking to become a fully licensed broker-dealer through its acquisition of three federally regulated firms. The company is confident that it will get the approvals necessary to start offering fully-regulated crypto securities.

Coinbase as Regulated Broker-Dealer
One of the world's largest cryptocurrency companies, Coinbase, has implemented a plan to list crypto securities, the company announced on Wednesday. President and COO, Asiff Hirji, wrote:

Today, we're announcing that Coinbase is on track to operate a regulated broker-dealer, pending approval by federal authorities. If approved, Coinbase will soon be capable of offering blockchain-based securities, under the oversight of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra).

With a presence in 32 countries, the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency company has traded $150 billion in assets and claims to have over 20 million customers.

Obtaining Licenses
Coinbase Acquires Investment Firms to Offer Regulated Crypto SecuritiesIn the US, crypto tokens exhibiting the characteristics of securities are subject to the SEC oversight.

Hirji explained that becoming a regulated broker-dealer for the company is "made possible by our acquisition of a broker-dealer license (B-D), an alternative trading system license (ATS), and a registered investment advisor (RIA) license," adding:

If approved, these licenses will set Coinbase on a path to offer future services that include crypto securities trading, margin and over-the-counter (OTC) trading, and new market data products.

The company hopes to secure these licenses through the acquisition of three federally-regulated companies: Keystone Capital Corp, Venovate Marketplace Inc, and Digital Wealth LLC. All of them are registered with Finra.

Operating Under Keystone's Licenses
Keystone Capital is a Finra-registered broker-dealer with licenses to operate an alternative trading system (ATS) and as a registered investment adviser.

A regulatory approval is needed for Coinbase to operate under the Keystone licenses, the Wall Street Journal explained, adding that "Coinbase is essentially buying Keystone for its licenses."

According to Hirji, the company "is confident it will get those approvals," after which it would take several months to integrate Keystone's operations into its own, the publication noted, adding:

Buying Keystone also raises the prospect that Coinbase could, down the line, expand into products tied to stocks or other securities.

On the company's blog, the COO wrote, "Ultimately, we can envision a world where we may even work with regulators to tokenize existing types of securities, bringing to this space the benefits of cryptocurrency-based markets — like 24/7 trading, real-time settlement and chain-of-title."

Mining Manufacturer Obelisk Announces ASIC-Friendly Launchpad

 


Obelisk, a new ASIC manufacturer led by Siacoin developer David Vorick, has released plans for an ASIC launchpad for Proof of Work coins. Its aim is to provide new and existing cryptocurrencies with an ASIC-friendly algorithm that will mitigate the rising threat of 51% attacks. Although initially devised with the company's own ASIC miner in mind, an open source design will allow other ASIC developers to release their own compatible units.

Obelisk Proposes a More Open ASIC Algorithm
New ASIC manufacturer Obelisk has shown a knack for releasing pronouncements that set tongues wagging within the industry. Founder David Vorick's hard-hitting manifesto The State of Cryptocurrency Mining went viral last month, and the company has followed this with news of a launchpad for ASIC-friendly coins. Obelisk plans to partner with coin developers to devise an algorithm that ought to reduce the risk of 51% attacks. In the past month, Verge, Monacoin, Bitcoin Gold, and Zencash have all been hit with huge amounts of rented hashpower and double spend transactions forced through.

There are drawbacks to this proposal though as Obelisk concedes: "This does mean that at launch, the coin is centralized around a single ASIC manufacturer…An Obelisk Launchpad release will include open source chip design schematics that can be leveraged by competing companies to bring their own ASICs to market." The upside to coin teams partnering with Obelisk is the added security that comes from knowing who controls the hashrate. The company explains:

The algorithm is not disclosed to the public until the ASICs are completed, meaning there is no chance that another group is able to be first to market. This gives the coin developers control over the launch of their coin. ASICs can be distributed throughout the community, and we can ensure that no party controls more than a certain percentage of the hashrate, nor has any capacity to commit abuse. From genesis, the coin is protected by powerful community owned ASICs.

