Biconomy, a platform that empowers blockchain developers to provide a simplified onboarding and transaction experience for their Web3 projects, today announced it has secured $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Eden Block, a research-led European VC, with participation from 8 other investors including Fenbushi Capital, Binance and DACM to continue its mission of reducing friction for users interacting with blockchain applications.

The recent launch of the ETH 2.0 Beacon Chain was the latest in a series of huge steps towards mass blockchain technology usage, in a year that saw giants like IBM, PayPal, Microsoft and Visa join the space, however further work is needed to simplify the Web3 user experience and drive mass adoption of blockchain tech in 2021 – Biconomy is perfectly placed to lead this charge.

“The ways in which users pay and use blockchain applications needs a complete overhaul. Netflix does not charge its users a fee every time they watch a video, so why should dApps charge users a gas fee for every interaction? This is the vital difference between a Web2 application and an over-complicated Web3 one.” – Ahmed Al-Balaghi, Co-Founder and CEO at Biconomy

Many decentralized applications (Dapps) today have complicated sign-up processes and often cost users valuable time and exorbitant network fees at every interaction, while also regularly being subject to fee volatility and network congestion that can result in transactions that fail altogether – all of this contributes to a high new user drop-off rate.

Biconomy is a chain-agnostic, relayer infrastructure that offers a plug-n-play solution which, in just three lines of code, uses Meta Transactions that allow a user to bypass these complicated processes and interact seamlessly with the blockchain, whilst ensuring transactions are completed with efficiency and reliability in both speed and cost. 

The seed funding was also secured from Outlier Ventures, Zee Prime Capital, Woodstock Capital, and MiH Ventures,  and angel investors including Meher Roy (Co-founder of Epicenter and Chorus One), James Simpson (CEO of mStable), Dr. Marwan Alzarouni (CEO of Dubai Blockchain Center) and more.

Since the launch of its private beta in May 2020, Biconomy has worked with notable projects in the space, including Matic Network, Curve Finance, Idle Finance, Perpetual Protocol, Decentral Games, and more.

“The Biconomy team have set out to solve some of the most important issues faced by crypto networks on the way to mass-adoption. The closing of their seed round will enable the team to scale their products and deepen their impact. We are incredibly proud to be supporting Ahmed and his talented team so early in their journey.” – Lior Messika, Founder and Managing Partner at Eden Block

Specializing in globally disruptive implementations of blockchain technology, Eden Block has been early backers of founders solving some of the hardest problems in crypto, including infrastructure layer focused companies such as Nym, Vega, and Pocket Network, as well Chainspace, which was acquired by Facebook for its digital currency project, Libra.

Next up, Biconomy is launching its developer program that aims to support Web3 projects and build the easiest to use and interactive blockchain applications, in the most cost-effective way, to lead the way to greater mass adoption of blockchain technology.

CLAMPDOWN on how UK investors can buy bitcoin and other crypto currencies comes into force today, with leading industry players warning it will merely increase the risk to naïve punters lured by their sudden surge in value.

Bitcoin has romped to fresh highs, putting a move by the Financial Conduct Authority first unveiled in October into the spotlight.

The watchdog is banning the sale of certain crypto products such as derivatives to retail investors claiming they are “ill-suited”. The FCA said: “This ban reflects how seriously we view the potential harm to retail investors.”

Since then, as fears about the world economy and the stability of official “fiat” currencies such as the pound and dollar grow, bitcoin has soared. It is up this year from £6000 to more than £25,000, attracting new breeds of investor.

Yesterday JP Morgan said it could quadruple from here, saying it is in competition with gold as a store of value, a serious nudge from the world’s biggest bank.

The FCA clampdown means bitcoin derivatives can no longer be held in ISAs or SIPPs. Nor can they be held alongside other shares in investment portfolios such as ETFs.

Bradley Duke, CEO of crypto firm ETC Group said: “The FCA’s decision means UK based retail investors who want exposure to bitcoin and other cryptoassets will have to manage their own storage, which could increase their risk of losing keys and becoming a victim of cyber-crime. It also removes the ‘safety-net’ for retail investors that is provided by the suitability guidance of investment advisors when assessing the risk appetite and profile of their clients for these regulated products.  Investors who want to gain access to this asset class are now left with less secure ways to invest in Bitcoin.”

Jason Brown at blockchain group Komodo said: “When the ban was passed by the UK government in October, there was no coordination with officials in the US, EU, or any other regions around the world. What the blockchain industry needs the most is consistent regulations across jurisdictions.”

Analysts say that the banned products provide many benefits to investors from diversification to strong potential for long-term growth. 

