Boxmining

Author: Michael Gu

  • Ask a Question to Vechain CEO Sunny Lu

    Ask a Question to Vechain CEO Sunny Lu

    Hey Vefam! I’ll be interviewing Vechain CEO Sunny Lu at 10 pm UTC +8 on Monday the 20th of July. The aim of the interview is to give an updated view of Vechain and the grand objectives. Then we’ll go into the details and ask about developments with various programs such as previous partnerships, Toolchain, and the entire ecosystem.

    What is Vechain? VeChain (or VechainThor) is a next-generation smart contract blockchain platform focused on enterprise adoption, Internet of Things (IoT), and mass adoption via Toolchain. The blockchain supports the creation of smart-contracts – self-executing contacts that have a guaranteed outcome without third party trust. This allows for the creation of decentralized applications (“Dapps”) that can solve enterprise problems such as:

    *Update: Due to popular demand, Sunny has agreed to do the interview LIVE. Event will be held at 10 pm UTC +8 on Monday the 20th of July on the following stream:

    Overall the video is for both beginners and veterans of the Vechain Ecosystem. I’d love for you guys to come up with some questions for Sunny as well. I’ll personally be giving some prizes for:

    • Most Creative Question
    • Most Insightful Question
    • Funniest / Weirdest Question

    Get FREE Tickets on EventBright: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vechain-creating-an-enterprise-blockchain-ecosystem-tickets-113441588846

    To ask a question, leave a comment in this post below!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange. (https://www.focolare.org)

  • Top 5 Bitcoin OTC Brokers: Efficiently trade large volumes of Bitcoin

    Top 5 Bitcoin OTC Brokers: Efficiently trade large volumes of Bitcoin

    What’s are Bitcoin Over-the-Counter (OTC) brokers?

    Over-the-counter (OTC) are entities that allow the buy and sell of large quantities of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. OTCs offer more private and personalized services to institutions and high net-worth individuals who need a high degree of liquidity and privacy. The key advantage to an OTC is that they handle large trading volumes, such as trading $100,000+ USD without price slippage. OTC traders will normally quote a strike price for the entire order block with immediate execution. This is contrasted with trading on cryptocurrency exchanges where large orders will cause the price to decrease due to a lack of buy orders. OTC desks allows institutions and high net-worth individuals to buy Bitcoin without a having dedicated trading desk.

    OTC offices can be either regionally located, serving local clients or global. Often major cities such as Hong Kong, Tokyo or New York have OTC brokers servicing local clients. These brokers can provide very personalized services and even in person meetups. In contrast, global OTCs such as Binance OTC handles transactions over the internet.

    Traditionally in the stock market world, OTC desks facilitate trading of securities that are not listed on formal exchanges, e.g. the New York Stock Exchange.

    Benefits of trading via an OTC broker

    • High Liquidity – Dedicated traders from OTC desks will help increase the liquidity of the overall market. This means they can handle large order blocks
    • Fixed Price – OTC brokers will over a quotation for the entire order block. This means orders are not affected by price slippage.
    • Easy Fiat Options – Brokers will have local bank accounts and can sometimes even accept cash.

    Disadvantages of trading via an OTC broker

    • Limited range of cryptocurrencies – Often OTC brokers specialize on a few cryptocurrencies. This means unlike exchanges, they will not offer 100+ trading pairs. Instead, they will focus on the major popular cryptocurrencies that have high trading volune and interest such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or some stablecoins.
    • Manual trading process – Traders are executed by a human counter-party. This trading times will often be limited to regular office hours.
    • Large order size required – Brokers often have a minimum order size, such as $100,000 USD traded within a certain period of time.

    How do OTC Brokers work

    OTC desks have a network of buyers and sellers. The trades themselves are facilitated by OTC broker-dealer who will locate and negotiate directly with prospective buyers and sellers over computer networks or by phone. This is contrasted from trading over exchanges where the prices and order books are publicly available. For OTC desks, their broker-dealers will negotiate the trade price for you. Trades are also not publicly listed giving the parties privacy.

    Therefore, to fully understand what is going on in the cryptocurrency markets it is important to consider what is also happening at OTC desks. This is because large transactions happen on them on a daily basis.

    Bitcoin OTC vs Exchanges

    The choice of whether to use a Bitcoin OTC or Exchange depends largely on the volume of orders. Big players looking to buy or sell large quantities of cryptocurrencies are better off using an OTC broker. This is because a single exchange (no matter how large) will not have the liquidity necessary to fill large order blocks. Research has shown that sell orders of US$30 million can significantly suppress the price of a cryptocurrency, hence causing slippages of 5-10%. This amount is much larger than the fees charged by OTC brokers. The second advantage of using OTCs is that they can offer to lock in a particular quotation with the option to settle at a later time. This gives people additional flexibility to move funds from banks or cold-storage (such as the Ledger Nano X).

    However, depending on who you are, one upside or downside of OTCs is that they are not transparent. So while you can try to gauge whether there is a lot of trade flow through an OTC desk by reading their reports (if any), there is no way you can verify if they are being truthful or giving you the best price. On the other hand you can conduct trades privately compared to on exchanges and the price will be “locked-in” and not subject to any fluctuation between the time of agreement and the time of settlement.

    How to trade Bitcoin with OTC Brokers

    This guide outlines the general steps involved in trading with Over-the-Counter Brokers. Generally speaking, brokers provide similar on-boarding and trading experiences. It is important to remember all brokers will require verification of your identity, known as Know-Your-Customer (KYC) registration. On top of this, brokers will verify the source of funds to prevent money-laundering.

    Summary of how crypto is traded with an OTC broker
    Summary of how crypto is traded with an OTC broker (Image credit: Genesis Block)

    Time needed: 3 days

    How to trade with Bitcoin OTC Brokers

    1. Signup

      Sign up to the broker via website, email, call or in-person meetup. They will usually ask about the type and quantity of cryptocurrencies you would like to sell.

    2. Onboard

      Every broker will require you to fill in onboarding documents and legal disclaimers. They will also ask you to provide various types of documentation such as a Government ID, Proof of Residence and Proof of Income.

    3. Communicate

      Once on-boarded, they will give you a communications channel. Typically this involved a messaging platform where you can request quotations for orders such as:
      You: “I would like to buy 100 Bitcoin”
      Trader: “We can offer 100 BTC at a price of $8123 USD per BTC”

    4. Confirm trade

      You can choose whether to accept the price quotation or not. If you agree, the trade is immediately confirmed and the trade will provide you with a deposit address.

    5. Trade Complete

      Once the deposit is received, the order is no fully executed and you will receive your trade

    Top OTC Brokers around the world

    When trading with OTC brokers, it’s important to only use trusted and regulated brokers. This is important because of the large transaction sizes involved – you don’t want to get delayed or even scammed out of a transactions. We compiled the list of the biggest OTC brokers around the world

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    Bitcoin OTC in China and Hong Kong

    Bitcoin OTC brokers play a very important role in China due to a government ban on cryptocurrency exchanges. In China, it’s no longer legal to operate a cryptocurrency exchange due to a legislation change in 2017. This has left large Chinese exchanges and OTC desks such as OKex, Binance, Genesis Block and Huobi operating overseas or as OTC brokers.

    Currently Bitcoin OTCs brokers are legal in China. They operate by directly connecting buyers and sellers of Bitcoin. However, Chinese financial institutions such as Alibaba’s Alipay have distanced themselves from OTC transactions, stating that they will “immediately stop relevant payment services“.

