The rise of the digital currency

As virtual currency trading curbs take effect in China, investors look for alternative channels China's virtual currency market has been experiencing an earthquake in recent days, with several trading platforms announcing closure and the government banning ICOs. The new government regulations have caused some investors to dump their virtual coins in panic, while others are still gripping onto their tokens. But industry insiders told the Global Times that alternative trading channels, such as private trading or trading on overseas platforms, will prevail, regardless of the crackdown.  China's virtual currency market has been shrouded by a mood of panic in recent days as the government continues to take gradual but firm steps to rein in the trade of tokens.  The wave of regulation started on September 4, when a number of government departments banned Initial Coin Offering (ICO). ICO refers to a process whereby companies would publicly raise virtual currencies - mo...

Gold has not been trading at its current levels of $1,350 an ounce for almost four years Gold’s been up more than $100 since I last wrote about the precious metal three months ago. It’s not been trading around current levels for almost four years and the recent $1,350 an ounce high was an important chart breakout ending a bear market. In June I wrote about the many forces propelling gold prices to beat the S&P 500 so far this year, most critically a weakening US dollar and unpredictable new US president.  Those forces gathered strength over the summer with the euro rising to $1.20 and Donald Trump engaging in a furious war of words with North Korea, a crisis that could become a nuclear war.  For followers of the gold price it was the final break out above $1,300 last month that was most impressive and the quick sprint up in the price to $1,350 an ounce. At the very least gold now looks to have moved to trading in a higher price band. Will it do more th...

After falling for most of the week like a stone, Bitcoin, the “people's currency,” made a sharp turn upwards on Friday and early Saturday morning, gaining close to 12 percent within 24 hours. Other cryptocurrencies followed suit. Ethereum also gained close to 12 percent, while Litecoin fared even better gaining close to 19 percent. Coin % 24H % 7d Bitcoin (BTC) 10.78 -16.10 Ethereum (ETH) 11.77 -17.51 Litecoin (LTC) 18.98 -28.10 *As of Saturday September 16, 2017 at 9 pm Source: Coinranking.com That should come as a relief to cryptocurrency investors, especially to those who purchased at much higher price than the current levels, before China shut Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). But is the worst over? Can cryptocurrencies reach $5000 again without China? Stelian Balta, Founder and Managing Partner of HyperChain Capital, thinks so. “ If we look at Bitcoin or Ethereum from a technology perspective, the bad news is not entirely relevant. Miners will continue to m...

Bitcoin  has not just been a trendsetter, ushering in a wave of cryptocurrencies built on decentralized  peer-to-peer  network, it’s become the de facto standard for  cryptocurrencies ​. The currencies inspired by Bitcoin are collectively called  altcoins  and have tried to present themselves as modified or improved versions of Bitcoin. While some of these currencies are easier to  mine  than Bitcoin is, there are tradeoffs, including greater risk brought on by lesser  liquidity , acceptance and value retention. We look at six cryptocurrencies, picked from over 700 (in no specific order). 1) Litecoin (LTC) Litecoin , launched in the year 2011, was among the initial cryptocurrencies following bitcoin and was often referred to as ‘silver to  Bitcoin ’s gold.’ It was created by Charlie Lee, a MIT graduate and former Google engineer. Litecoin is based on an open source global payment network that is not controlled by any central autho...

Zcash is the latest kid on the block of cryptocurrencies – a wave ushered by  bitcoin  back in 2008. Over the years, many alternative cryptocurrencies called  altcoins  have been launched. Following the success of bitcoin, these have grown to over 700 in number. Most of these versions have tried to come up with some competitive advantages vis-à-vis bitcoin, and while few have seen interest, many operate with a small market capitalization, volumes and circulation. Enter Zcash, a decentralized and open-source cryptocurrency, which looks promising. “If Bitcoin is like http for money, Zcash is https," is how it defines itself. Zcash offers privacy and selective transparency of transactions. Thus like https, Zcash claims to provide extra security or privacy where all transactions are recorded and published on a blockchain, but details such as the sender, recipient, and amount remain private. Zooko Wilcox, Founder and CEO of Zcash, told Investopedia, “Zcas...