One noted: "The FCA’s decision makes it harder for retail investors to access this, and those that do may be achieving this through channels and products that are riskier and provide less protection than those being banned.”

Dermot O'Riordan of blockchain investor Eden Block said: “By banning crypto derivatives, the FCA is basically indicating that they don’t know how to regulate this. The FCA has chosen to abdicate rather than lead.”

The watchdog hit back, saying the banned products “cannot be reliably valued by retail consumers”. The FCA notes the “prevalence of market abuse and financial crime” in some of these markets.

It estimates that retail consumers will save around £53 million from the ban on these products.

Sheldon Mills, interim Executive Director of Strategy & Competition at the FCA, said: “This ban reflects how seriously we view the potential harm to retail consumers in these products. Consumer protection is paramount here.

Significant price volatility, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing cryptoassets reliably, places retail consumers at a high risk of suffering losses from trading crypto-derivatives. We have evidence of this happening on a significant scale. The ban provides an appropriate level of protection.”

A ban on the sale of digital currency derivatives to retail investors in the U.K. has officially gone into effect. The ban was proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in October and became law on January 6.

As CoinGeek reported, the FCA said that derivatives weren’t suitable for retail customers because of the harm they pose. These customers can’t be able to accurately value the derivatives because of prevalence of market manipulation, extreme volatility, inadequate understanding and the inherent nature of digital assets, among other reasons, according to the regulator. With the ban, the regulator believes it will save £53 million ($72 million) in losses to investors.

This ban is now in effect. And while the watchdog is convinced the ban will protect consumers, some digital currency experts have disagreed. Many believe that the ban will only push the investors to unregulated platforms. The FCA has no authority over these platforms and it could lead to higher risks for the consumers.

Dermot O’Riordan is one of those opposing the ban. Dermot is a partner at Eden Block, a venture capital firm investing in blockchain startups. He believes that the ban shows the FCA’s lack of ability in regulating the digital currency industry. He stated:

“It’s a shame because the only players that actually are regulated (or want to be) to offer crypto derivatives products to retail (Coinshares, Crypto Facilities, etc.) are generally good actors. This move will drive retail users to unregulated platforms like Deribit and BitMEX who will offer even less protection than the regulated players. So, it’s not clear how the average retail user wins in this scenario.”

Traders in U.K. will still be able to access direct purchases of digital currencies despite the ban. On the flip side, for firms specializing in derivatives, the effect will be significant. One of these is CoinShares, a U.K. firm that’s the largest digital asset manager in Europe with $2.9 billion in assets under management. The firm has, however, downplayed the impact the ban will have.

The head of product at the firm Townhead Lansing claimed, “In terms of our business, nothing has changed since the announcement of the ban. We don’t expect it to have a material impact. We have a wide and diverse client base.”

Some in the industry have praised the ban. The CEX.IO executive director Konstantin Anissimov believes the ban was necessary to protect the customers. Speaking to CoinGeek, he stated:

“The regulation of cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges ensures that fair and reasonable levels of risks are presented to the general public, and essentially protects the investments of the retail investors. As we have already seen what has happened with BitMEX in the US, we believe that there will be a negative effect on the players in the market who ignored and neglected this regulation that has now come into force.”

See also: CoinGeek Live panel, Digital Currency & Global Compliance: Tools & Tips for Exchanges, Wallets & Other Service Providers

New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeek’s Bitcoin for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about Bitcoin—as originally envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto—and blockchain.

Bitcoin is back. The cryptocurrency last week passed the $18,000 level for the first time since its all-time peak in December 2017.

As the digital currency — which is up over 150% this year — moves closer than ever to its record high of almost $20,000, CNBC asked five crypto experts for their take on the latest rally.

Is bitcoin's meteoric rise in value now different than the speculative frenzy of late 2017 and early 2018? And where does the price of bitcoin go from here? Here's what they said:

Many commentators in the industry say the crypto market has matured over the last three years.

"The main difference between now and the 2017 rally is that back then the market was driven by retail speculation and now it's being driven by corporations and billionaires," said Mati Greenspan, portfolio manager and founder of Quantum Economics.

Wall Street incumbent Fidelity, for instance, set up a new unit to let its clients invest in digital assets, while PayPal recently started letting its U.S. users buy, hold and sell a range of virtual currencies.

And there are now big-name investors putting their money into bitcoin, including billionaire hedge fund managers Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller.

"There was nothing conspicuous about their involvement," said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner of crypto lender Nexo. "They purchased in stealth mode but once bitcoin made it to their treasuries, they let the world know, similar to the gold bull market in the 1970s."