    There’re several reports about @Alipay being used for bitcoin transactions. To reiterate, Alipay closely monitors over-the-counter transactions to identify irregular behavior and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.  If any transactions are identified as being related to bitcoin or other virtual currencies, @Alipay immediately stops the relevant payment services.

    AliPay official statement

    Interview with OTC Brokers

    Travel with me to Genesis Block in Hong Kong to see what’s happening with trading behind the scenes and Over the Counter (OTC).

    Vlog: Crypto Trading/ Market Manipulation/OTC Markets

    OTC money laundering and criminal activity

    One of the biggest concerns of OTC brokers and trading is the risk of exposure to criminal funds. This is because OTC desks who do not perform proper due diligence on source of funds can come into contact with tainted coins. In a 2020 report, cryptocurrency research company Chainalysis released a report on money laundering in the exchange and OTC space. The report accused some OTC desks of illegally taking laundering funds for private clients. In order to protect yourself from such activity, ensure you are trading with legitimate brokers who have proper KYC. On top of this, never buy “discounted” Bitcoins offered on social media such as Instagram or Facebook.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

    Will OTC brokers accept cash?

    Often OTC brokers will have a cash option – for both buying and selling Bitcoin. It’s important to remember for large quantities of cash, KYC registration is required. On top of this, proof of funds may also be requested.

    Do OTC brokers require my Identity?

    To comply with anti-money laundering laws, OTC brokers will require you to submit official documentation such as Identity, Proof of address, bank account statements, proof of income or proof of funds. The type of identification required however would depend on the OTC brokers own company requirements and any information as required by the laws of the relevant jurisdiction.

    Is there a limit on how much cryptocurrency I can trade with an OTC?

    ost OTCs do not have a maximum limit on the amount of Bitcoin you can buy or sell. Order sizes of 100 or above BTC are commonplace for these brokers. However, some brokers will have a minimum order size, such as $100,000 USD.

    How do I buy Bitcoin Anonymously (Privately)?

    The best way to buy Bitcoin without a record is via cash or peer-to-peer transactions. It is important to remember this contains inherent risk as you’ll need to do your own KYC and potentially offer proof of funds in the future. You should also check that your counterparty is a legitimate trader and not a scammer as there are incidents of people being robbed during these “trades”.

    Are there OTCs for Altcoins?

    There are OTC services for altcoins and even coins that are not yet listed on exchanges. These OTCs will function similar to a matchmaker – matching sellers and buyers of a particular asset. One such example is Silverway – an OTC deal platform and deal aggregation platform.

    How do I find out the volumes handled by OTCs?

    OTCs are not obliged to provide trading data such as daily volumes, prices, or order books. However, some OTCs provide annual reports or blog posts that contain aggregated volume data.

    What should I look out for when choosing OTCs?

    Security and legitimacy are very important with thinking of which OTC desk to trade with, especially since huge sums of money are involved. Prospective customers could for example, check if the OTC desk is registered with the relevant government authorities, ask any peers if they have traded there before and their feedback, check online reviews or social media, or even go to their physical offices to make inquiries before signing up and trading.

  • Free TON Explained – A community project from the ashes of Telegram?

    Free TON Explained – A community project from the ashes of Telegram?

    Free TON (The Open Network) is a new blockchain platform created by the developers of the Telegram Open Network (also abbreviated TON). FREE TON positions itself as a community project which uses the telegram developed open source “TON OS” as virtual Operating System to run smart contracts and decentralized applications. Despite the name, Free TON is not officially affiliated with Telegram Inc nor are there any claims that it will be incorporated in the Telegram App. The project also doesn’t include Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, which is very likely an intentional move to distance themselves from the Telegram Open Network.

    Telegram Open Network
    Telegram Open Network is officially delayed until 2021

    Free TON is based on TON OS

    Free TON’s Declaration of Independence

    TON OS is designed as a decentralized operating system to handle decentralized applications. One way to imagine it is that it’s a more full-featured than the Ethereum Virtual Machine which only strictly run code. TON OS has a stack of components which can be used by developers to create powerful applications without the need to

    Built on Open Sourced Components

    Free TON is built on components that were open sourced this week. These components were originally part of the Telegram Open Network project developed by TON labs and other parties. By making these components Open Source, everyone around the can view and copy fragments of the code.

    Distribution of TONs

    Free TON will be distributed via “Giver Contracts” who are responsible for distributing TONs to 3 major groups:

    • Users
    • Validators
    • Developers

    Referral Giver be responsible for airdropping coins to initial users via a referral program. This will be the largest group, and Referral Givers will give away 85% of all TONs.

    Free TON Roadmap

    • Stage I ”Raging Bull” — Incentivized Beta Network with a Decentralized Time Bomb (DTB)
    • Stage II ”Rumble Fish” — Incentivized Beta Network with validator voting for Network Configuration
    • Stage III “Fight Club” — Decentralized Main Network, at the point where decentralization is sufficiently achieved

    TON Crystal exchange listing

    The TON crystal is the official currency of Free TON. This currency will be used to power transactions on the network (similar to Ethereum Gas) and also used native currency on the network. Currently it’s unknown if there will be any regulatory issues with listing Free TON. (Tramadol) Whilst we know developed by a similar developer pool as the TON project, it’s unknown if it will carry over any of the legal issues.

    Community is not accepting US members

    The Free TON community has a strong “No US resident” policy, where US residents cannot participate in the community nor receive any free tokens. This is likely related to the on-going legal issues between Telegram Open Network and the US SEC – where a pending lawsuit and investigation is preventing the coin from being launched. Very likely the developers behind Free TON has learnt from the previous mistakes and decided not to include US residents in any form.

    Conclusion

    Free TON is everything Telegram Open Network would be – but without Telegram. The community project aims at creating a decentralized network using all the research and development which went into the original TON (a project that was canceled due to regulatory issues).

    How do I get Free TON

    Users will get distributed Free TON via the Referral Giver method. 85% of all TON will be given away by this method

    How do I mine TON

    You cannot mine TON as it’s not using the Proof of Work consensus. Instead, there are 300 public validators that will be able to earn TON

  • Top 10 Blockchain Security and Smart Contract Audit Companies

    Top 10 Blockchain Security and Smart Contract Audit Companies

    We rank the top 10 performing blockchain security firms offering services such as smart contract audits, blockchain security analysis, penetration testing, formal verification, and security audits. Security audits are extremely important – this year we’re seeing the rise of Decentralized Finance (DeFi)— a new application of decentralized Blockchain technology that is poised to replace the trillion dollars Global Finance industry. However, recent events such as the dForce hack have shown us that hackers can exploit weaknesses in smart contracts and steal money. It’s almost like robbing a bank, except in this case the bank is flush with crypto AND can’t defend itself. In the case with dForce, the hacker stole $25,000,000 USD (talk about a good haul) and with crypto transactions, we know this is not reversible.

    Consequently, security solutions, tailored to the volatile nature of blockchain technology and its components, have started making moves to isolate and neutralize security threats common in the blockchain terrain. In this article, I will highlight and explore the workings of the top companies in the blockchain security niche.

    It is therefore extremely important for security audits of projects, exchanges and blockchains to be done. Users must also know what security tests have been performed and if any red flags were raised.

