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Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Bloq Acquires Skry, Supercharges Blockchain Analytics With AI and Machine Learning

Bloq, a provider of blockchain technology solutions for global enterprises, announced that it has acquired Skry (formerly Coinalytics), a pioneer in blockchain analytics, to accelerate the development of its analytics capabilities and open the door for Artificial Intelligence (AI) on its platform. With the acquisition, Bloq wants to enhance its suite of analysis tools and position itself to maximize the value of blockchain data sets through AI and machine learning.The Chicago-based company focuses on solving key business issues surrounding security, provenance, authentication and reconciliation. The new acquisition, whose detailed terms haven’t been disclosed, includes Skry’s intellectual property and team, which seems a perfect fit for Bloq’s focus on empowering better visibility and decision-making in a multi-blockchain, multi-network world.“Financial institutions will need a full suite of tools to take blockchain [technology]’s role from high-tech database to business-driver,” Bloq’s Co-Founder and Chairman Matthew Roszak explained to Bitcoin Magazine. “Skry’s technology adds a keystone layer of analytics to our current platform, and will open the door for enterprise blockchains to become as smart as they are efficient.”Bloq’s portfolio includes high-profile projects, such as a partnership with Deloitte to build blockchain software solutions for leading companies worldwide; a partnership with PwC Australia to launch Vulcan Digital Asset Services, a new fintech business platform to accelerate the adoption of digital money and assets; and the “Blockchain Operating System” BloqEnterprise. The company is a member of the Hyperledger Project, a collaborative cross-industry effort to advance blockchain technology, led by the Linux Foundation, to whose Board of Directors Jeff Garzik, co-founder and CEO of Bloq, was appointed in November.“Blockchain networks need more than a rudimentary finder or explorer,” said Garzik. “We’re ensuring that enterprises won’t have to ‘fly blind’ without a complete understanding of the performance, economics and irregularities of their underlying networks.”“Blockchain networks will create the greatest data sets we’ve ever seen,” added Roszak. “Leveraging machine learning techniques will enable faster and enhanced decision making, while uncovering insights and massive opportunities along the way.”In fact, the Skry platform leverages the awesome power of modern AI technology. According to the company, AI allows users to extract insights at a speed and scale that no human can on their own. “Through novel interfaces the Skry platform allows domain experts to supercharge their intuition with the power of machine intelligence,” notes the Skry website. “Deep Learning technologies are combined with behavioral, predictive, graph and descriptive-prescriptive analytics to not only learn from the past, but to anticipate and predict illicit activities, suspicious user behavior, fraud and anomalies.” Deep Learning indicates a subset of AI technology for machine learning.Formerly known as Coinalytics, in 2015, it raised $1.1 million in a seed round led by Palo Alto–based incubator The Hive. Skry rebranded in April 2016 and added top AI experts to its team. The announcement noted Skry’s intention to position itself at the forefront of applying AI and machine learning to turn blockchain data into actionable insights, “which will have a crucial impact on the future of this technology, beyond Bitcoin.” “Bloq is one of the few blockchain software companies with a comprehensive vision for what enterprise customers need to launch and manage blockchain networks and applications,” said Fabio Federici, former CEO and co-founder of Skry. “Its team stressed interoperability and painstakingly engineered its technology from day one to be blockchain-agnostic. I’m excited to have Skry be a part of that future.”It seems likely that the acquisition of Skry’s AI intellectual property and team will strengthen Bloq’s position as a leading provider of high-tech blockchain solutions for demanding clients. In fact, with more and more companies and institutions adopting blockchain-based solutions, and more and more complex, potentially critical data stored in distributed ledgers, there’s a growing need for sophisticated analysis methods, which AI technology can provide.The post Bloq Acquires Skry, Supercharges Blockchain Analytics With AI and Machine Learning appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

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Here’s (Most of) What Has Happened to Bitcoin in China So Far in 2017

2017 for bitcoin has already been dizzying. The price broke $1,000 on January 1 and, last week, it broke through an all-time high. The price gains have come as a flurry of events in China, where the digital currency is defined as a ‘virtual good’, have left the Bitcoin scene there in disarray. 