Then there's the coronavirus pandemic. Crypto fans have compared bitcoin to safe-haven assets like gold, which investors often flock to in times of economic turbulence. They claim that Covid-related stimulus measures have lessened the appeal of sovereign currencies like the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, bitcoin underwent a key technical event earlier this year called the "halving," which saw the amount of bitcoins rewarded to the so-called "miners" who add bitcoin transactions to its public ledger get cut in half. Some analysts say this event has also contributed to the asset's climb in 2020.

There are plenty of sky-high predictions for what price bitcoin could zoom to in the near-to-long term. But many crypto enthusiasts agree bitcoin is likely to pass its all-time high soon.

"A new all-time high is not only possible but is largely anticipated by bitcoin believers to happen any day now," said Greenspan.

Pascal Gauthier, CEO of crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger, said he thinks the latest bitcoin bull run will last for longer than the previous one.

"Bitcoin has reached market recognition and maturity, making it the one coin that is definitely here to stay," he said. "2021 will be exciting and will still be about building great products and tech but this time with the wind blowing in the sails."

Some crypto bulls have already given bold predictions for where the price of bitcoin could go next. Mike Novogratz, CEO of investment firm Galaxy Digital, thinks bitcoin could reach $55,000 to $60,000 by the end of the year — though he also once said it could "easily" hit $40,000 by the end of 2018.

The cryptocurrency has a reputation for extreme volatility. It plummeted as low as $3,122 in 2018 after rallying to nearly $20,000 a year earlier. In the last week alone, bitcoin has added more than $2,000 and was at $18,485.60 on Monday morning ET.

Soravis Srinawakoon, CEO and co-founder of crypto software firm Band Protocol, said it "remains to be seen" whether bitcoin can reach new highs by the end of the year.

Lior Messika, founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Eden Block, said bitcoin is "plagued with volatility" as it has "neither an established narrative nor an ability to manipulate its proportionality in response to fluctuations in its underlying value."

"As time goes on, the bitcoin narrative is strengthening, although the global belief in its usability is still negligible," he added. "This has resulted in continuing volatility for the asset."

Still, there is broad confidence about the digital asset's prospects. Trenchev — who earlier this year predicted bitcoin could reach $50,000 by the end of 2020 — said there's "increasing evidence of that upward trend."

Srinawakoon said "all signals point strongly towards the next wave of adoption and new users in the near future."

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Bitcoin has bounced-back from yesterday’s price slump, as the flagship crypto looks to continue its impressive resurgence. Coindesk.com data bitcoin shows BTC is trading at £12,692 ($16,918) as of 12pm on Friday, November 27.

The volatile cryptocurrency is consequently edging back towards its December 2017 peak of £15,025 ($20,052).

This strong display is reflected in crypto’s main competitors, altcoins ethereum and ripple, which are again climbing in value.

Lior Messika, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Eden Block, believes Thursday’s tumble in price should not be taken as indicative that another crypto crash is imminent.

He said: "The price of bitcoin looks to have settled around the $17,000 (£12,748) mark for the moment, the sharp decline yesterday happened very quickly but levelled-off just as quickly.

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“As usual, bitcoin tends to be an indicator for the wider market as a whole so other major cryptocurrencies like ethereum and ripple have also ceased declining, for now.

“Interestingly, when comparing search terms, bitcoin isn’t nearly as popular as it was three years ago during the initial price explosion.

“That suggests the sharp increase in the BTC price in recent weeks and months is largely a result of experienced investors with large sums of money, whereas retail interest has only just begun.

“As retail investment interest increases in the coming months, we could again see a real increase in the price of major cryptocurrencies like BTC.”

Soravis Srinawakoon, CEO and Co-Founder of Blockchain data provider Band Protocol, went even further and heralded the yesterday the price correction as "welcome".

He said in a statement: ”I think this selloff is healthy for the market which has been over-heated and very optimistic for some time.

“This pullback is expected and provides a welcome cooling off period for investors that is likely to be met with relief as opposed to despair.

“As we saw in 2017, nothing can go up in a straight line."

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And Gunnar Jaerv, COO at First Digital Trust, a Hong Kong-based digital asset custody provider, appeared to agree, saying: “When the price of BTC fluctuates from $4k to $19k over just nine months, it is not unusual to see a correction.

“This recent leg up was driven by the derivatives market as evidenced by the fairly high funding rate, leading to a small long squeeze.

“While the all time high price of BTC reached in 2017 has not been surpassed, the total market capitalisation of BTC is much higher as there are significantly more BTC in circulation than ever before.

"Even though large players like Grayscale, Square and PayPal buy more BTC than daily mining produces, the end-users of those platforms can still sell or even short with Grayscale."