    Hacken

    Website: https://hacken.io/

    Hacken performs a wide range of security services for its clients. These suites of services include blockchain security consulting, web/mobile penetration testing, coordination of bug bounty programs, crypto exchange ratings, among other things. Although Hacken offers a long list of services targeted at blockchain and crypto firms, its ecosystem, however, encompasses security products ideal for IT companies as a whole. The company has built a commendable reputation as a security risk assessment for companies requiring a digital environment to create or enable services for their consumers.

    Hence, it comes as no surprise that Hacken has provided security services for non-blockchain giants like Air Asia. Furthermore, it has proven its commitment to blockchain technology by sponsoring and engaging security experts worldwide in security meetups.

    Hacken has also created the HackenAI security platform designed to protect the end user from security risks and account compromises. Key features such as Darknet monitoring immediately alerts users of compromised passwords and possible darknet attacks. HackenAI is available on Android and Iphone devices.

    Quantstamp

    Website: https://quantstamp.com/

    Quantstamp is a blockchain security startup unveiled at YCombinator W18 Batch. The security team of Quantstamp has experience in top IT companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple. And this is evident in the platform’s wide array of blockchain security tools and services. For one, Quantstamp has developed a decentralized security network for smart contract auditing. With this solution, users can perform automated smart contract security review on a “global network of decentralized security nodes.”

    Additionally, the platform provides expert security audits for clients blockchain projects and a 24/7 security monitoring software tool.

    Trail of Bits

    Website: https://www.trailofbits.com/

    Trail of Bits prides itself as a network of developers with the capabilities of identifying and fixing loopholes in software, devices, or codes. In other words, the solution provides an array of software security services that encompass smart contract audits, blockchain security research, software development, and so on. Over the years, Trail of Bits has developed formidable security tools for smart contracts. Some of these blockchain-focused solutions are Crytic, Slither, and Echidna.

    Apart from that, Trail of Bits developed the popular AlgoVPN. As well, it has a lot of security publications on GitHub, including public reports for 0x Protocol, Compound, NuCypher, and MakerDAO, which are some of its clients.

    OpenZeppelin

    Website: https://openzeppelin.com/

    The OpenZeppelin team is mostly known for its development of Solidity libraries known as OpenZeppelin Contracts. These libraries are used in most Solidity projects as a tested and standard template for contracts deployable on decentralized applications. Developers can integrate this solution through OpenZeppelin’s native SDK. Besides development, OpenZeppelin has a strong focus on smart contract security and audit services.

    Also, OpenZeppelin was one of the first teams to reinvent blockchain security by introducing elements of gamification to identify loopholes in smart contracts. Another of its products, Ethernaut, is a Web3/Solidity war game, which entails gamers to hack smart contracts to move to the next level.

    ConsenSys Diligence

    Website: https://diligence.consensys.net/

    US-based ConsenSys is one of the biggest and prominent blockchain incubators in the industry. Unlike other security firms mentioned on this list, ConsenSys dedicates its resources and technological know-how to the development of Ethereum blockchain applications and software, especially financial infrastructures. As such, its product, ConsenSys Diligence, offers security analysis for smart contracts. This audit product is at the cutting edge of sophisticated “cryptography, blockchain technology, and crypto-economic incentive analysis.”

    Another of its products, MythX, is one of the most powerful automated scanners for Ethereum smart contracts. This solution provides a robust API, which developers can use to access security analytics tools.

    Certik

    Website: https://certik.io/

    Certik is a security company looking to utilize topnotch formal verification technology in collaboration with some of the best cybersecurity experts to create end-to-end services. On its website, Certik claims that it has audited over 188,000 lines of codes and secured over $6.32 billion worth of assets. The team offers to mathematically validate the safety of smart contracts

    Therefore, it has developed Certik Chain, a public blockchain focused on leveraging Certik’s Formal Verification platform, to secure decentralized projects. Certik is officially a partner company of Binance, and it is backed by prominent investors, including Binance Labs, Lightspeed, Matrix Partners, and DHVC.

    LeastAuthority

    Website: https://leastauthority.com/

    LeastAuthority is a cybersecurity consulting firm with its main focus on privacy. It classifies itself as an enabler of private and disruptive storage solutions. At the moment, the platform has two major products available to its users. The first, Privatestorage (formerly S4), is a centralized system that provides storage infrastructure to end-users and offers them the autonomy over the collection, processing, and distribution of their private data. On the other hand, its second product, Tahoe LAFS, enables a decentralized, distributed, and fault-tolerant storage facility.

     In addition to providing different storage architectures, LeastAuthority has published security reports for Ethereum, Tezos, and others. It also works with developers throughout their development cycles to ensure that their projects are not susceptible to security threats. 

    PWC Switzerland (former Chainsecurity)

    Website: https://www.pwc.ch/en/services/risk-assurance/smart-contract-assurance.html

    Chainsecurity has joined PWC Switzerland to perform security review projects and create security solutions for the emerging blockchain industry. With this partnership, PWC Switzerland offers consultant services to blockchain projects from the exploration stage to the post-deployment stage. This platform assesses smart contract designs, tests their viability, and monitors metrics detailing their performances after deployment. It excels in its ability to combine automated analysis tools and the expertise of security professionals to identify and eliminate potential threats.

    As Chainsecurity, this blockchain team developed several security tools, including Securify and VerX. It makes sense to expect this team to continue its successful run in the blockchain security sector since it now has access to PWC Switzerland’s vast resources.

    Slowmist

    Website: https://www.slowmist.com/en/

    Slowmist is China’s leading blockchain security company. They perform extensive blockchain security services that include smart contract audits, blockchain security audits, wallet security testing, and much more. Slowmist also has a safe staking project for blockchain ecologies, which delivers real-time data on the growth and security patterns of EOS, Cosmos, Vechain, and other top blockchain projects. Another interesting bit of detail about this platform is its powerful firewall project for EOS smart contracts, named FireWall.X.

    Likewise, Slowmist is constantly tracking and publishing data and stats about security situation on crypto exchanges through their Blockchain Threat Intelligence (BTI) service. 

    Runtime Verification

    Website: https://runtimeverification.com/

    Runtime Verification is a research and development company focused on formal verification. According to the information on its website, this solution designs standard models for high-value applications and uses them as templates to develop security-sensitive products. Runtime Verification has developed two main smart contract security products. On the one hand, it offers smart contract correctness proofs with the help of the K framework to prove the viability of Ethereum and Cardano’s smart contracts. On the other, Firefly is a test coverage analysis tool for Ethereum smart contracts.

    Additionally, Runtime Verification has worked with Ethereum Foundation on building a formal framework for Ethereum 2.0 testing.

    What is the best Smart Contract Auditing Company

    Top tier smart contract auditing companies include Hacken, Trail of Bits and OpenZepplin

  • China’s Blockchain Service Network (BSN) Guide

    China’s Blockchain Service Network (BSN) Guide

    China’s Blockchain Service Network (BSN) is a national initiative designed to boost the integration and adoption of Blockchain in big businesses. China has positioned herself as a leader in Blockchain development, with 45% of all blockchain projects coming from the nation’s industries and tech giants (such as Tencent’s Blockchain Accelerator). The industry was given a huge boost in October 2018 when President Xi Jinping voiced his admiration for the technology behind cryptocurrencies. The network is set up for commercial usage and looks to provide a platform for enterprises and individuals wishing to make a blockchain application. Blockchain technologies are extremely powerful for enterprise applications as it allows for large scale data tracking with a guarantee on the authenticity of data. We’ve seen enterprise-focused Blockchain projects gain major partnerships in the past, such as Vechain’s partnership with logistics company DNV GL and auditing firms PwC.