Related: The Butterfly Effect of Bitcoin’s Exchange Regulations

2017

Here's (Most of) What Has Happened to Bitcoin in China so far in 2017

On January 5, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) spoke with bitcoin exchanges informing them that bitcoin is still not a currency under Chinese laws. Rumors abounded that China would soon act to ban Bitcoin, a nation where the majority of the digital currency is generated via its mining process.

A milder interpretation of the action surmised the central bank was simply clarifying the nation’s laws – no offline promotion, no fake trades, devaluation of the yuan can’t be mentioned to promote digital currency, and they reiterated mandatory know your customer and anti-money laundering laws, among other conditions. PBoC also took this opportunity to warn investors about the digital currency’s volatility and risk.

On January 11, People’s Daily, China’s official paper, published a story on blockchain technology which included a graphic explaining Bitcoin.

Then Came Inspections

The PBoC Shanghai and the Shanghai Municipal Finance Office were already inspecting popular Bitcoin service provider and exchange, BTCC. The two authorities then inspected bitcoin exchanges Huobi and OKcoin. The latter stated in a customer service email:

“[Authorities] are conducting a one-week long inspection, only to understand the situation here. The purpose is to maintain financial stability, prevent financial risks, and regulate market trading behavior”, the Chinese exchange wrote. “No other intentions. The deposit and withdraw services are functioning properly”.

BTCC shared similar sentiments. “All good, just inspections”, the exchange tweeted. “A group of regulators consisting of the [Shanghai] branch of PBOC, the [Shanghai] Financial Affairs office & other related govt agencies visited BTCC”.

Among other things, the Chinese exchanges would have to cease zero-fee margins trading in bitcoin. In the Bitcoin Community, a discussion concerning a large percentage of the trades in China were being faked by exchanges increased during these events. BTCC then suspended its bitcoin margin loan service. Huobi and OKCoin also suspended margin trading.

On January 20, BTCC tweeted that it was “reviewing the operating experience of foreign counterparts and the charging of transaction fees, aiming to further curb speculation and prevent violent price fluctuation”. OKCoin announced it was taking similar actions.

BTCC, Huobi and OKCoin introduced fees on or around January 24. A fourth Chinese bitcoin exchange, Yunbi, introduced fees shortly thereafter.

PBoC Releases Statement Acknowledging Inspections of Chinese Bitcoin Exchanges

“PBoC Department of Business Management, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Finance, Municipal Bureau of Industry and Commerce and other relevant departments formed a joint group to enter Huobi, OKCoin and other bitcoin exchanges for an on-site inspection”, the statement reads. “According to problems found during the initial inspection, the group decided to continue the inspection mainly focusing on payment settlement, anti-money laundering, foreign currency management, information and financial security. The inspection group suggests that investors should pay attention to important aspects of bitcoin exchanges, such as legal compliance, market volatility, financial security and other risks, and participation in bitcoin investment with discretion”.

As the Lunar New Year approached in China, the PBoC announced it would start its own digital currency research institute to research blockchain technology.

PBoC then invited nine Chinese bitcoin exchanges to a closed door meeting, including CHBTC, BTCTrade, HaoBTC and Yunbi, to reportedly emphasize no margin trading and that the exchanges must comply with AML laws.

PBoC, sometimes called “Central Mom” in China, had elicited a response. OKCoin, Huobi and BTCC all announced the day after the meeting that they wound strengthen AML and KYC procedures.

China-based Bitcoin twitter account and news source, CnLedger, tweeted the following day: “BTCC, OKCoin, Huobi: will upgrade AML system according to laws & regulations, pausing BTC LTC withdraw during the upgrade. Estimated time: 1 month”.

Chinese Exchanges Pause Withdrawals

On February 13, Bitcoin service provider HaoBTC announced it would cease bitcoin exchange services but maintain others like its wallet service.

Here's (Most of) What Has Happened to Bitcoin in China so far in 2017

Localbitcoins, a peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platform, showed an explosion in interest following the PBoC actions and subsequent suspension of withdrawals on Chinese exchanges.

Here's (Most of) What Has Happened to Bitcoin in China so far in 2017

On February 8, Samson Mow, CEO of BTCC, left the company he helped to found. Little explanation was given. “We are sorry to inform you that our COO [Samson Mow] is leaving BTCChina”, wrote co-founder Bobby Lee.

Trading volumes by then had started to dwindle. OKCoin, which held the largest amount of bitcoin futures, saw its volume drop by more than 20,000 bitcoins from February 16-17.