Sui Chung, chief executive of CF Benchmarks is among industry insiders who think the BTC bull run was sparked in altcoin interest

He said: ”For the past few days, the market was in a slightly febrile mood as it waited nervously to see if bitcoin would pass the magic $20,000 barrier.

"Most of the frozen bitcoin had traded up around 70 percent, so there were a lot of unrealised profits locked up there.

"Once these coins were free to move it’s likely many traders sold them for dollars and stable coins to realise those gains, adding greater momentum to the selling."

One month into 2020 and the cryptocurrency markets are going strong. While bitcoin and other majors have caught the headlines, recording average gains of 30% for the year to date, they’re not the best-performing crypto asset class. That accolade goes to cannabis tokens, several of which have posted gains of 50-73% – that’s the sort of giddy growth that evokes weed stocks circa 2017. Paragon (PRG) is up 31% in a week, Tokes (TKS) has increased by 49% and PotCoin (POT) by 73%. Could a renaissance for cannabis coins be brewing, or are simpler market forces at play?

Weed tokens have been around for longer than many of the current top 10 crypto assets by market cap. PotCoin, for instance, was born as a fork of Litecoin and has enjoyed high profile media coverage, aided by publicity stunts including an endorsement by Dennis Rodman. Paragon is a more recent initiative focused on B2B supply chain tracking within the legal marijuana industry, from seed to sale. Completing this trifecta of high climbing cannabis cryptos is Tokes, a project addressing a pressing problem that is endemic to the cannabis industry: payments.

As a legal cannabis supplier, how do you conduct business that is still illegal at the federal level, making banking precarious at best and impossible at worst? One solution is to use crypto networks, where value flows freely, immune to the whims of banks and federal agencies. This is the challenge that projects such as DopeCoin (DOPE), HempCoin (HEMP), and POT were meant to tackle, but thus far, they have failed to achieve sufficient real world adoption to fulfill this pledge. As such, the utility of these coins remains largely limited to speculative purposes.

Now it’s Tokes’ turn to have a swing at the lucrative cannabis payments vertical. The Tokes Platform comprises software that legal cannabis merchants (dispensaries, suppliers, cultivators etc) can use to facilitate smooth ecommerce transactions. The suite includes a mobile wallet, full-featured point of sale terminals and integrations with kiosk operators. There’s also a native cannabis token in TKS. Thanks to such products, cannabis companies that currently have to deal entirely in cash – to manage payroll, hire staff, sell goods and even pay their taxes – can favor a more secure solution.

Tokes is owned by Multichain Ventures, a specialist in universal crypto merchant solutions and the parent company of Cubed, Reli and EDEN, the latter of which produces supply chain visibility tools using blockchain for data storage and provenance verification. Tokes is the sales arm of EDEN, deployable specifically for the legal cannabis vertical.

Multichain Ventures recently announced the launch of an initial exchange offering (IEO) for Tokes, in collaboration with ProBit Exchange. The firm is offering a 30% bonus for those depositing in USDT, BTC, ETH, XRP or PROB with TKS tokens priced at $0.05. TKS holders can enjoy discounted subscription on products, staking rewards and universal fee reductions across the entire MV ecosystem.

At the time of writing, over 3,000 cryptocurrencies exist, encompassing purely transactional tokens and those with greater utility, incorporating governance, derivatives, lending and so on. The dominant players remain bitcoin and Ethereum, although XRP, bitcoin cash, tether, Litecoin and EOS remain firmly in the top ten by market cap. Crypto exchanges have also pioneered their own tokens in recent years, with OKEx’s OKB, Huobi’s HT, Binance’s BNB and KuCoin’s KCS all seeing tremendous growth over the past 12 months. Indeed, BNB achieved the highest median market capitalization of all crypto-assets in 2019, with an increase of 128% vs bitcoin’s 87%.

There is evidence to suggest that cannabis tokens can become a serious success story in this milieu. After all, there is a clear and obvious need for them in the legal cannabis industry given the antiquated, cash-only processes merchants must currency adhere to. If crypto token issuers have learned anything in the last decade, it’s that having a clear and compelling use case is essential. In this instance, the need for oven-ready merchant solutions in the $250 billion global cannabis industry is undeniable.  

2020 could be the year in which crypto solutions geared towards the cannabis industry make good on their unrealized potential by making it easier, safer and cheaper for merchants, consumers, and suppliers to transact. Recent signs are certainly positive: in September, a Californian politician became the first elected official to use crypto to buy cannabis in the U.S. The tide is turning.