    Xi Jinping
    President Xi personally addressed the nation on Blockchain Development in 2019

    Alongside the announcement of its digital currency electronic payment (DCEP) last month, China also launched its blockchain service network (BSN) signaling its continued shift towards a digital economy. Although it was not treated with as much fanfare, the BSN has a similar transformative effect to the DCEP and is no less important for the industry within and outside of China.

    What is China’s Blockchain Services Network (BSN)?

    The Blockchain Service Network (BSN) is a platform set up for individuals, businesses and local governments on which they can build blockchain applications. Launched on April 25th, the main target of the public network is to create a one-stop-shop for blockchain in China which supports smart city initiatives, other public networks and regions in the imminent digital economy which the People’s Republic is building. 

    The network will have two primary functions. The first is commercial and this will allow businesses/blockchain startups to use the network to develop applications, offering a public alternative to the private blockchain networks which already exist. Alongside this, the BSN will also provide a foundational consortium chain alliance for use for smart cities and digital economies. According to reports, the network will focus on openness, public utility, scalability, open-source, multi-portal, low cost and autonomy.

    The initiative will also be integral for the research into government usages for blockchain and governance. The network will also promote research in other areas and look to foster a development ecology, according to BSN alliance President Liu Yunan. 

    Liu Yunan BSN President (source:SIC.com)

    Partner Networks and Organisations

    The creation of the BSN has been done by an array of familiar faces within the tech industry. Leading the research was the Chinese government think tank, the State Information Center (SIC) whose smart city development research group the focal team. Other institutions which helped with its development include telecom company ChinaMobile and banking/payment network, China’s UnionPay. In terms of the cryptocurrency industry, exchange Huobi was a surprise inclusion in its development. 

    List of some BSN development association members (Source: CoinTelegraph)

    Technology Behind the BSN 

    The network will use a custom-built blockchain and there have been a number of companies involved in the technology’s research and implementation. The leading group in its creation is FISCO, or Financial Blockchain Shenzhen Consortium. This group includes Tencent’s digital currency wallet Webank and Cloud, Huawei, and Shenzhen Securities Communication.

    FISCO- BCOS 

    FISCO created the BCOS open-source network. Based on Ethereum’s blockchain, BCOS uses various features like zero-knowledge proofs and allows individual permissioned chains to run concurrently. 

    Tencent has played an integral role in its development, with its digital bank, Webank, providing smart contract Digital Asset Modeling Language for FISCO BCOS. 

    The network has already shown itself to be popular in its initial Beta period which began six months ago. Reports have suggested that 2,000 developers had signed up to the test period, creating blockchain applications for public welfare charity and electronic invoices. 

    Both the DCEP project and the BSN are all key structures in China’s technological plan, called the “China Standards 2035”. The document, which is set for release later this year, will plot out how the technologies will shape the next decade. 

    The BSN Beta testing

    The initial testing plan was launched in October 2019 and ended recently prior to the April launch. According to local media reports, the beta testing for commercial usage went well. Around 2,000 developers joined up with the test period, creating blockchain applications for public welfare charity and electronic invoices. Currently, the network has 128 public nodes, of which the majority come from China but a small number are overseas stretching across six continents. 

    Pilot Projects for BSN

    Huangzhou was the pilot city for the BSN

    The city which the network was tested in was Hangzhou, in Eastern China after the local government signed an agreement with the research group. According to Chinadaily, the BSN was rolled out in conjunction with Hangzhou’s City Brain platform and focussed on e-governance improvement, disinfection for hotels and more individualised technological services. The system will also be used to track local level issues such as road safety, with users encouraged to report any issues they see in the community. 

    As well as the piloting in Huangzhou, there was also a trial for a credit rating system based on blockchain that would track small and medium-sized businesses who wished to gain finance from banks.

    Blockchain in China

    Blockchain has long been a technology admired within China, typified by their leader Xi Jinping’s direct promotion of it in October 2019. Even without Xi’s comments, China has still been the leading nation for blockchain adoption with 45% of all projects coming from China according to data from the Mutual Chain Pulse Research Institute.

    Mutual Chain Research graph on number of blockchain projects by nation

    Top tech companies that have blockchain projects include, Tencent, the company behind WeChat, Alibaba, through its Ant financial team and Baidu, the internet search engine provider. 

    Provincial governments across the nation have been implementing various blockchain projects. More recently though, the shift has been more national with Blockbeats reports from May 12th claiming that the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China is looking for 10 new roles with regards to blockchain, these include Blockchain Engineering Technicians and a Blockchain Application Operator.

    WIll the BSN and DCEP be linked?

    Although there is nothing concrete at the moment, it would appear that both the DCEP and BSN will be linked. Evidence for this comes from reports of Webank writing smart contract digital asset modeling language. Clearly though, both blockchain and a digital yuan are integral parts of China’s future, something which will be enshrined in writing within the China 2035 Standards document set for release later this year. The document is a fifteen-year plan for China’s development and blockchain/digital currencies will be an integral part. 

  • Bitcoin Halving Explained

    Bitcoin Halving Explained

    Bitcoin Halving is expected to happen at  12 May 2020 07:07:39 UTC

    What is the Bitcoin Halving Event?

    The Bitcoin Halving event which marks the point where Bitcoin mining rewards will be cut precisely in half. Many view this as a turning point for the price of Bitcoin because it will drastically reduce the new supply of Bitcoin, creating scarcity. Currently the Bitcoin Halving is expected to happen at 12 May 2020 11:04:30 UTC – the exact time and date may vary due to fluctuations in Bitcoin block creation time. Once the halving takes place, the amount of Bitcoin mined per day will decrease from 1,800 BTC to 900 BTC. It is important to remember this event is permanent and will affect all the Bitcoin mined in the future as well (until the next halving event). From an economics standpoint, the less Bitcoin there is being produced the more scare and less accessible Bitcoin will become.

    Check out my video on what the Bitcoin halving is, and what opportunities it can mean for Bitcoin.

    Reduced Sell Pressure on Bitcoin

    There will be substantially less sell pressure from Bitcoin miners as they’re income of Bitcoin will half. Currently, miners will mint $13 million USD worth of Bitcoin per day. This is no small figure – and one of the reasons why mining is such a trillion dollar industry (Check out our Bitcoin mining guide for how to be part of it).

    bitcoin inflation chart

    Will Miners shut down / got bankrupt?

    After the Halving, miners will receive half of their regular income. This will drastically alter the dynamics and profitability of Bitcoin Mining. For miners who are using older machines (ASICs), the drop in income might spell certain doom. Some miners will yield negative profits and be forced to retire the older less efficient units. This is a common practice in mining – renewing hardware is part of the profitability cycle for miners. This is similar to other tech hardware businesses like server farms which require annual upgrades to hardware.

    There is no risk that Bitcoin be without miners – till is still 900 BTC to be mined each day (~$7.5 Million USD). Miners will be looking to be more competitive and source cheaper and cheaper electricity. In addition, Bitcoin difficulty can drop if there is less hashrate on the network, meaning it will be easier to mine Bitcoin.

