The rise of the digital currency

There isn’t much of a chance that you have lived on this Earth at some point these past few years and have somehow avoided hearing about  Bitcoin . The digital coins that act as a replacement for traditional forms of monetary payment have been a constant in the news, for good and bad, and have truly dominated the financial discussion in many quarters. What you might now know if you haven’t inspected it too closely is that Bitcoin is just one of many forms of cryptocurrency available to either use as currency or as an investment vehicle. It is important to understand about all of your options in terms of cryptocurrency, especially since some of these coins have as much if not more potential thanBITCOIN. For help in investing in one of these alternatives, you should check out  Ethereum Code , an excellent trading program that can grow your investment capital. You should also understand why the other coins on the market are ones that should be in your field of knowledge. 1. ...

L'Operaio, a Japanese car dealership that imports and sells high-end vehicles, is adding bitcoin as a payment option with technological support from the country's largest exchange, bitFlyer. Notably, while most of the exchange's existing retail partnerships have a limited settlement cap for each purchase, ranging from $900 to $2,760, bitFlyer says the new partnership will allow customers to make purchases as high as 100 million yen ($1 million) in bitcoin via its digital wallet. Announced  by bitFlyer on Tuesday, the initial phase of the partnership will see bitcoin payments being made available at the dealer's stores at Nerima, Setagaya, and Aoyama in Tokyo, with plans being to expand the option to all stores in the future. As reported before, bitFlyer has already integrated its cryptocurrency wallet with major electronics retailers in Japan, such as all stores at  Bic Camera  and selected branches of  Yamada Denki . Last year, department...

Ripple, a leading real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange, and remittance network, has announced its $29 million donation in support of public schools in the United States. HELPING EDUCATORS INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION Ripple, home to the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and founded by one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, has generously donated $29 million to support public schools in the United States. “Every Rippler, from the executive team to our newest hires, started their careers in one place — the classroom,” wrote the company in  an official blog post , yesterday. “It’s in this pivotal setting that children’s dreams are forged and legacies begin.” The donation comes in the form of XRP, the cryprocurrency’s scalable digital asset which aims to enable real-time global payments from anywhere in the world, and was made to DonorsChoose.org — a US-based 501 nonprofit organization allowing individuals to...

Policymakers are drawing up new rules around digital coins to better regulate the space Rules on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum vary between countries, due to a lack of global coordination among authorities. Mary Turner/Bloomberg Getting your head around cryptocurrencies was hard enough before governments got involved. But now that policy makers around the world are drawing up fresh regulations on everything from exchanges to initial coin offerings, keeping track of what’s legal has become just as daunting as figuring out which newfangled token might turn into the next Bitcoin. The rules can vary wildly by country, given a lack of global coordination among authorities. And while that may change, for the time being there’s a wide range of opinions on how best to regulate the space. Below is a rundown of what major countries are doing now. Asia Most of the world’s cryptocurrency trading takes place in this tech-savvy region, with Japan playing a dominant...

Litecoin has unexpectedly increased in preference among internet users looking to transact cryptocurrencies for illicit services. It is now the second most popular cryptocurrency on the Dark Web — behind only Bitcoin. A LITE IN THE DARKNESS Litecoin (LTC) is now the most popular altcoin on the Dark Web. According to  a report  from Recorded Future, Litecoin has unexpectedly surpassed other cryptocurrencies in preference “and is currently the second most dominant coin on the dark web after Bitcoin.” Notes the company: "Contrary to what we learned by observing the chatter between criminals during the past several weeks, Bitcoin remains the gold standard in the dark web, with all vendors accepting it as a payment, and Litecoin emerged as the second most popular currency, with 30 percent of all vendors who implemented alternative payment methods willing to accept it." Litecoin Recorded Future — a US and Swedish-based internet technology company founded in 2009 that ...

A Canadian businessman agreed to sell four gold castings of South African leader Nelson Mandela’s hands. For $10 million in bitcoin, a cryptocurrency firm launching an initial coin offering (ICO) has agreed to the purchase, promising a world tour of the art pieces in an effort to educate more people about Madiba’s legacy.   Mandela Art Sells for $10 Million in Bitcoin South African-turned-Canadian businessman Malcolm Duncan has sold the four piece Nelson Mandela Golden Hands Collection, castings in gold of the South African leader’s hands. Canadian cryptocurrency company and aspiring exchange,  Arbitrade , is delivering a total of 10 million USD in bitcoin for the prize. The marketing strategy is an interesting juxtaposition of history and the future, radical politics and radical free marketism, and Arbitrade’s curious business plan. The firm plans an upcoming ICO, mining operations, and a token supposedly backed by gold — thus the grandiose purchase. M...