Mining Centralization: The Lesser of Two Evils?
Interest in cryptocurrency mining had been waning up until April, as rising hashrates forced more hobbyists out of the game and new coins moved to Proof of Stake. That has all changed in the last couple of months, however, as a string of 51% attacks has piqued interest in mining once more and propelled the industry to the forefront of the cryptocurrency news cycle. On the one hand, there are those who believe that the centralization of mining, led by the dominant Bitmain, is a dangerous trend. But on the other hand, there are those who believe that mining centralization is a small price to pay for avoiding 51% attacks.

Battle of the Algorithms: How Bitmain Sparked an ASIC Mining WarGenerally speaking, coins which are equipped with ASIC-friendly algorithms are less prone to being hit with 51% attacks that can be perpetrated with rented hashpower. The flipside is that these coins can be plundered by huge pools of ASIC miners, squeezing out the community of smaller miners that have formed around a particular coin, and granting the lion's share of the mining rewards to a privileged few.

Leading industry figures have spoken in strong terms of the need to combat further mining attacks, with Zcash founder Zooko stating that "defending against them is an urgent and critical job." Should Obelisk's ASIC launchpad prove successful, it, together with the emergence of GMO's new miners, suggests a sliver of hope that Bitmain's stranglehold of the industry could eventually loosen.

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Goldman Sachs-Backed Tradeshift Eyes Blockchain After Successful $250 Mln Funding Round

 


Cloud-based supply chain company Tradeshift said it would push blockchain development with cash it received from its latest funding round Wednesday, May 30.

The Series E round, which included Goldman Sachs among its major contributors, was worth $250 mln, bringing the total investment funding to over $400 mln.

Identifying key areas for growth, Tradeshift noted both blockchain and artificial intelligence, which it will pursue via its Frontiers innovation lab which it launched in January this year.

"We have always believed that the future of supply chains is 100 percent digital and that connecting trade is just the first step to a digitally connected economy," Tradeshift CEO and co-founder Christian Lanng said in an accompanying press release, continuing:

"This investment will enable us to continue our rapid growth and consolidate our leadership position. We welcome Goldman Sachs and PSP Investments as our newest investors and look forward to their valuable contributions as we enter our next growth phase."

The move paves the way for further integration of blockchain technology into the trade supply chain industry, something which various major corporations, banks and governments are already examining.

Goldman Sachs' investment choice is also pertinent, coming at a time when the conglomerate is seeking to enhance both its blockchain and cryptocurrency exposure. Earlier this month, an executive appeared to confirm Goldman would soon launch Bitcoin futures and subsequently offer more direct investment options.

Localbitcoincash.org Revamps Website and Adds New P2P Features

 


Localbitcoincash.org offers an escrow service so buyers and sellers can trade Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in a peer-to-peer fashion. The platform was launched in October 2017 in its beta stage and has seen a lot of changes since then. Localbitcoincash (LBC) pretty much offers the same services as its BTC counterpart Localbitcoins but also has a variety of other options for users. Since our last review, the website looks and feels completely different as the colors are now green and black in contrast to its older orange look. The front page shows a step-by-step walkthrough detailing how to use LBC alongside a list of buyers and sellers below this field.

The Localbitcoincash.org exchange.
LBC's Fiat and Crypto-to-Crypto Exchange
The sidebar to the left has a bunch of different options which include the fiat exchange where users can swap BCH for fiat currencies. Looking at the list of buyers and sellers on Localbitcoincash shows the platform seems to be getting a fair share of users. People from various locations all around the world are selling increments of BCH for their local currency. At the time of publication, prices range from the current spot market price found on online exchanges and some traders are selling for a few hundred more per BCH.

The Localbitcoincash.org fiat exchange.
The peer-to-peer LBC platform also has a crypto-to-crypto exchange that operates just like Shapeshift or Changelly but without fees.