    Hype and Expectations

    Bitcoin Halving Memes and Hype

    The Bitcoin Halving comes with a lot of hype and optimism for the future of Bitcoin. Several memes have emerged with charts pointing to “pump” in the price of Bitcoin. The chart above shows the LOG price of Bitcoin over time, with a ascending trend indicating potential prices of $250,000 and even $2,000,000 for the price of Bitcoin. It is important to remember that with cryptocurrencies prices are high volatile and past trends don’t always indicate future trends.

    Stats

    Total Bitcoins in circulation:18,367,900
    Total Bitcoins to ever be produced:21,000,000
    Percentage of total Bitcoins mined:87.47%
    Total Bitcoins left to mine:2,632,100
    Total Bitcoins left to mine until next blockhalf:7,100
    Bitcoin price (USD):$9,987.70
    Market capitalization (USD):$183,453,074,830.00
    Bitcoins generated per day:1,800
    Bitcoin inflation rate per annum:3.64%
    Bitcoin inflation rate per annum at next block halving event:1.80%
    Bitcoin inflation per day (USD):$17,977,860
    Bitcoin inflation until next blockhalf event based on current price (USD):$70,912,670
    Bitcoin block reward (USD):$124,846.25
    Total blocks:629,432
    Blocks until mining reward is halved:568
    Total number of block reward halvings:2
    Approximate block generation time:10.00 minutes
    Approximate blocks generated per day:144
    Difficulty:16,104,807,485,529
    Hash rate:117.64 Exahashes/s
    Current activated soft forksbip34,bip66,bip65,csv,segwit
    Current pending soft forks
    Next retarget period block height631008
    Blocks to mine until next difficulty retarget1576
    Next difficulty retarget ETA10 days, 22 hours, 40 minutes

  • Bybit Exchange Review – Top Exchange Platform of 2020?

    Bybit Exchange Review – Top Exchange Platform of 2020?

    Bybit is a powerful cryptocurrency derivatives exchange suitable for many traders, with products such as Bitcoin Perpetual futures with leverage. The exchange offers the ability to Long or Short cryptocurrency assets, giving traders to profit from both the rise or fall of Bitcoin prices.

    Sign-up

    Bybit exchange is popular due to social media as it is frequently featured on different YouTube and Social Media Channels. The exchange offers generous signup bonuses and trading bonuses, enticing users to join the exchange for up to $90 in trading credit – but there is a catch. Bybit requires users to trade on the exchange where fees are based on the amount traded – hence trading fees can rack up to thousands of dollars (similar to other crypto derivatives exchanges). In this article we’ll look at what is derivatives tradings and features of Bybit to ultimately answer – is Bybit a good exchange

    Key Features

    • Leveraged Trading
    • Perpetual futures contract
    • Trading activities

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    What is Derivatives Trading

    The core trading product offered by ByBit is cryptocurrency derivatives trading. Derivatives are financial tools that derive value from the underlying product – in this case cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. ByBit exchange trades contracts based on the underlying asset instead of the asset themselves – this allows higher leverage and more types of products. Derivative products are by institutions, companies, miners and traders to gain advantage of market conditions. For example, Bitcoin miners who know they will receive Bitcoin in the future may choose to short Bitcoin at current prices to protect themselves from future price volatility.

    Derivative products allows traders to speculate on the future value of various digital assets and trade their corresponding futures. This is different from regular trading as there are “shorting” options where traders benefit from an asset falling in price (without initially owning the asset). Traders can also take averaged positions where they can drastically increase their exposure to an asset with 5, 10 or even 50x leverage.

    Bybit Popularity

    Bybit is the 7th most popular futures platform by volume (source: https://www.coingecko.com/en/exchanges/derivatives)

    Bybit is currently the 7th most popular derivatives platform by volume. As of the 14th of April, the exchange handles $874 Million USD per day on the platform. This is a huge amount of trade volume as users can easily trade large amounts due to leveraged assets.

    Types of Derivatives Products on ByBit:

    • Futures – Futures is a type of standardized forward contract, a legal agreement to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price.
    • Options – Options are a special form of futures contract that gives the holder the right but not the obligation to sell at a future strike price. These are common used to protect against price volatility.

    Supported countries

    Bybit Services are not available to clients located or residing in the United States, Cuba, Crimea, Sevastopol, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Antigua or Barbuda.

    Bybit Offers and Coupons

    Bybit Trading Coupons and Offers

    Bybit offers a vast amount of coupons and initial funding offers for new users. This includes a $50 dollar bonus for funding the account, along with offers for following their social media account. The exchange also offers weekly trading rewards for active traders on the exchange.

    Bybit Testnet

    You can also test transactions on the Bybit Testnet. This allows users who are unfamiliar with features to trade without using real Bitcoin.

    Bybit Controversy and Affiliate Programs

    Bybit gained notoriety due to users losing money on leveraged trades on the exchange. Leveraged trading is extremely dangerous due to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. It is important to remember these advanced trading tools are for advanced users only, and the risks associated with trading must be fully understood.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Does Bybit Allow US traders?

    The exchange does not allow US Citizens to trade on its platform for regulatory reasons. This rule is enforced by I.P. verification, where traders with a US I.P. address will not be able to trade. It is possible to trade on the exchange without KYC (passport verification) verification.

    Does Bybit require KYC?

    Currently, Bybit does not require a passport or ID verification to trade on the exchange. There are currently no withdrawal limits. However, not completing the KYC procedures when using a cryptocurrency exchange carries risks. This is because if the exchange is hacked or it collapses, there would be no way of identifying and proving what funds you had there, which would make recovery extremely difficult, if not impossible.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) Explained – New Revolution for Finance?

    Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) Explained – New Revolution for Finance?

    What are Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) – will they mark the start of a revolution to change the financial system forever? CBDCs are digital currencies issued by central banks that function as National Currencies (fiat). They are a direct replacement of paper money, with the exact same value and issuance policies. CBDCs are state-sanctioned and governed by the monetary authority and regulatory law.

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    Banks around the world are racing to issue out Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). China has already deployed the test trial for Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP), a digital version of the RenMinBi based on cryptographic technology. Japan immediately countered this announcement by plans to release a Digital Yen in “2 to 3” years. One of the key motivations behind CBDC is to drastically improve the way money is transferred around the world. Instead of relying on decade-old technologies like SWIFT, Digital Currencies can be transferred directly without friction. This will drastic impacts on all levels of banking, from the m0 reserve system to the unbanked.

    Major newspaper outlets like The Guardian and the Economist began writing opinion pieces, calling the advancement from China a big step and one that could pose a threat to US economic hegemony. On the other side, commentators in China heralded their country’s fast work and implementation. Although the US and its state banks have been slow to announce any research plans and have seemingly stopped Facebook’s Libra (a privatized answer to a CBDC) in its tracks, other western nations have quickly begun research. 

    Global effort to deploy Central Bank Digital Currencies

    Earlier this year, banks from the UK, EU, Japan Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden all began joint research on a CBDC. France has announced intentions to test a pilot CBDC in 2020.

    In Asia, the Japanese immediately announced their intentions to create a CBDC to match China’s as soon as the news began to break. The Bank of Korea is also looking at its own digital currency. Smaller national banks like Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore are also looking into creating their own. Projects such as Singapore’s Ubin work with the Monetary Authority of Singapore are already in Phase 5 of development.

    The world is moving towards CBDC and is in agreement that this will be the currency of the future. But, what makes them so special and alluring to banks and governments? 