Since the meetings with PBoC, exchanges in China have begun to phase-in new AML and KYC procedures, such as ID uploads and other verification processes – neither of which existed before the recent meetings.

Then There Was ‘Bityuan’

In the latter half of January, it became public that the PBoC was researching how to implement its own digital currency, RMBCoin, “to truly achieve the goal of money for the people”.

“Now it’s becoming clear that China’s central bank will be one of the first to issue a digital currency”, according to Andy Mukherjee, writing for Bloomberg.

Bloomberg added: “An initial version of bityuan will probably be a tame affair. Research at the People’s Bank of China favors a system where the monetary authority would issue the cryptocurrency to banks, which would supply it to their customers”.

What do you think the future will be for Bitcoin in China? Let us know in the comments below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitcoin.com, and Pixabay. 


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Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase Stops Services in Hawaii Due to “Untenable” Regulation

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JP Morgan Positions to “Not Be Completely Disrupted” at the Launch of Enterprise Ethereum

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Virtual Currencies Included In Amendments To EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive

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Comparison: 3 Platforms Paying You in Bitcoin for Uploading Images

Recently, three different startups have begun offering a way for anyone to earn bitcoin by uploading content such as images and videos. Bitcoin.com examines the differences between the three platforms.

Also read: New Image Hosting Service Pays Thousands of Uploaders in Bitcoin 

Loopnroll

Loopnroll allows users to publish photos, short videos and animated gifs along with music that plays while viewing. For each view that a post gets, a small amount of bitcoin is earned by its poster. “Our site is about one year old, but the BTC feature is just Three Platforms Paying You Bitcoin for Uploading Imagesa few days old”, the Loopnroll team told Bitcoin.com, adding that “There are about 10,000 posts on the site”.

According to the website, the company shares “about 50% of our profit” with users, and previous day’s earnings are automatically sent daily to users’ bitcoin wallets with no minimum payout. “Your earnings will primarily depend on: number of views and geo-location of viewers”, the website says. “A view from Sweden is worth a few times more than a view from Somalia”, the team clarified.

Of the three platforms, Loopnroll’s interface looks the most like Imgur, the world’s most popular such website.

Three Platforms Paying You Bitcoin for Uploading Images

File.Army

File Army launched its website in January, and an Android app shortly thereafter. Users upload images and earn money when their posts are viewed, liked, and also when someone follows their account. Occasionally, bonus money is offered from various activities such as “logging in, opening newsletters and more”, the site says, adding that they are working on “introducing pay-to-moderate soon”. Users are paid daily without any minimum payout size. Currently, JPG/JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP are the supported file formats.

The service has a unique pay scale based on the amount and quality of traffic which “is graded over time”, according to the site’s FAQ page. The scale potentially allows the service to pay power users more than its competitors because “Users producing high-quality traffic can earn higher rates”, the startup explained.

In File Army’s payout structure, there are overall 9 grades of pay. A new user starts off at Three Platforms Paying You Bitcoin for Uploading Imagesthe rank of Corporal and gets promoted or demoted depending on the quality of their traffic. Corporals earn $1 per 4,000 views, $1 per 100 likes and $1 per 50 followers. However, Corporals have a cap of $2 per day. Meanwhile, the maximum one can earn is $1 per 750 views, $1 per 50 likes, and $1 per 5 followers. This level is referred to as the ‘Emperor’ and has a daily cap of $5,000.

One drawback to this system is that earnings received must be received in File Army’s official bitcoin wallet called Bitcoinwallet.com. This web-based service is another project by File Army’s founder Price Givens, who has also created Fiatleak.com and a few other online businesses.

File Army’s platform has a white background, and instead of the familiar side menu, visitors have to swipe left or right to view more posts.

Three Platforms Paying You Bitcoin for Uploading Images

Supload

The service that has been paying bitcoin for uploaded images the longest is Supload, which describes itself as “free image hosting that splits the profits with you from advertising”. Bitcoin.com has already profiled Supload back in December.

The service also looks similar to Imgur with a few slight differences, and allows users to upload images and videos. Currently, jpg, png, webp, gif are supported file types for images and mp/4, webm, mov, avi, and gif are supported for videos, which must be restricted to 30 seconds.

The site pays 50% of its profits generated from ads displayed on its website and the minimum payout is $1, which can be withdrawn at any time.

