The cost of bitcoin payments is skyrocketing because the network is totally overloaded

Bitcoin fees

Bitcoin transaction fees have gone from around $2 a transaction in October to $37 in late December. Bitcoin use in the real world may have started with the purchase of a pair of pizzas, but you’d be unlikely to see it used for such a minor exchange today. That’s because as bitcoin has soared in popularity it’s become too expensive to use in small transactions. The problem came to a head in early December, when Steam, the popular downloadable video game store, announced it would stop accepting bitcoin payments for…

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Ripple dethrones Ethereum, now #2 cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin

Ripple charts

Ripple just became the world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency. This is a big deal. But why? Is Ripple a good investment? Will banks adopt it? Let’s find out. Why is Ripple causing waves? While Bitcoin and the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies are well below their peak, Ripple is enjoying a meteoric rise and is trading at $ 2.22, up more than 49% from this time yesterday. In fact, it just unseated Ethereum as the #2 cryptocurrency in terms of market cap. So why is Ripple’s current so strong?…

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Crypto Mining Scripts: Latest Opera Version Includes Built-in Protection

opera blocks monero

The latest version of Opera has been released with an option that allows users to block cryptocurrency mining scripts. Hackers have recently found a way to make quick profits by injecting a script by CoinHive into websites, making their visitors mine Monero for them. A new version of Opera—Opera 50—has included an option in its interface, called “NoCoin”, that intends to protect users from these types of infiltrations. “Bitcoins are really hot right now, but did you know that they might actually be making your computer hotter?… This cryptocurrency mining…

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Bitcoin falls on S Korea curbs on digital currency trade

south korea

Bitcoin fell more than 11 percent after South Korea said today it would ban anonymous trading of virtual currencies and crack down on money laundering activities using them. The announcement came as the hyper-wired South emerged as a hotbed for cryptocurrency trading, accounting for some 20 percent of global bitcoin transactions — about 10 times the country’s share of the world economy. The new rules announced by Seoul include a ban on opening anonymous cryptocurrency accounts and new legislation to allow regulators to close virtual currency exchanges if necessary. “Officials…

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Ethereum-Powered Blockchain Real Estate Platform Goes Live In The U.S.

ShelterZoom

ShelterZoom, an Ethereum blockchain-based online offer and acceptance platform for the real estate industry, has gone live in the U.S., with global markets to go live in the first quarter of 2018. New York City-based Cyrus Charter, the first real estate listing customer, is in the midst of an initial test for the ShelterZoom platform that began in November. In addition, 10 customers have begun a beta test. The company also recently announced its first WordPress real estate theme affiliate, Estalik, and its first Australian company, Arena Property Agents. ShelterZoom…

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300-Member Strong Ethereum Enterprise Alliance Launches Three Working Groups

enterprise ethereum aliance

The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA) has launched three working groups in digital identity, energy and multiplatform interoperability to create and deliver specific advancements in those fields using Ethereum technology. With over 300 members since its launch in February 2017, the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance is now the world’s largest blockchain consortium. The working group, whose members include the likes of Intel, Microsoft and Mastercard, is a collective of companies and Ethereum development startups – even governments – uniting to leverage open-source Ethereum technology for enterprise blockchain solutions. In an announcement recently,…

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Japan’s Biggest Financial House MUFG Prepares to Secure Bitcoin Adopters

MUFG

Japan’s largest financial group, MUFG, is preparing a service that will secure bitcoin adopters’ holdings against any failure or losses suffered by the cryptocurrency exchanges they use. In what could be the first trust service of its kind anywhere in the world, the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust is preparing to offer bitcoin holders a service wherein their bitcoins are placed in a trust, separate from their cryptocurrency exchange’s assets. Japan has emerged among the world’s largest bitcoin trading markets despite the seismic collapse of Mt Gox in 2014, once the world’s…

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Hard Fork, Take Two: SegWit2x Will Return Dec. 28, Says Founder

segwit2x

The controversial SegWit2x Bitcoin (BTC) hard fork will go ahead on Dec. 28, according to the project’s official website. The SegWit2x project, which caused months of debate and infighting among the Bitcoin community prior to its last-minute cancellation in November, now says it will fork off at block 501451, due in around two days’ time. The project’s Founder and Lead Developer, Jaap Terlouw, stated on their site that the fork aims to address issues of “commission and transaction speed within the Bitcoin network,” adding that currently, Bitcoin is “almost impossible…