    Digital Currencies as a weapon to combat economic change

    The main reason is its cost-effectiveness and control. CBDCs are not subject to long processing times and costly fees. As you can see from the stable coin market, sending and receiving cryptocurrencies can be done quickly and easily, with just a phone and internet connection required. Not only that, but digital currencies are far easier to track making money laundering tracking much easier. 

    Another factor is CBDC’s resilience to political or economic changes. Often citizens from emerging economies are subject to a large disparity in their currency’s health in the market when compared to exchange rates, however, stable coins rarely have major shifts. Not only that, but big banking shutdowns, like seen in Greece and Iceland might well have had a solution if they held a financial alternative to store their money. This benefit of digital currencies could well be important as the world stares recession in the face following the economic stresses of the Coronavirus effort. 

    However, there is one major detail that is propelling some nations’ research. The threat which CBDC’s pose to the US dollar domination. ChinaDaily called the People’s Bank of China’s DCEP a “functional alternative to the dollar settlement system.” This is something politicians in Beijing want as US sanctions are made effective namely due to the dollar being the reserve currency. This means often international transfers to sanctioned states are prohibited and banks shut down, as they are using the US dollar in the exchange. 

    Challenging US sanctions

    The theoretical ability of CBDC’s to circumvent US dominance is something numerous embattled nations have looked to pounce on. Other countries who hold national digital currencies include Iran- a country ravaged by US sanctions and Venezuala- a similarly hit nation. Other US adversaries that have begun research into their own CBDC include Cuba, North Korea, and Palestine.

    Clearly, the race is on between the various competing nations to launch their own digital currencies and make a new economic framework. Who will lead the charge remains to be seen, but the answer could have major consequences for the future. 

  • The PIT Exchange Review: Blockchain.com’s secret weapon

    The PIT Exchange Review: Blockchain.com’s secret weapon

    The PIT is a high performance cryptocurrency exchange which supports extremely high performance, security and access to a network of banks for fiat trades. The PIT is made by Blockchain.com, a cryptocurrency industry veteran who’s blockchain explorer and wallet is used by millions. To build the exchange, Blockchain.com hired trading veterans from NYSE, Google, Goldman Sachs, UBS and TD Ameritrade. The key selling point for The PIT is the efficiency and fairness of the custom “Mercury” trading engine coupled with the large 40M audience Blockchain.com already has.

    In this review we’ll take a deep dive a the trading features on the PIT, trading and withdraw fees, security and an assessment on liquidity.

     “We decided to take matters into our own hands, and built an exchange that puts users first, including the 40M wallets on our platform.”

    Peter Smith, CEO of Blockchain.com

    Buy Crypto directly with USD or EUR

    One of the biggest selling points of The PIT is the ability to buy cryptocurrencies with USD or EUR. As a regulated exchange, The PIT has bank accounts in good standing in both the US and European Union. This customers can buy Bitcoin without paying expensive credit card fees (Binance’s Credit card issuer charges 5% to buy cryptocurrencies). Being regulated also means The PIT has already obtained the necessary audits and permits necessary for operating an exchange.

    Daily Clearing to Fiat

    A big selling feature for the PIT is the daily clearing of fiat to a network of top banks in Europe and US. This drastically prevents liquidity issues when it comes to fiat, such as failures to withdraw Fiat. This feature will be most attractive to institutional investors (Supported by the PIT Pro) who need direct access to large quantities of fiat.

    About Blockchain.com

    Blockchain.com allows users to access the PIT exchange directly in their wallet.

    The PIT is created by Blockchain.com, the first company to establish a blockchain explorer for Bitcoin. Blockchain.com was launched in 2011, with the website blockchain.info and blockchain.com. In 2013, they launched a Bitcoin wallet for iOS and Android. In 2014 Blockchain.com closed the second biggest digital currency financing around of $30.5 Million fundraising from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Moasiac Ventures.

    Simple trading interface

    The PIT trading interface

    The PIT offers a simple, ease to read trading interface. Trading history, order book and price history is very cleanly presented on the trading interface. The front-end also supports a large degree of customization, allow users to use TradingView to draw patterns and trends.

    The PIT exchange fees

    The PIT charges trading fees using a tiered system based on the amount of USD traded. In the starter tier, fees start at 0.14% for makers and 0.24% for takers. Maker fees decrease substantially as trade volume increases, with the lowest maker fee at 0.02% for trade volumes above $1 Billion USD.

    TierVolume in 30 DaysMakerTaker
    1$0.00 – $99,999.99 0.14% 0.24%
    5 $2,500,000.00 – $4,999,999.99
    0.04%     		0.18%
    10$20,000,000.00 – $24,999,999.99 0.03%0.14%
    15 $1,000,000,000.00+ 0.02%0.05%

    Is The PIT secure

    Whilst the PIT is a new cryptocurrency exchange, Blockchain.com has been in the cryptocurrency industry since the beginner. Blockchain.com has been providing wallets to millions of cryptocurrency users with an excellent security record. This gives Blockchain.com a strong reputation and presence in the industry. This puts Blockchain at the top of the list for security (however, we always recommend users to take funds off exchanges for long term storage and into their own wallet, such as the Ledger Nano X).

    As an added security measure, there is an optional feature to bind The PIT account with the Blockchain mobile wallet. This will provide additional account security.

    What coins can you trade on The PIT

    Currently the PIT supports the trading of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Stellar (XLM), Paxos Standard (PAX), Litecoin (LTC) and USDT.

    The PIT Exchange Review

    Review Score: 4.5/5

    The PIT has three major advantages – abundance of users, access to a network of bank accounts in US & EU, and long term reputation in the crypto space. Whilst 2019 saw a sudden influx of exchanges, most don’t have licenses to work with banks or passed audits. With a simple to use, yet highly customization interface, the PIT is easy to use for new traders and also feature rich for experts.

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    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Unstoppable Domains: Get ready for a censorship immune future

    Unstoppable Domains: Get ready for a censorship immune future

    Unstoppable domains is a new type of internet domain built on Web 3.0. The key feature of unstoppable domains is that it’s censorship-resistant – it is impossible for any single entity to demand the removal of a domain. This is important as we experience more and more censorship on the internet. Ultimately the goal of unstoppable domains is to make the internet censorship resistant and information freely accessible. Instead of relying on centralized services to buy and sell domain names (eg, Namecheap or GoDaddy), Unstoppable domains uses decentralized platforms Ethereum and Zilliqa Blockchain as a neutral 3rd party. This gives registered domains censorship immunity as no government or entity can restrict or remove access to that domain. To further improve on censorship resistance, it’s possible to host the content on the Inter Planetary File System (IPFS) a decentralized hosting service where content cannot be removed.

    One of the first uses of Unstoppable Domains is the creation of easy to remember cryptocurrency addresses. One thing that scares people away from cryptocurrency is the address. A long mixture of letters and numbers almost freezes crypto users whenever they want to send or receive their digital wealth. However this can be simplified with Unstoppable Domains into a “.zil” or “.crypto” domain, such as boxmining.zil.

    What is Unstoppable Domains?

    Unstoppable Domains Logo
    Unstoppable Domains Logo

    Unstoppable Domains has been working on its technology since 2017. They are software development company utilizing blockchain technology to give power back to the people and to ease the way people and cryptocurrencies interact.