Blockchain startup Conflux has hired Eden Dhaliwal, the former head of crypto at Outlier Ventures, as a managing director to lead its expansion in North America.The Beijing-based firm is set to open an office in Toronto within two weeks. It is assembling a ten-person team to conduct research and seek local investors and business partners, Dhaliwal said.Generally, our network is going to be a pathway and conduit into the China market for our partners in North America, given our traction in the country, he said.The startups global expansion came after it received and financial backing from the Shanghai government in January. Its public chain project raised $35 million from major investors such as Sequoia and Huobi via a private token sale in 2018.Confluxs blockchain uses a proof-of-work mechanism, similar to the bitcoin networks, to reach consensus on the state of the ledger with its native tokens. The firm claims the public permissionless network is able to scale up while maintaining the same level of security as any PoW network.Dhaliwal joined Conflux on Jan. 1. He left the Toronto office of London-based Outlier Ventures at the end of December after working at the fintech venture capital firm for over three years. Dhaliwal will remain an advisor of the firm. He previously worked at DLT Labs and Techstars.Outlier Ventures has backed a spate of blockchain protocol providers. The firm in a $4 million funding round in smart contract language creator Agoric in May along with Ripple. It a funding round with Polychain in Haja Networks, which offers open-source products facilitating interoperability between different chains.Conflux aims to provide a public decentralized platform where developers can create applications and marketplaces, Dhaliwal said.We think there are opportunities to expand beyond ethereum, especially in the decentralized finance space, Dhaliwal said. Our early focuses are definitely on DeFi and open finance such as decentralized exchanges, stablecoins, payments, remittance and lending.We are also going to be focused on ecosystem development that involves everything from partnering with other projects in the Web3 stack, decentralizing our mining to working with startups, he added.Conflux has also set up an office in Nigeria as a base to build a presence in Africa. The firm sees great potential there since most of the countries do not have a legacy system, according to Dhaliwal.Toronto is one of the largest financial hubs in North America and it has a very strong developer community, Dhaliwal said. It is a convenient place for the team to network in New York as well, given the Canadian citys close proximity to the Big Apple, he said. Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.Source link Spread the love

From Boston DLT - Traders, Investors and EntrepreneursNew CIC Location at 245 Main Street, steps from the Kendall Square subway and diagonally across from the Broadway CIC Building. 3rd Floor, Mosiac room. Doors unlocked and concierge present until 8pm. Please bring ID Join us for a "Blockchain for Good" evening hosted by Boston Blockchain Investors Meetup, Spark Blockchain, Kirill Bensonoff and Sir John Hargrave, author of forthcoming bestseller BLOCKCHAIN FOR EVERYONE.We will have a short keynote by Sir John Hargrave to discuss the range of uses of blockchain for good followed by 7 minute presentations by startups who are using blockchain "for good" with Q&A; after each presentation. So far we have the following startups presenting:1. Robert MacArthur, Planet Saving Tokens (reducing carbon emissions)2. Jerry Fain, Weal (coffee trade: logistics, fair pricing, authentication)3. Jesse Phillips, Harpia Mining (green energy)4. Sue Murray, VertroShare, (Blockchain for Non-Profit Fundraising)5. Paris Smalls, Eden GeoPower (utilizing the high energy demands of cryptocurrency mining to build and develop renewable geothermal energy projects)6. Andy Singleton, HumanDB (apps, experts and data for longer life)7. Jeremy Wallis, HAIBU (Impact investment project in partnership with WildAid)As always dinner will be served and the welcome will be warm!

Toronto Blockchain Week 2019 Toronto is a global hub of the blockchain industry. From April 22nd till the 28th, hundreds of developers, companies, professional advisors, investors, and projects will converge in Toronto to celebrate how far we've come and demonstrate cutting-edge technology.Toronto Blockchain Week (TBW) is, in the spirit of blockchain, an open event that’s inclusive of everyone. Each day will see many different events organized into streams such as regulatory/legal and technical development. If you have an idea for an event or would like to schedule it during TBW please reach out to organizers@torontoblockchainweek.io. There is no fee to run a TBW event and logistical/financial support for your event may be available.TBW was founded by three Torontonians who work in the blockchain industry: Addison Cameron-Huff, Eden Dhaliwal and Marek Laskowski. It is backed by a wide range of local companies, see community section below for our growing list of supporters. Have an event you’d like to plug? Adding an event to our listings is free and only takes seconds. Whether you’re organizing the event, or just know about one you think others should know about, submit it and we’ll add it to the calendar. Toronto Int'l Spring of Horror & Fantasy Film Festival