The peer-to-peer platform also has a crypto-to-crypto exchange that operates similarly to Shapeshift, and Changelly.
Peer-to-Peer Escrow Shopping
Similarly to the operations of the aforementioned platforms, LBC gives registered users a deposit and receiving address so they can swap BCH for cryptocurrencies like BTC, Dash, Ethereum, Smartcash, Steem, and more. Under this feature on the sidebar is the send BCH by email service which allows users to easily send BCH to someone in this mannner. Furthermore, on May 30, the LBC developer announced the addition of a peer-to-peer shopping section where users can sell items for BCH.

LBC's newly added shopping section that allows people to sell goods via escrow.
"After many weeks of hard work, we are really excited to announce the launch of our peer to peer online shopping platform," explains the LBC representative. "This means that anyone can trade with anyone freely, instantly and safely via escrow. Anyone can be a seller today and sell physical or digital products — There are no commissions at all by the platform and we don't have any restrictions built in so users are welcome to message the sellers directly to deal outside of this platform."

All these additions fit with our objective of allowing anyone to earn a living online, especially people from failed states and corrupt countries. In many of these places, citizens had to suffer from the consequences of the failed government for many decades — Our hope is that with Bitcoin Cash, this will change and help lift someone up from poverty into economic freedom and equality.

The fiat exchange shows traders selling BCH are located all around the world but some have a cap on how much they are willing to sell. A great majority of the peer-to-peer trading arrangements on Localbitcoincash are 'Meetup' swaps where individuals meet in person to trade fiat for BCH. In order to get a scope of what type of trade an individual is offering simply hit the 'view' tab to read the trader's arrangements. The developer of LBC is adding to the website regularly and with each visit the trading portal seems to be more user-friendly over time.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Police Officers in Ukraine Caught Secretly Mining Crypto at Work for Four Months

 


Employees of a regional police department in Ukraine were recently caught mining cryptocurrencies using the department's resources, according to the court document. They had been mining for four months before they got caught and their mining farm seized.

Police Mining Farm Discovered
Police Officers in Ukraine Caught Secretly Mining Crypto at Work for Four MonthsEmployees of the National Police of Ukraine reportedly set up a cryptocurrency mining farm in their workplace and mined cryptocurrencies for four months before they were caught, local media reported this week. The employees work at the Rivne Oblast regional police headquarters' Communications Department. This information was revealed in the Rivne City Court document number No. 569/8710/18, Finclub reported.

Ukrainian news agency Glavcom elaborated, "In April of this year, employees of the Department of Homeland Security of the Police Headquarters in Rivne Oblast identified the [crypto mining] equipment at the office of the Communications Department," adding:

The same day, the investigator of the regional administration removed from his colleagues two wooden frames, which featured eight graphics cards, six power units, two hard drives, a motherboard and a complete system unit.

The Investigation
Police Officers in Ukraine Caught Secretly Mining Crypto at Work for Four Months"A pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the fact of theft of electricity" has already begun, the publication detailed, noting that the court decided not to reveal the cryptocurrencies mined.

The investigation "established that from the beginning of 2018, officials of the Communications Department…abused their official position, acting in contravention of the interests of the service," the news outlet quoted the court document. The employees unilaterally used the electricity of the region "for their own purposes, for the proper functioning of the equipment for the extraction of cryptocurrencies, which caused significant damage to the interests of the State Enterprise of the Rivne region," the court document details.

The policemen are charged with the theft of electricity belonging to the management of the National Police in the Rivne region, which they used to extract cryptocurrency, but it is not known how much electricity they used.

In Ukraine, there is currently no regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies despite having multiple proposals. However, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, Oleg Churiy, recently revealed that the central bank is working on a bill to regulate them.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Bitfinex Starts Sharing Customer Tax Data with Authorities

 



Bitfinex, an exchange famed for its opaque banking arrangements, has begun ordering its users to submit their tax details. The platform, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands, a known tax haven, will retain this information and may share it with tax authorities in their customers' jurisdiction. The news has caused quite a stir.