    To enhance the interaction, Unstoppable Domains has borrowed some ideas from the internet both at current age and during its early days. For example, during the early days of the internet, users had to cram IP addresses, which were the only way to send messages from one person to the other. Although the system worked, memorizing numbers and periods “.” was just too much.

    To overcome the challenge, the IP address was placed behind the scenes and brought in the Domain Name Service (DNS). The DNS system made it simpler since a human-readable address was provided, and in the background, it was tied to the complicated IP address. Therefore, an internet user just typed the name, eg, Facebook.com, and the DNS system, having connected Facebook.com with its IP address, eased the way users saw and interacted with the internet.

    Using the same technique, Unstoppable Domains seeks to put the complex cryptocurrency addresses behind a human-readable name. As such, instead of directly sending cryptos to an address, you use the human-readable name.

    The concept behind Unstoppable Domains is succinctly explained by its CEO, Mather Gould, “We’ve been crypto enthusiasts since 2012 and have believed that crypto payments were too complex to go mainstream. Just like IP addresses were replaced with DNS system, we believe cryptocurrency addresses will be replaced with human-readable names.”

    “.crypto” domain for all crypto addresses?

    Recently Unstoppable Domains announced the “.crypto” blockchain agnostic domain. The idea behind this domain is to unify cryptocurrency addresses for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ziliqa and more.

    How to use Unstoppable domains with IPFS

    Unstoppable domains added the a new feature to work with uncensorable decentralized file hosting service IPFS. This will allow content to be permanently hosted on the internet with full immunity to government or political interference. IPFS hosts files spread across multiple locations in a decentralized fashion, so even if one server is taken down the content will still be accessible.

    Claim protected brand names on Unstoppable Domains

    To prevent phishing and domain name stealing, Unstoppable Domains automatically protects brand names like apple.crypto and boxmining.crypto. Only verified identities can claim such domain names via the free claim tool:

    One name for all your cryptocurrency wallets?

    Unstoppable Domain Management Panel

    That’s not all; you will only require one name for all of your wallets. Yes, just one. You see, Unstoppable Domains is looking for ways of driving crypto adoption. One of those ways is to make sending crypto as simple as sending mail.

    Therefore, friends can send you Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, etc., using a single name. Then, in the background, the technology from Unstoppable Domains routes the different cryptocurrencies to their respective wallets. This even eliminates the need for scanning QR codes since reading them is not 100 percent accurate.

    Connecting with the Zilliqa Blockchain

    Unstoppable Domain’s version of DNS is built on the Zilliqa blockchain.

    Zilliqa is a scalable smart contract blockchain ecosystem that facilitates the creation of scalable decentralized applications.

    However, Zilliqa is only providing a platform for Unstoppable Domains to build their blockchain-focused DNS. This means that the blockchain name service, although built on the Zilliqa platform, supports external cryptos like Ethereum, Bitcoin, Stellar Lumens, etc. It also supports the use of credit cards.

    As it is built on the Zilliqa blockchain, the domains will have a .zil extension.

    Unstoppable or Censorship-resistant Domains

    Apart from helping in the general public easily interact with cryptocurrencies, Unstoppable Domains is keen on providing censorship-resistant domains.

    With these domains, the owner of the domain name has complete control of the domain and its contents. Traditional domain assets are stored on your behalf by custodians, for example Google.

    However a blockchain domain is stored in your cryptocurrency wallet which only you control. Therefore, no company, law enforcement or even Unstoppable Domains themselves can take it from you.

    It does not end there. The information used to register your domain remains private; you can choose not to give any personal information. This means that it is hard to track an individual using the data provided. Also, the content provided on the website cannot be censored by a third party; you are in full control.

    Will Unstoppable Domains be Unstoppable?

    Unstoppable Domains are setting up for a challenging journey which will see cryptocurrency being adopted by more people. Additionally, with
    censorship-resistant websites, the control is finally given back to the people.

    Unstoppable Domains certainly has the firepower to become unstoppable. They have recently announced that it secured US$4 million in funding in Series A led by Draper Associates and Boost VC. They have also received grants from the Ethereum Foundation and Zilliqa Foundation.

    Unstoppable Domains announces it raised US$4m

    In their AMA with CEO Matt Gould on 15 May 2019, Unstoppable Domains revealed their development roadmap for 2019. Over this summer they will be working on fiat un boarding and privacy tools. In fall, the majority of the focus will be websites. (Phentermine)

    On the retail side, the auction for the top .zil names will end in Summer 2019. Afterwards, anyone will be able to buy their own .zil name. Looking further, in Fall and Winter 2019, website and browser support is expected to become functional.

    Unstoppable Domains' roadmap for the remainder of 2019
    Unstoppable Domains’ roadmap for the remainder of 2019

    Final Review Verdict

    Unstoppable domains delivers a new way to prevent censorship at the domain lever using blockchain technology. Development and adoption is accelerated by the team’s recent $4 Million Dollar Series A raise lead by Draper Associates. This new round of funding gives the team more funds to form partnerships to increase adoption. Currently we’re waiting for more cryptocurrency wallets to accept the .zil addresses – currently MyCrypto and Moon are set to integrate it soon.

    Pros:

    • Strong Backing and team to deliver products
    • Good use of Blockchain technology (Zilliqa Blockchain)
    • Clean User interface

    Cons:

    • Pre-sale only – adoption and integration is coming soon

    Review Score: 4.5 / 5

    Reviewed by Michael Gu on May 31
    19/10/2019 Updated to include the .crypto domain

    Resources:

    Unstoppable Domains Website: https://unstoppabledomains.com/
    Telegram Channel: https://t.me/unstoppabledomains
    Unstoppable Domains News Update: https://www.asiacryptotoday.com/unstoppable-domain-why-blockchain-needs-it/

  • Webinar 30th April: Will DeFi be secure enough for to replace banks?

    Webinar 30th April: Will DeFi be secure enough for to replace banks?

    This year were seeing the rise of Decentralized Finance (DeFi)— a new application of decentralized Blockchain technology that is poised to replace the trillion dollars Global Finance industry. However, recent events such as the dForce hack has shown us that hackers can exploit weaknesses in smart contracts and steal money. It’s almost like robbing a bank, except in this case the bank is flush with crypto AND can’t defend itself. In the case with dForce, the hacker stole $25,000,000 USD (talk about a good haul) and with crypto transactions we know this is not reversible. Luckily in this specific case, the team managed to negotiate with the hacker and they volunteer to return the money back.

    This whole incident highlights a big problem — DeFi applications hold huge amounts of assets and vulnerabilities in the code could lead to theft of the entire balance ( which could eventually mean millions of trillions of dollars). 

    In this special webinar held by the OKex acedemy talks we assemble 3 Blockchain security experts to discuss how to improve security in DeFi.

    Yu Guo — Secbit Labs

    Georgios Delkos — CertiK

    ZhengChao Du — Slowmist

    Moderated by: Michael Gu 

    Join us on April 30th 2020 @ 12:00pm UTC 
    👉Webinar: bit.ly/2yFnkhK

  • Bitcoin Mining Guide (2020)

    Bitcoin Mining Guide (2020)

    Bitcoin Mining is the process of using specialized computer hardware to earn Bitcoin. The annual production of Bitcoin via mining is $3.5 Billion dollars, with most of that Bitcoin going to Bitcoin miners. As miners earn rewards in Bitcoin, their profits can change greatly on market conditions – making Bitcoin mining a high risk / high reward industry. Anyone can join the Bitcoin network and become a miner. In fact originally Bitcoin can be mined on all personal computers and commonly available hardware. However, in 2020, specialized hardware called Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). These machines mine Bitcoin at a very efficiency.