Monero is a special form of digital currency that uses cryptography for ensuring that all transactions remain untraceable. It was created in 2012, and it incepted as a fork of Bitcoin blockchain, initially termed as Bitmonero. The fact that Monero is completely fungible and one can have full control over his transactions and currency are the best parts of this crypto.XMR is currently getting traded at USD 57.61 (UTC time 06:52). It is currently running on a bullish trend by 7.65%. With a market cap of USD 973,070,734 and a circulating supply of 16,890,249 XMR, Monero is the 14th largest cryptocurrency in the crypto sphere.The above chart shows that currently, XMR is getting traded at 57.58 USD or 0.01395007 BTC (UTC time 06:57). Its current market cap is worth of 972,574,695 USD with a 24h volume 108,671,519 USD. The same chart shows that approx. One month earlier, XMR had a trading point of 50.80 USD. So, within this approx. One month duration, the value of XMR has hiked up by 13.34% with 52.28 USD as a good support resistance.XMR is the most prominent privacy coin in terms of its market cap. It has been gaining huge acceptance recently. It made various improvements regarding its privacy and coding over the years. Recently, Exodus Eden added Monero to its latest version 19.2.2 where one of the pipeline features was that one could use his XMR.According to Long Forecast, Monero can trade around $554-$638 by April 2020, and it can shoot up to $810-$945 by the end of 2020. Trading beasts think that Monero can be $150 within a year and it can be approx. $200 by 2020. Crypto ground has predicted XMR can spike u to $118.02 by 2019 end and in 5 years, it can even touch $500 mark. Profit Confidential has assumed that XMR can be around $350 by the end of this year.XMR can be a good option for a long term investment on the basis of its performances and above predictions and analysis.Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.CryptoNewsZ is a News Publication Media that provides updates on cryptocurrency, ICOs, DApps, and blockchain. As more and more people turn to cryptocurrencies every passing day, we cater high-quality, unbiased and well-analyzed content to them. We cover the latest news, price analysis and interviews for the crypto community.Reporters at CryptoNewsZ work round the clock to provide upbeat, timely and consistent news updates to its readers. Thus CryptoNewsZ endeavors to fill the void of a reliable source of information in digital currency community.

Primeira LigaBrought toyou by thePartnership with Utrust lets fans purchase tickets and merchandise online.Posted: June 6 2019By: Ed DixonGetty ImagesPortuguese soccer giants Benfica have partnered with Utrust, a cryptocurrency payment solution company, becoming the first club in a top-flight European league to accept payments via blockchain.Under the new deal, Benfica fans will now be able to use cryptocurrency to purchase match tickets and merchandise through the official Benfica online store.The partnership with Utrust is designed to evolve Benficas e-commerce strategy and expand its global audience and customer reach, with the introduction of cryptocurrency aiming to draw tech-savvy supporters and cryptocurrency holders in Portugal to the Lisbon-based club.Benfica currently has more than 14 million supporters worldwide, with a digital fan base that exceeds 7 million across its official social media platforms and hopes to further grow that number by offering an enhanced online experience in partnership with Utrust.Although the first major European soccer team to accept cryptocurrency payments, a number of other clubs and teams and players in the sport are involved with the blockchain technology.In 2018, French top-flight champions Paris Saint-German announced Socios.com as their official branded cryptocurrency partner to develop a fan token offering (FTO) for supporters. English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers signed a sleeve sponsor deal with cryptocurrency platform CoinDeal for the 2018/19 season.The likes of Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard and Sergio Aguero all endorse brands in the sector.Domingos Soares de Oliveira, SL Benfica chief executive, said: Our benfiquistas [supporters] make Benfica the unique and special club it is and we recognize that many of our supporters are now digital users first so we want to be ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting novel technologies and giving our supporters the best online experience.We are very excited about the possibilities that this partnership with Utrust presents in the evolution of our e-commerce strategy and we look forward to accepting our first cryptocurrency payment.Nuno Correia, Utrust co-founder and chief executive, added: This partnership with Portugals number one football club marks a major milestone for Utrust and the blockchain ecosystem as a whole. Benfica is one of the biggest sporting clubs worldwide and we are delighted to be making cryptocurrency payments possible for their 14 million supporters around the world.On the pitch, Benfica claimed a record 37th Primeira Liga title, topping the Portuguese top-flight by two points from rivals Porto.Source link