Three Platforms Paying You Bitcoin for Uploading Images

Which of the three platforms do you prefer? Let us know in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, LoopNRoll, File Army, Bitcoinwallet.com, and Supload


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Corporate Giants Combine to Launch the Enterprise Ethereum Aliance

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Startups, Banks and Tech Giants Launch Enterprise Ethereum Alliance

A group of blockchain startups, financial institutions and other blockchain innovators is launching the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) to build, promote and broadly support Ethereum-based technology. The collective, which includes Intel, Microsoft, J.P. Morgan, Banco Santander and ConsenSys, will also launch a reference architecture, named EntEth 1.0.“This body is going to work on standardizing the technology for enterprise settings, and that will only help the public Ethereum main net,” Andrew Keys, head of global business development at ConsenSys, one of the founding members, told Bitcoin Magazine.EnterpriseEthereum is a public and permissionless blockchain, which means that anyone can use it for whatever they see fit. While this is useful — even needed — for certain types of applications, it is not always suited for others. In particular, financial institutions and enterprise-level organizations tend to fork Ethereum’s codebase, launching their own pilot projects rather than using the Ethereum blockchain itself.Keys revealed the launch of the EEA at the Distributed: Markets conference in Atlanta, Georgia.“Enterprises are already deploying Ethereum networks. They’re taking the open-source version of the protocol that’s used for the permissionless next-generation of the internet,” Keys told Bitcoin Magazine. “But there’s a difference between the permissionless next-generation of the internet, and permissioned private networks. Our position is that these enterprises shouldn’t be playing at the protocol level. They should be building applications on top. And all of this needs to be standardized.”This standardization process will now be led by the EEA, which consists of 30 members at launch. It has a rotating board that includes Accenture, Banco Santander, BlockApps, BNY Mellon, CME Group, ConsenSys, IC3, Intel, J.P. Morgan, Microsoft and Nuco. The additional founding members are AMIS, Andui, BBVA, brainbot technologies, BP, Chronicled, Credit Suisse, Cryptape, Fubon Financial, ING, The Institutes, Monax, String Labs, Telindus, Tendermint, Thomson Reuters, UBS, VidRoll and Wipro.“Like many financial institutions, Santander has been actively exploring the use of distributed ledger technology and Ethereum has been one of the platforms-of-choice on which to build proof-of-concepts and prototypes.” said Julio Faura, Head of Research & Development for Innovation at Banco Santander. “With its large developer community, 1.5 years of testing in a public environment, and multiple implementations, Santander is enthusiastic in its support of the goals of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and its goal of developing a single set of standards for using Ethereum in an enterprise setting.”EntEth 1.0At the heart of the EEA is a reference architecture, EntEth 1.0. EntEth 1.0 is a standard, not a product, and is designed specifically for the needs of enterprise. Compared to Ethereum itself, EntEth 1.0 will include a stronger focus on privacy, similar to J.P. Morgan’s private Ethereum implementation, Quorum. It will also include more extensive permissioning, allowing a customizable way by which information can be shared, with whom, and to what extent.And, perhaps most important, EntEth 1.0 will include “pluggable consensus.”“If you have a very strong consensus algorithm, you’re going to have very few transactions per second,” Keys said. “So if you’re in a permissionless network like Bitcoin or public Ethereum, you need that hard consensus. While if you’re in a private one, you don’t need it. So, depending on the type of transaction you’re in, you’ll be able to change the types of consensus algorithms.”As a unique option, EntEth 1.0 can also be plugged into the main Ethereum network. This lets users of enterprise versions of Ethereum utilize Ethereum’s consensus model: proof of work currently, perhaps proof of stake in the future. As such, the EEA believes it can complement and improve the existing Ethereum project to collectively develop industry standards and facilitate open-source collaboration with its member base.“This [consortium] is built because we believe in Vitalik [Buterin]’s vision, and we want to complement it at the enterprise level,” Keys concluded.Vitalik Buterin, the inventor of Ethereum, looks forward to working with everyone involved in the alliance: “The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance project can play an important role in standardizing approaches for privacy, permissioning and providing alternative consensus algorithms to improve its usability in enterprise settings, and the resources the project and its members are contributing should accelerate the advancement of the Ethereum ecosystem generally.”The post Startups, Banks and Tech Giants Launch Enterprise Ethereum Alliance appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