Bitfinex Wants Your Tax Details
In an email issued to a portion of its users, Bitfinex has outlined a new KYC policy. Not content with knowing the identity and location of its customers, it now wants their tax details. It has been stated that this is to accord with local laws in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) where the exchange is registered. The platform's tax data gathering won't stop there however: it notes that the BVI government "may then exchange that information with the tax authorities of the customer's country of residence".

Up until a few months ago, Bitfinex didn't even enforce basic KYC for its users. It's now gone from being one of the laxest major exchanges to one of the most regimented, with a tax sharing policy that surpasses anything enacted by the likes of Coinbase or Bittrex. After Bitfinex' new policy was called out on Twitter, the exchange clarified its position, explaining: "We have not sent this message to all users. We have deliberately targeted users that we believe have an obligation to self-disclose. If a user has _not_ received a message from us, she need _not_ self-certify anything to us at this time." There appears to be an inference, however, that all users will eventually be obliged to comply.

Bitfinex Users Plan a Boycott
Predictably, a number of Bitfinex customers have stated their desire to boycott the platform and take their trading elsewhere. Due to increased regulation, coupled with the transparency that is inherent to blockchain technology, cryptocurrency users are already among the most heavily scrutinized investors in the world. Many feel that Bitfinex' latest policy, regardless of its legal basis, is a step too far. Coming from an exchange synonymous with operating out of tax havens and failing to fully audit its Tether stablecoin, the irony of Bitfinex now wanting to audit its customers is not lost.

Bitcoin Cash Community Sees OP_Code Innovation After Upgrade

 



It's been well over a day since the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network upgraded its protocol, and the consensus rules now come with a 32MB block size. Although the block size increase is quite a feat, BCH developers have also expanded the network's default data-carrier-size to 220 Bytes and re-enabled some old Satoshi OP_Codes that were previously removed from earlier codebases. Now over the past 24-hours, lots of people have been playing around with the new BCH features.

Experimenting With the New Bitcoin Cash OP_Codes
Lots of BCH community members have been discussing the new OP_Code features and the additional space added to the network's default data-carrier-size. The first signs of people messing around with the new features came from the Memo and Blockpress developers as both platform's increased posting character limit from 79 to 217.

Both Memo and Blockpress (featured above) now have 217 characters.
This means users of both social media applications can now post more content and everything is saved on-chain. Then shortly after the fork, another OP_Code feature was shown to the community by Openbazaar developer Chris Pacia.

The First Tree Signature on the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain
Pacia built the first tree signature on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain by utilizing the OP_CAT functionality — which creates a more efficient multi-signature combination. The Openbazaar programmer explains for addresses with a large number of keys, a tree signature can use less data. "For addresses with a large number of keys a tree signature can use less data. And unlike normal OP_CHECKMULTISIG, it doesn't require you to expose the keys that were not used in the signing," Pacia explains to the BCH community on May 15. Moreover, Pacia shows his demonstration via a block explorer URL which indicates it was a 1 of 8 multi-sig tree signature.

Chris Pacia's multi-sig tree.
Many individuals were very impressed with the new multi-sig operation that shows innovation in multi-signature technology, and one that could add more BCH privacy in the future. Pacia details his example is a subset of MAST — which stands for 'Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees.' MAST could improve BCH privacy because certain multi-sig scripts could be kept hidden.

"This is like a subset of MAST," Pacia explains.  

MAST is more general but can't be done with the current opcodes as far as I know — If we had OP_EVAL then we could I think.

An OP_Code Puzzle With a Message in the Script
After the tree signature our Chief Technology Officer, Emil Oldenburg, also experimented with the Satoshi OP_Codes and created a 'transaction puzzle.' When the puzzle is solved it contains a secret message within the hashed script.    