Cryptocurrency News & Your Guide to the Blockchain EconomyDarknet black markets have been a staple of cryptocurrency since the early days of the Silk Road. Following the arrest of Ross Ulbricht and his subsequent life sentence, a number of other darknet markets have appeared and tried to take its place. But all of these markets have the same basic problem.Even though they are operated on anonymous TOR networks, they are all still centralized services with central servers. This means that they are all vulnerable to shut down by authorities. But what would happen if a darknet market were to appear that did not suffer from this kind of weakness? That’s the question posed by a new decentralized darknet market project that’s calling itself Eden.As the name suggests, an online darknet market is in many ways similar to a traditional black market. They are a marketplace that allows for the buying and selling of any type of goods or services, whether they are legal, a gray area, or downright illegal.In the case of the Silk Road, it became most well-known as a place to buy and sell drugs over the Internet, and to pay for them using bitcoin. More recent darknet markets have transitioned to using privacy cryptocurrencies like Monero in order to sidestep the ability for authorities to perform what’s known as blockchain analysis. In other words, it makes the transactions themselves untraceable.According to a white paper released by Eden, not only are centralized marketplaces vulnerable to attack from authorities, but the markets themselves can also be an attacker.In order to establish a degree of trust, these marketplaces rely on escrow systems to facilitate transactions. When a buyer wants to buy something, they will put cryptocurrency into an escrow which is then locked. Once the buyer receives the goods, they can unlock the escrow. If a dispute arises, then the service can step in and make a decision. While the system is not perfect, it does provide for at least some degree of security for buyers and sellers.However, what has happened in the past is a number of darknet market sites have performed an exit scam, meaning they suddenly shut down the site, taking all escrow funds with them. Eden estimates that many millions of dollars have been stolen in this way. As the operators of darknet market sites are anonymous themselves, there’s typically no recourse for those that lost money in an escrow.According to Eden, a few examples of darknet markets that have exit-scammed include “TradeRoute, Outlaw, Nucleus, Black Bank, Evolution, and Sheep”.Finally, if a site is forcibly shut down, the escrow funds will likely be appropriated by the authority that did the shut down. The FBI famously sold the bitcoin it collected from the silk Road shut down in an auction sale.Eden will surely not be the last or only decentralized darknet market.This then leads to a number of important ethical questions. On the one hand, using sites like eBay and Amazon.com to facilitate person-to-person trades comes with its own problems. Specifically, these kinds of sites tend to track and sell data about their users, something that privacy advocates would undoubtedly object to.However, a market that allows for the unrestrained sale of dangerous items could be a serious issue. Drugs aside, these markets have also been known to facilitate the sale of firearms and easily concealed knives or other weapons. It is conceivable that terrorists of the future (or even today) could make use of these types of markets in order to buy and sell weapons or other destructive or deadly items.It’s well-known that today, many packages that are centered around the world are subject to inspection. However, some estimates say that only 1% of all shipping containers that enter US ports undergo any inspection at all.Therefore if the unrestrained shipping of deadly items becomes commonplace, governments will likely need to invest billions of dollars into high-tech automatic infrastructure that can scan everything that runs through the mail and ports system, be it domestic or international.One final thing to consider is that even if an unstoppable decentralized black-market, or several of them, appear, it is unlikely to change the behaviors of normal people.For example, within the US states that have legalized recreational marijuana, crime rates have not skyrocketed, and there is no widespread depravity or other issues.This is because prior to the legalization, those interested in marijuana would have found a way to buy it regardless of the laws. After the laws changed, the system is now out in the open and subject to normal laws. The legalization of marijuana, however, is unlikely to cause many new people to try it that wouldn’t have been interested before.Therefore it’s quite likely that such a market would only be of major concern for people that either already have violent tendencies, or are involved with terrorism already.Regardless, an unstoppable online black-market will certainly become an important issue for society to decide how to act upon it for the next few years.Robert is News Editor at Blockonomi. A true believer in the freedom, privacy, and independence of the future digital economy, he has been involved in the cryptocurrency scene for years.All content on Blockonomi.com is provided solely for informational purposes, and is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, product, service or investment. 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Eren, E.M. () “ Sayılı Kamu İhale Kanunu ve Yeni Bir Kanun İhtiyacı”, Sayıştay Gürek, H. () Belediye İhale Dalavereleri, Çalış Ofset: İstanbul. İBB Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality). İSKİ Istanbul Su Belediye İhale Dalavereleri, Çalış Ofset: İstanbul. Gürsel, K. ( ). Cihan News Agency, () “İçişleri Bakanlığı belediye başkanları hakkında Gürek, H. () Belediye İhale Dalavereleri, Çalış Ofset: İstanbul. Gürsel.Bu, iki taraf gerektirir: Geschichte der Kirche in ideengeschichtlicher Betrachtung. Bitcoin, Gavin ve herkesle iyi ellerde.Vogel PDF Download. November, PDF Kindle. Free Wege zur Inklusion: Kimler ne tavsiye ediyor? This book is only available on this website and is free for you. Bunun yerine piyasayla hareket edin: Die altpreussische Tradition – Download. Die Praxis der Freiheit: Read Die Biographie der Edith Stein: A novel of suspense, family ties, and twisted passions from the 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Eine Musiker-Jugend in Bremen. Ancak, Stratis’i size satmak isteyen iyi derecede borsalar, ilk olarak sizi ancak Bitcoin gibi ortak bir dijital para birimini tercih edecektir.PDF Die Bodenreform von Dalavreleri Oldu, Ne Beklemeli? Die Ordnung des Diskurses: British Labour im Ersten Weltkrieg.: J-Coin mi Yen mi? Kontrgerilla 1 PDF Download. Satoshi Nakamoto birey veya Bitcoin’i icat eden bireyler grubu: Bereicherungs- und Deliktsrecht PDF.Berlin um PDF. Takas bahsi betting exchange. Photoprojekte – PDF Kindle.Read Lebensweg und Alter der Schizophrenen: Geschichte der Stadt Neuss: Orijinal Bitcoin sahipleri bitkisellerini Bitcoin Gold ile ticarete edebilir. Buna da Kucoin dendi. Roberts always tells a good story that balances romance and Nicholl PDF Download. Savunmada kalmak ne anlama geliyor?Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Entwicklung des Rechts der Sicherungsverwahrung. Nebahat Akkoc Anlatiyor Online. Buch mit Kopiervorlagen ePub. Bitcoin Cash mi Bitcoin mi? Was die Deutschen nicht wissen sollen Download.Read Der Fall Pinochet: En Bitcoin madencileri hangileri? Newnan PDF Download.Teorik olarak kapatmak istediklerinde kapatabilirler. Probleme der politisch-staatlichen und soziokulturellen Differenzierung im deutschen Mitteleuropa ePub.Tholdoth Jeschu hanozri, sche-hajah schenath scheloschah alaphim we-schibea meoth weschischschim libriath ha-olam. Download Einstieg in Visual Basic Hangisi daha iyi, Bitcoin veya Ethereum?