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BTCC CEO Lee Pegs Bitcoin Price Between $5,000 and $11,000 by 2020

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Report: Ethereum Set To Ditch Mining In Favor Of Proof Of Stake

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UK’s David Cameron Wants to Use Blockchain to ‘Fight Corruption’ in Governments

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R3 Makes a Habit of Sending Cease-and-Desist Letters to Bitcoiners

R3 is making a habit of sending cease-and-desist letters to bitcoin journalists and developers. R3 first gained notoriety for bringing together 70 of the world’s largest financial institutions under the banner of ‘blockchain’, but has since moved away from the buzzword, towards so called ‘distributed ledger’ technology. 

The blockchain consortium, whose primary goal is to cut costs for the back office processes at major banks, seems to have no problem lobbying legal threats at members of the Bitcoin Community who do not follow the consortium’s line.

Related: R3CEV Unveils ‘Corda’, But is not Building a Blockchain

Peter Todd, a longtime Bitcoin Core developer, received legal threats lobbied by R3.

“R3’s allergic to criticism,” tweeted Bitcoin developer Peter Todd, who has worked with R3CEV. “Sent me a cease and desist for suggesting that there might be prior art on their patent.”

Prior art implies that Corda, which R3 seeks to patent, is already known technology, and thus ineligible for a patent. Mr. Todd says much of his work for R3CEV has gone unpaid. His work on Proofchains, which led to Corda’s design, was licensed by R3, but the consortium never paid for it.

“R3 bought a commercial license to my Proofchains work, although you’d have to ask a lawyer to know if that license is valid,” Mr. Todd tweeted.

Mr. Todd is not the only Bitcoin participant to receive a cease-and-desist letter. Bitcoin.com obtained a copy of an e-mail sent to a Bitcoin journalist by Chatsworth Communications, R3’s marketing firm.

In regards to a story about Wells Fargo, in which the multinational’s link to R3 was mentioned, Nick Murray Leslie, CEO of Chatsworth Communications, messaged the journalist the following:

“My client, R3 notes and asks me to advise you that there is no causal link whatsoever between the issue Wells Fargo is experiencing and their link to R3, which justifies your use of their name in this piece to the exclusion of any of the bank’s other partners or vendors,” Mr. Leslie writes. “As your piece does not reference any of the other block chain consortia to which Wells Fargo is also linked, this is clearly unbalanced, this may constitute malice under the Defamation Act. Wells Fargo has hundreds of partners and vendors, so we are at a loss as to why you are headlining a piece about them with a link to R3. We would ask you to remove the reference to R3 both in the headline and the body copy as it is irrelevant in the context of your piece immediately.”

He added: “R3 is a consortium working on whether distributed ledger technology can be applied to financial services. It is not bitcoin as is widely known. I am more than happy to advise you again as perhaps the point was not as clear as you need. The content and presentation of your article willfully conflates and combines the repetitional issues affecting Wells Fargo with its being a member of the R3 consortium, when there is no causal link or relevance in linking the two. As your article does not make the link with any other vendors, this could constitute a defamation under UK law.” The editor at the bitcoin news website in question gave into R3’s demands.

The Merkle Also Received a Cease-And-Desist Letter

Just recently, Bitcoin online news source, The Merkle, also received a cease-and-desist.

“The article published yesterday on your site yesterday on our client R3 is factually inaccurate, misleading and libelous,” writes Nick Warren of Chatsworth Communication, to the Merkle.

R3 was prompted by a sensationalist headline, “R3 Admits Defeat, Stops Blockchain Development.”

Mr. Warren asks: “Please take this article down from your website immediately.”

Charley Cooper, Managing Director of R3, then chimes in: “We’ve been flattered by all the attention this past week. Too bad the story isn’t a story. We’ve said from the beginning that while Corda is a distributed ledger platform, it is not a traditional blockchain platform and was never designed to be one.”

Today, R3 seemingly strays away from the word ‘blockchain,’ despite its initial market splash, when the word appeared in various articles from mainstream sources describing the organization as a blockchain consortium. Reuters, for instance, ran the headline, “R3 Blockchain group adds five banks, brings in technology heavyweights.”