"I made a fun little transaction puzzle with one of the new OP_Codes," Oldenburg explains.

The puzzle is solved with the string "BCH is the best Bitcoin". The script is <String1> <String2> OP_XOR OP_HASH256 <hash1> OP_EQUAL. It's solved by finding the secret String1 that when XORed with String2, after hashing should be equal to hash1.

Etching the Bible's 23,000 Verses Into the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain
Lastly, another anonymous user is pushing the 'arbitrary data spam debate' to the ultimate level. The Twitter handle UK Cryptocurrency showed the cryptocurrency community that a BCH address is currently writing the first testament of the King James Bible to the Bitcoin Cash blockchain at 1sat/Byte. Looking at the Bitcoin Cash transaction ID its Memo states:

Transactions following this continue to be written in the BCH chain with each verse that's found in the King James Bible.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

ARK Sponsors the World’s Premier Blockchain Conference

 


Blockchain technology has revolutionised the modern world. Transactions and exchanges on a global scale have never been easier, as we begin to unlock the full potential of the blockchain. The implementation of blockchain technology has completely revamped a number of industries. However, so many different blockchain systems are incompatible, interoperability has previously been impossible. ARK is an innovative blockchain startup that seeks to bridge this gap. By incorporating an all-encompassing blockchain network ARK is beginning to realise the potential of the blockchain through "smartbridge" technology.

ALL-IN-ONE BLOCKCHAIN SOLUTIONS
ARK is offering users, developers and blockchain startups a way to communicate across platforms. Using smartbridge technology users from one blockchain can trigger an event in another blockchain such as sending compatible tokens. Once the user from the initial chain executes an order, ARK will transfer the information to the other chain, which is then immediately recorded. This allows for an easy and efficient environment, without the confusion of transferring between different chains for every transaction or smart contract.

ARK is already has fully functioning models with Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Litecoin blockchains, and is rebuilding the ARK block system to allow compatibility. They also offer one-click blockchain deployment which allows other companies to start an ARK clone and build on its pre-compatible chain.

ARK IN CONSENSUS 2018
ARK has the potential for mass adoption by delivering services that consumers and developers equally need. Their aim to create an entire ecosystem of linked chains makes ARK highly flexible, scalable and adaptable. With such a platform, ARK is keen to spread the word. They are now participating in and sponsoring Consensus 2018, one of the largest blockchain conferences in the world.

ARK wants you to get involved! By sponsoring Consensus it will network with some of the the most established players in the sector. By attracting even more innovative minds and enthusiasts, ARK looks to to establish themselves as a market leader and a figure head in the blockchain community.

This year, Consensus will have its 4th annual meeting, which is to be held at Hilton Midtown, New York City, between 14th and 16th May. The event has a real buzz around it, with an expected attendance of over 5,000 people. During the three day event, more than 250 experts will weigh in on various aspects of the blockchain sector. The attendees will be a collection of industry startups, financial institutions, academic groups and tech leaders. These bright minds are welcomed to engage with ARK's all-in-one blockchain solution.

The ARK team are set to be a key figure in the conference, with a booth to accommodate visitors. The team will also provide a meeting room for one-to-one meetings and discussions. The entire event will fully showcase ARK as the team networks with the community. The first day will start with a presentation from ARK, followed by Blockport. These are then follow by a technical presentation from the team, who will fully explain the benefits of ARK.

The second and third day will be filled with insightful meetings and unique presentations. These will take place all day, thanks to the committed ARK team. Some of these discussions will offer great insight into ARK's vision and how they are set to revolutionise the blockchain world. The ARK team can be found in booth #113 and visitors are encouraged to engage in one-to-one meetings or public discussions.

ARK is proud to announce their new chapter that is set to usher in a new era for the blockchain sector. With a fast, decentralised platform the full potential of the blockchain will be unlocked. Don't miss out on ARK at Consensus 2018 and join the ARK community on their exciting expedition.