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Nonfactual FUD: China Cannot Control Bitcoin Network by Seizing Miners

bitcoin miners share

Recently, Stuff.co.nz, a popular New Zealand-based news publication, claimed that the Chinese government could gain control over the Bitcoin network and sabotage it by seizing miners and mining equipment based in China. The author of the report quoted by Stuff, Vladyslav Makarov, wrote: “It is obvious what this country can do to the network. It is over-exposed to China and the government can sabotage it.” One Major Flaw The report published by Stuff further claimed that more than 77 percent of bitcoin’s hash power or computing power is based in…

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Major Bitcoin Exchange Bittrex’s Customers Have Been Unable to Withdraw For Months

bittrex

On various online bitcoin communities, forums, and social media platforms, clients of major US-based bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex have expressed their concerns over long-lasting withdrawal issues. Bittrex Verification Issues, Resolution Several users disclosed that withdrawal of funds on the Bittrex cryptocurrency trading platform have been delayed for many weeks, up to a month, for reasons made unclear to users. According to a Bittrex customer, the withdrawal issues and delays on the Bittrex trading platform have emerged due to the platform’s verification issues. As with every other regulated cryptocurrency exchange,…

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Bitcoin Users, Exchanges are Ripe Targets for Criminals, Warns Cybersecurity Researcher

cybersecurity

With Bitcoin’s recent surge to nearly $20,000 per coin, and with the cryptocurrency ecosystem’s value blowing past the $600 billion mark, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting bitcoin users and cryptocurrency exchanges, according to Bryce Boland, chief technology officer (CTO) for cybersecurity firm FireEye, in the Asia Pacific region. The cybersecurity expert, speaking to ZDNet, claimed extorsion victims, presumably of ransomware, are increasingly being asked to pay in cryptocurrency. Earlier this year, a Google report pointed to 34 different ransomware families earning $25 million in the last two years, making it clear…

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We Aren’t Looking to Regulate Bitcoin, Says EU Commissioner

Pierre Moscovici

A high ranking European Union official has dismissed suggestions of the EU looking at regulating bitcoin markets and exchanges. In an interview with Bloomberg, Pierre Moscovici – European Union Commissioner for economic, financial affairs, taxation and customs, played down talk of supposed EU-wide bitcoin regulations while revealing the EU’s view of the cryptocurrency. “At this stage, we do not consider bitcoin as an alternative currency,” Moscovici said, comparing the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency to EU’s fiat currency, the Euro. “We see that there is quite a lot of speculation about…

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Winklevoss Twins Will Not Sell, Even if Bitcoin Price Hits $380,000

Winklevoss Twins

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, better known as the Winklevoss twins, still believe bitcoin will remain as the best investment over the next few decades. $8 Trillion Market Cap In 2012, when Facebook went public, the Winklevoss twins received $45 million from the settlement of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In spite of their lawyers’ recommendation to take a cash deal of $45 million, the Winklevoss twins received the settlement in Facebook shares. By 2013, the Winklevoss twins amassed a fortune of $300 million, as the shares of Facebook skyrocketed.…

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Samsung SDS Successfully Pilots Blockchain Tech for Korea’s Shipping Industry

samsung sds

A sweeping government-backed blockchain pilot application to record and track shipping logistics and documents related to import/exports has proven successful in South Korea. Samsung SDS, the IT subsidiary and technology provider of Samsung (Korea’s largest conglomerate), has successfully concluded a 7-month pilot of the application of blockchain technology to actual logistics locations in Korea’s shipping industry. As reported by CCN in May, Samsung SDS commenced the pilot alongside the launch of a blockchain consortium comprising of Korea’s shipping logistics companies, state-run research centers, government authorities like Korea’s Customs Service and…

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Swiss Online Bank Launches Bitcoin Product

Swissquote

There is a financial revolution on the way. A revolution born out of the need for greater accountability and transparency in the financial industry. A revolution born on the disintermediation and decentralization of banking services and underpinned by technological tour de force, Bitcoin. Bitcoin has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years, from a proof-of-work concept to the foundation of a market that scaled above the $300 billion mark. With the currency gaining widespread adoption by both financial establishments and governments, and analysts billing it the futures…

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