R3CEV is based in New York. Freedom of the press is among the crowning achievements of the American Revolution. What is and is not libel or slander is difficult to decipher. Whereas in the past it has been an open question as to whether online content creators are protected by media shield laws. But, they are protected by the Free Speech Clause, which is supported by the U.S. Supreme Court

Still, it is up for debate whether or not R3CEV has been a victim of libel, and thus retains the right to issue cease-and-desist letters.

At press, David Rutter, R3CEV CEO and founder, had yet to reply to inquiries regarding these actions.

Does R3CEV have a defamation case against certain Bitcoin organizations and participants? Let us know in the comments below.


Images courtesy of R3CEV


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Wall Street’s Book-Keeper DTCC Completes ‘Phase One’ of Digital Asset Blockchain PoC Trial

Wall Street's settling house makes progress with its blockchain tests.

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Satoshi Fund: Investments in Blockchain Projects During 2016 Yields Over 500% Returns

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

Bitcoin Press Release: Satoshi Fund’s report on Blockchain investments indicates an impressive growth, yielding returns of over 500% in 2016.

February 23, 2017 – The first blockchain traded fund, Satoshi Fund presents a strong argument on why one should invest in blockchain assets. The blockchain asset management platform has analyzed the investments made in blockchain projects to conclude that they were profitable by at least 500%. These returns are from smart medium-term blockchain investments (including crowdinvesting projects) alone and don’t include daily trading speculations.

The year 2016 has turned out excellent for the blockchain industry. The sector has received massive investments from a range of different sources including venture capital funds, banking institutions, and lots of crowd investment campaigns (ICOs and token sales). The investment mechanism and risk appetite are not the same for individual investors taking part in ICOs and institutional investors like VC firms and banks. With so many investment opportunities out there, it is essential for individual investors to differentiate between good and bad investment decisions.

In order to prevent the investors from making bad decisions, Satoshi Fund has created Satoshi Pie – a transparent, auditable, and tradable blockchain-based fund that invests in blockchains. Satoshi Pie is a handy tool for those who are new to the blockchain world. It helps them distinguish the scams that promise otherworldly returns from the real future unicorns.

Investment process in Satoshi Pie is managed entirely on the blockchain, which also includes the maintenance of up-to-date records. The system implemented by Satoshi Pie makes it easier for the participants to verify the proof of investments at any point in time. Currently, Satoshi Pie manages over 1400 BTCs or up to $1.3 million in funds, most of which is stored in 2 of 3 multi-signature wallets.

Satoshi Pie has a diverse portfolio which extends beyond Bitcoin. It is currently handling over 23 different cryptocurrencies of which few like MaidSafe, Monero, Factom, Golem, Steem, and Byteball yielded 100% return on investments in 2016. Monero held the distinction of being the most profitable token in Satoshi Pie’s portfolio, generating a 229% profit in USD. Similarly, in spite of various challenges, Ethereum managed to offer an 11% return in the previous year. During the same timeframe, Satoshi Steem turned out to be the most unprofitable investment.

Satoshi Pie allows investors to participate in multiple blockchain projects by using a single token. Satoshi Pie’s investment token – SPIES can be bought on the OpenLedger platform. The Bitshares powered SPIES is backed by Satoshi Pie’s fund portfolio.

Satoshi Pie’s Investment Strategy

Satoshi Pie offers a detailed explanation of its investment strategy in the whitepaper. The platform’s strategy revolves around five principles.

  1. An exponential growth of information technology following Moore’s Law.
  2. Ultimate efficiency of decentralized consensus and blockchain technologies for economic interactions.
  3. An exponential growth of Bitcoin and blockchain economy following Network Effects and Metcalfe’s Law.
  4. Inevitable gradual reduction in Bitcoin’s share in blockchain economy due to similarities in the evolution process of existing economic systems.
  5. Uneven growth of autonomous systems as per the Diffusion of Innovations theory extended with Gartner’s Hype Cycle Model.

Satoshi Pie’s investments are focused towards the public, fully auditable blockchains following preliminary fund management evaluation. The platform’s interests lie in infrastructure solutions for the “economy of the future” like; decentralized computation, data storage and communications, decentralized exchanges, investment solutions, prediction markets, pegged asset protocols, cross chain gross settlement systems, identity protocols, DAO, smart contract frameworks, reputation systems and social networks.