The coming era of quantum computing will require new technologies and approaches to keep cryptography secure. One of the key reasons why computers were created in the first place was to help create and crack cryptography, according to Konstantinos Karagiannis, Chief Technology Officer for Security Consulting at BT Americas.  Today it is the race to crack modern cryptography that is driving quantum computing research and development, Karagiannis asserted in a session at the Open Source Summit in Los Angeles. Quantum Computing is very different from current forms of silicon based computing. The allure of quantum computing is that it can make use of quantum states of matter, including subatomic particle entanglement and superposition, to achieve massive computer processing power "Imagine a world where you could read everyone's encrypted communications in real time, that's the promise of a quantum computing machine," Karagiannis said.  At the core of quantum co...

Bitcoin fell for a fifth day, the longest losing streak in more than a year, after one of China’s largest online exchanges said it would stop handling trades by the end of the month amid a government crackdown on cryptocurrencies. BTC China will immediately stop accepting new account registrations on its BTCChina Exchange, Chief Executive Bobby Lee said Thursday in a tweet. The decision was made after “carefully considering” the Sept. 4 announcement by Chinese regulators that outlawed initial coin offerings, he said. The cryptocurrency has slumped as much as 27 percent since Sept. 7. It had risen more than four-fold this year amid greater acceptance of the blockchain technology that underpins the exchange method, global political uncertainty and increased interest in Asia. China accounts for about 23 percent of bitcoin trades and is also home to many of the world’s biggest bitcoin miners, who use vast amounts of computing power to confirm transactions in the digital currency. ...

With the world economy becoming increasingly digital, a digital currency is perhaps inevitable. After all, consumers generally welcome ease of use in a wide range of products and services, so there is little reason why currency should be any different.  In fact, in recent years bitcoin has become increasingly popular. The digital currency has risen sharply in value and many individuals and even businesses are now becoming more interested in its use. Could this have a negative impact on share prices? Or would the increased use of Bitcoin be a good thing for investors across the world? A replacement… Click here to continue reading this article.

To many cryptocurrency enthusiasts, one of the largest draws to the industry is the anonymity that decentralized digital currencies gives investors. Bitcoin, the first and leading digital currency, allows for anonymous payments and transactions to be completed at a faster rate than other currency trades. The blockchain which undergirds a digital currency serves as a public ledger, documenting all of the transactions but retaining that crucial anonymity. And yet, there are digital currencies, including monero, dash, and others, which claim to have a focus on privacy that extends above and beyond that of the industry generally. How do these currencies work, and what is it that makes them secretive? Blockchain and Anonymity While bitcoin and other digital currencies have developed a reputation for anonymity, some investors remain concerned about the role of the blockchain in preserving that anonymous status. If all transactions are recorded, including the sender, receive...

It seems as if the talk of “the people’s currency” has started to sting the ears of those who traditionally have a monopoly of money, banks and governments. Recent negative  statements by big banks , and  governmental crackdown  on digital currencies and ICOs can be seen as fightbacks by these institutions to the growing popularity of Bitcoin. Bitcoin always has had the potential to be a new currency free of control by big banks and governments, but as  adoption has spread , the threat has become real. Limiting its potential It should not be seen as surprising that banks, such as JP Morgan, are spilling vitriol and rhetoric about Bitcoin being a ‘ fraud ’ Bitcoin reaching mass adoption and succeeding spells the end for big banks and traditional financial institutions. The same goes for governments. A decentralized currency takes a huge amount of power out of the hands of the government who look to keep tabs on currency within their borders.  Taxes ...

A guide to bitcoin's rise and why some people laud the  cryptocurrency  and others loathe it When bitcoin broke into public consciousness in 2013, it couldn’t have been sexier: a digital currency being used to buy everything, even cupcakes. Now there’s a new wave of excitement about an aspect of bitcoin that is a bit less exciting: public online ledgers. Blockchain — the technology used for verifying and recording transactions that’s at the heart of bitcoin — is seen as having the potential to reshape the global financial system and possibly other industries. The issues In August, the bitcoin community came together (mostly) over a software change meant to speed transaction times that had threatened a split. After the compromise, called SegWit2 was adopted, the price of bitcoins doubled, though the possibility of another split looms in November. In a setback in September, China was said to have decided to ban trading...