At a time when some world powers are are doing everything to make bitcoin mining as unprofitable as possible by charging miners outrageous electricity bills, Norway has left its doors wide open for all Hodlers to troop enter. Now, Bitfury is establishing a multimillion-dollar  bitcoin  mining datacenter in the crypto friendly nation. Bitfury’s Expansion Bitfury, the U.S.-based full-service blockchain company established in 2011, has found a land flowing with milk and honey to pitch its tent. The cryptocurrency industry heavyweight has  announced  it’s creating a massive bitcoin mining datacenter in Norway. The new  bitcoin  facility is worth 274 million NOK ($35 million). The company officials claim the bitcoin mining datacenter will create at least 30 jobs for residents and the facility will be powered by hundred percent renewable energy, with a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.05 or less, which is even much  lower  than Google’s PUE...

Alphabet’s subsidiary Google is working on a blockchain-related product to support its cloud platform. While it’s unclear when it will be released, the blockchain-related product will help differentiate the Silicon Valley giant from its cloud service rivals.  Google plans to provide a white-label version for other companies as well. According to  Bloomberg Technology , Google is releasing a blockchain-related product in response to the increasing competition from emerging startups who are implementing new blockchain solutions to rival the company. The  Alphabet Inc . has also been busy acquiring and investing in startups with expertise in digital ledger and blockchain technology. According to  research firm CB Insights , Alphabet Inc. became a leading investor in 2017, ahead of  Citigroup Inc . and  Goldman Sachs Group Inc . While Google started a trial for developers to test blockchain services on its cloud platform in 2016, the company has begun ...

Starbucks is piloting the use of data technology, including blockchain, to make its coffee supply chains more transparent. The firm hopes the technology will provide real time information about the beans within the supply chain and help financially empower rural farmers. The two-year pilot scheme will include farmers in Costa Rica, Colombia and Rwanda. Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer at Starbucks, said: “Over the next two years, we will look to demonstrate how technology and innovative data platforms can give coffee farmers even more financial empowerment. “We’ll leverage an open-source approach to share what we learn with the rest of the world.” Starbucks has not outlined exactly what technology it will be piloting, but Arthur Karuletwa, director of traceability at Starbucks, indicated mobile phone technology would be at the core. “I’ve met farmers who have very little by way of possessions, but they have a mobile phone. “Digital has become the economic engine of t...

Japan’s top financial regulator has ordered one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges to suspend its operations. The watchdog said Binance was breaking Japanese rules and isn’t properly registered. The Financial Services Agency issued a formal  warning  to Binance on Friday, ordering it to suspend its services to Japanese residents with immediate effect. The agency said the Hong Kong-based exchange was violating Japan’s rules on fund settlement but it did not say whether it’s considering criminal charges. Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s chief executive,  said  on Twitter that the exchange’s lawyers are working with the FSA to find a solution.  “Protecting user interests is our top priority,”  he added.    No need to worry. Some negative news often turn out to be positive in the long term. Chinese have a proverb for this. New (often better) opportunities always emerge during times of change. — CZ (not giving crypto away) (@cz_binanc...

As cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin gather pace in society writ large and therefore also within the movie industry, the first-ever feature film to be  available to stream  on a blockchain distribution platform has been announced by Two Roads Picture Co.  No Postage Necessary , a dramedy shot in 35mm about a down-on-his-luck computer hacker who falls for a beautiful war widow. The production company has  teamed up with  peer-to-peer video network app  Vevue  (running on the  Qtum blockchain platform ) for distribution. No Postage Necessary ’s filmmaker  Jeremy Culver  optimistically suggests Vevue “stands at a unique intersection” of an ever-changing entertainment landscape. “Although this is a first for the industry, we hope it will signal a shift in the way content is shared & consumed. There are many advantages to blockchain distribution, including immutable proof of Intellectual Property rights, transparent royalty payments, an...