About Satoshi Pie

Established in early 2016, Satoshi Pie is a side project of cyber.Fund – a blockchain investment tracking and rating system. Cyber.Fund is also behind the Golos, a Russian decentralized content platform. Golos was launched in late 2016 following a successful crowd sale that attracted about 600 BTCs (nearly $500,000 at the time of crowdsale) from the Post-Soviet states.

Learn more about Satoshi Fund at – https://satoshi.fund/

More info about cyber.Fund is available at – https://cyber.fund

Access Satoshi Pie whitepaper at – https://goo.gl/iLyhqO

How to invest in Satoshi Pie guide – http://ift.tt/2mfKwsd

Discover Satoshi Pie portfolio – http://ift.tt/2mfKuR7

Media Contact

Contact Name: Konstantin Lomashuk

Contact Email: press@satoshi.fund

Location: Russia

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Coinbase Exits as Hawaii Requires Bitcoin Companies to Hold Fiat Reserves

Coinbase announced on Monday that it “must indefinitely suspend its business in Hawaii”. This is because the Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) has imposed regulatory policies that would make Coinbase’s continued operations there impractical.

Also read: IRS Asks to Postpone Upcoming Hearing With Coinbase 

Hawaii’s Money Transmitter License Requirements

According to Coinbase’s announcement, “the Hawaii DFI will require licensure of entities which offer certain virtual currency services to Hawaii residents”. Coinbase currently holds money transmitter licenses in 38 U.S. jurisdictions and submitted “a comprehensive application for licensure in Hawaii way back in 2014”, according to Juan Suarez, the head of Legal at Coinbase.

While Coinbase has no objection to the licensing policy decision, the company wrote:

We understand the Hawaii DFI has further determined that licensees who hold virtual currency on behalf of customers must maintain redundant fiat currency reserves in an amount equal to the aggregate face value of all digital currency funds held on behalf of customers.

This policy “would set Hawaii apart from nearly every other state in America and will make it impossible for Coinbase to operate there”, Suarez expressed, adding that Coinbase Exits as Hawaii Requires Money Transmitter License“cash reserves (or similar, liquid assets referred to as ‘permissible investments’)” need to be maintained by Coinbase and other digital currency businesses.

For example, if Coinbase holds one bitcoin for a customer in Hawaii, this new policy will require the company to also hold the equivalent cash value of that bitcoin “as redundant collateral”, he described.

“This policy is obviously untenable. No digital currency business — and frankly, no commercially viable business anywhere — has the capital to supplement every customer’s bitcoin with redundant dollar collateral”, he further noted.

‘Permissible Investments’ Requirement

The ‘permissible investments‘ which Suarez referred to is a standard money transmitter licensing requirement for most U.S. states.

According to attorney Laurie Rosini of Perkins Coie: “Most states require digital currency companies to hold capital reserves in dollar-denominated ‘permissible investments,’ regardless of whether the company also holds digital currency value in the same form and volume as it is received”. She added that this has resulted in “added burdens on digital currency companies without enhancing consumer protections”.

Some states, however, have waived the requirement and some have begun to propose rule changes to include digital currency businesses. Hawaii, on the other hand, has decided to impose this rule.

Washington State, for example, introduced House Bill 1045 in December proposing amendments to the Washington Uniform Money Services Act including adding a definition of “virtual currency”. The bill proposes that “in lieu of holding traditional ‘permissible investments’, digital currency companies must hold capital reserves in ‘like-kind virtual currencies of the same volume’ as that which is obligated to consumers”, Rosini explained.

Customers in Hawaii Need to Close Accounts

Coinbase now requires all Hawaii-resident customers to close their accounts within the Coinbase Exits as Hawaii Requires Money Transmitter Licensenext thirty days, Suarez wrote, adding that “We will implement controls to prevent Hawaii residents from establishing Coinbase accounts for the indefinite future”. In addition, he advised customers wanting to hold onto their bitcoin to send them to another wallet service. However, “we cannot recommend any service which meets Coinbase’s security standards and which is licensed to operate in Hawaii”, he claims.

While exiting the Hawaiian market for the time being, Coinbase still hopes to work with policymakers to either change the law or to encourage the DFI commissioner to revisit her existing policy discretion under Hawaii law, Suarez concluded.

What do you think of Coinbase exiting Hawaii and of Hawaii’s Money Transmitter Licensing requirements? Let us know in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Coinbase, and Wikipedia


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