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    Bitcoin is now a household name. For an invention that is just over a decade old, this is certainly remarkable. A mysterious entity by the name Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin in 2008 as an alternative to central bank currency. Bitcoin mining is an alternative to obtaining Bitcoin on top cryptocurrency exchanges. Miners often sell Bitcoin on Over-the-Counter brokers to generate passive income.

    Learn more about Bitcoin with our simple guide for beginners.

    Decentralization is a central tenet of Bitcoin. Essentially, no single person controls either the issue or functioning of Bitcoin. This system can, therefore operate and transfer funds from one account to another without centralized control. 

    Centralized control of a financial system is pretty easy. How then, does a decentralized ecosystem like Bitcoin work? The important question therefore is; how does the ledger automatically update transactions without giving either entity power to control to entire blockchain? 

    How Bitcoin Mining Works 

    The basic feature of Bitcoin is the open-source nature of the Bitcoin protocol. This means that anyone can access and update the Bitcoin code. Similarly, anyone can update the Bitcoin ledger of transactions. All that needs to be done is for your computer to guess a random number that solves an equation from the system.

    The more powerful your computer is, the more guesses it can make per second. Accordingly, having a powerful computer exponentially increases your chances of “guessing right”. This allows you to add the next “block” of bitcoin transactions to the existing chain.  

    A more complicated representation is as follows. On the one hand, you have your miner that makes “guesses”. If your mining equipment makes the right guess, you get the right to add the next block of transactions to the blockchain. The block you create is sent to other computers so that they can validate it.  At the same time, other computers in the network validate the block and update their copies of the Bitcoin blockchain. More computing power translates to greater frequency of making the right guesses. However, in line with natural rules of probability, it is virtually impossible for one computer to get it right all the time. 

    This process is what Bitcoin mining entails in a nutshell. Computers compete to add the next block and in the process generate new blockchain which automatically goes into the network. The computer that solves the block earns a “block reward” and some transaction fees on the transactions entered into the blockchain. Uniquely, the process of validation is automatic and does not rely on centralized control. Miners can decide to hold the bitcoin they create or trade it to other bitcoin community members.  

    Bitcoin Mining Hardware

    In order to profitably mine Bitcoin, you’ll need specialized hardware called ASICs. These machines are designed to specifically mine Bitcoin’s SHA256 algorithm – in essence they only do one thing but do it well.

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    Mining Difficulty 

    Perhaps, you are thinking, if it’s that straightforward, what makes Bitcoin valuable? Well, Satoshi Nakamoto in anticipation of this made mining difficulty increase as computing power increased. The mining difficulty automatically adjusts to the increase in cumulative network computing power as more miners get involved. 

    AThe reason for this is to keep Bitcoin inflation in check. See, if there is a steady stream of Bitcoin, it is easier to have stable rollout process. When Bitcoin was first launched, you could profitably mine Bitcoin using a personal home CPU. As Bitcoin became more popular, miners moved to GPU (Graphics processing Units) to carry out more calculations. A GPU can enhance a computer’s computing power to the equivalent of 30 regular PCs.  

    Later, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) came about. These were hardware equipment specifically to mine Bitcoin. Currently, they represent the gold standard in Bitcoin mining equipment and have occasional updates themselves. These ASICs have a higher “hash rate”, measured in hashes per second. Hash rate is the number of “guesses” the device can make per second. Consequently, the higher the hash rate, the higher the chance of earning bitcoins.

    Check out our video below to learn more about Bitcoin mining devices!

    Bitcoin mining-what do they use?

    Mining Pools 

    Even with top of the line mining equipment, the current mining landscape is incredibly competitive for individual miners. This has given rise to mining pools where miners combine computing power to compete effectively. If the pool successfully adds a block to the public chain, the pool spreads the reward among its members.  

    Currently, about a dozen large mining pools dominate Bitcoin mining. Mining pools charge you pool fees for participating which is something that can affect your profitability. 

    Mining farm
    Mining farm

    Top Bitcoin Mining Pools

    According to safestbettingsites.co.uk experts, there are 2 factors to consider when picking a Bitcoin mining pool – the location of the pool and it’s market share. The top priority would be location – the closer the pool is to you geographically the better. This is because sometimes due to network latency, shares that are mined could be “stale” – as new blocks are created rendering older blocks obsolete. It’s also important to know that Chinese servers are behind the Great Firewall of China, meaning that connections could periodically break. This means that choosing a server with low latency and close geographical location would give the highest yield.

    The second factor is the market share of the pool. The larger the market share, the more consistent the rewards. This is because blocks are continuously mined by the pool, and hence they can pay out at a consistent rate. This reduces the impact of the randomness of block creation.

    We recommend finding a pool close to your location with a high market share.

    Electricity Costs 

    Electricity is a major factor in Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin mining is certainly an electricity-intensive affair. This is because ASIC rigs have high computing power which the process of mining Bitcoin requires.  

    The high power consumption is in both powering the miner and cooling the machines which get really hot. This is why mining farms have cropped up in cold areas like Iceland to take advantage of natural cooling. 

    So, Is Mining Profitable? 

    This is a question that needs perspective. Mining on a personal PC is definitely not going to be profitable. This is because simple computers simply cannot compete with ASIC rigs and mining pools in terms of making more “guesses”. 

    So, the more computers you have and the faster your computer is- the greater your chances of generating the correct number and earning Bitcoin. Thus some people have entire farms of expensive computers to increase their chances.

    Currently, the block reward is 12.5 BTC for every block mined. Thus, you can only profitably mine Bitcoin with sophisticated equipment. Bitcoin mining farms are popular mining method to gain some of the block reward. Block rewards are set to half in 2020, reducing the mining rewards by 50%. This event is known as the “Bitcoin Halvening“. The current estimated date for the Halving is 13th of May 2020, after which the block reward will decrease from 12.5 to 6.25 bitcoin per block.

    One more obvious factor as to whether mining is profitable is the price of Bitcoin at any given time. Miners need to balance this with the expense of mining Bitcoin itself.

    Bitcoin Network Hashrate

    Bitcoin Mining Hashrate graph
    Bitcoin Network Hashrate (Total Mining) graph

    The Bitcoin Network Hashrate is currently above 120,000,000 TH/s. This means that if the hashrate of the network is coming for Antminer s17 (currently most popular type of Bitcoin ASIC), it would require 2.1 Million units. This would consume 5.4 Billion Watts of electricity, which is enough to power a small city! Mining rewards are split according to hashpower, with larger miners getting a high proportion of the daily Bitcoin mining reward.

    Summary 

    In summary, the following are factors which affect the profitability of mining Bitcoin:

    • Hashrate;
    • Block reward;
    • Mining difficulty;
    • Power consumption;
    • Pool fees; and
    • Bitcoin’s price at any given moment.

    Bitcoin mining is, therefore, a complicated task.

    However, investing significantly in a large mining pool is the most efficient way to go about it. The current circumstances make individual mining simply a waste of time when done on a small scale.  

    Nonetheless, it is still an activity that many investors have a significant stake in. The reality, however, is that the task will get progressively difficult with time and a select few with significant hashing power and cheap electricity will thrive.