A newly-published patent application seeks to use blockchain technology to establish and maintain a chain-of-ownership for artwork.The patent application, which was published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on Thursday, lists the framework’s inventor as Howard H. Sheerin, a patent attorney in Scottsdale, AZ. According to Sheerin’s LinkedIn page, he now works in Silicon Valley, where he has been “studying and actively participating in the cryptocurrency revolution, including to draft multiple Bitcoin/Blockchain patent application.” His website also indicates that he accepts bitcoin.Writing in the patent application, Sheerin notes that certificates of authenticity are crucial to enabling sellers to obtain the full value of their artwork in auctions and other sales. However, paper certificates are inadequate guarantors of provenance.“Artists have in the past issued paper certificates of authenticity for each art piece they create so as to increase the value of each art piece for subsequent buyers. When a second buyer is interested in purchasing an art piece from a first buyer, the first buyer may present the paper certificate of authentication with the art piece in order to prove their legal and legitimate ownership of the art piece. However, paper certificates may be easily forged which greatly diminishes the value and efficacy of this authentication system. There is, therefore, a need for a better system to authenticate art pieces that is not easily circumvented.”Sheerin hopes to patent a system that would allow artists to establish and transfer ownership rights using the Bitcoin blockchain or another cryptocurrency network.Of course, the difficulty with using a blockchain to establish a chain-of-ownership is that there is an element of trust involved with the original registration of ownership.Last month, for example, blockchain critic Terence intoEden tricked one such artwork provenance service — Verisart, which registers art on the Bitcoin blockchain —  providing him with a certificate of authenticity confirming that he painted La Gioconda, better known as the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th-century masterpiece.Even now, a month after Eden’s story went viral on social media, he is listed as the verified owner of the Mona Lisa, a “fact” that is permanently engraved in the immutable Bitcoin blockchain.Sheerin’s proposed system appears to employ a similar architecture, for though ownership is established using bitcoin addresses, this data is maintained through a centralized chain-of-ownership (COO) website.Consequently, it seems that while such a system could increase the ease with which artists can establish and transfer ownership rights, it still requires parties to place their trust in the centralized entity who maintains the database and verifies the information contained therein.Update 7/13: Howard Sheerin, whose proposed system has been implemented at ArtChain.info, reached out to CCN with the following comment: “ArtChain.info is a website that implements embodiments of the patent application. ArtChain.info does not suffer from the deficiency of Verisart described in the article. The reason, as described in the patent application, is because with ArtChain.info each artist is assigned a master bitcoin address from which all of their art pieces are linked. In other words, only an art piece that is linked to the artist’s master bitcoin address is considered legitimate, and only the artist can link their art pieces to their master bitcoin address. Eden does not control Leonardo da Vinci’s master bitcoin address, and so Eden could not register himself as the painter of the Mona Lisa with ArtChain.info. This is a true and elegant use of the bitcoin blockchain.”