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October 18, 2018
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Blockchain Events October 2018
There’s a lot on your plate in October when it comes to blockchain events. We’ll try to cover all the cryptocurrency conferences so you don’t miss out on these amazing networking and learning opportunities.
Blockchain Unbound: Toyko
When: October 14-16, 2018
Where: Tokyo, Japan
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
The Fintech Symposium
When: October 15-16, 2018
Where: Chicago, IL, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
BlockBeats Blockchain Conference
When: October 15-16, 2018
Where: Munich, Germany
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Crypto Economy World 2018
When: October 16-18, 2018
Where: Barcelona, Spain
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Astana
When: October 17, 2018
Where: Kazakhstan, Astana
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Crypto Games Conference
When: October 17-18, 2018
Where: Minsk, Belarus
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Blockchain Summit Latam
When: October 17-18, 2018
Where: Botogá, Colombia
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Blockchain Summit: San Francisco
When: October 18, 2018
Where: San Francisco, CA, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Block 9 Conference
When: October 18-20, 2018
Where: Richmond, VA, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
StartEngine Summit: Tokenizing The World
When: October 19, 2018
Where: Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Equity ICO Business Summit
When: October 19-20, 2018
Where: Park City, UT, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Swisscom Blockchain Training
When: October 22, 2018
Where: Zurich, Switzerland
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
World Digital Economic Forum
When: October 22, 2018
Where: Geneva, Switzerland
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
East-West Crypto Conference
When: October 22-23, 2018
Where: Frankfurt, Germany
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Malta
When: October 23, 2018
Where: Valletta, Malta
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
CoinAgenda Global
When: October 23-25, 2018
Where: Las Vegas, NV, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
The Gibraltar International Fintech Forum London 2018
When: October 24, 2018
Where: London, UK
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
NYC ArtTech + Blockchain Connect 2018
When: October 24, 2018
Where: New York, NY, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
World Blockchain Summit Dubai
When: October 24-25, 2018
Where: Dubai, UAE
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Crypto Expo Asia
When: October 25-26, 2018
Where: Suntec City, Singapore
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
CEE Block Sofia
When: October 25-26, 2018
Where: Sofia, Bulgaria
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
BlockChain World Forum – BEIJING
When: October 25-27, 2018
Where: Beijing, China
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Texas Bitcoin Conference 2018
When: October 27-28, 2018
Where: Austin, TX, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
3rd Edition Crypto Summit 2018
When: October 28-29, 2018
Where: Zurich, Switzerland
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
Decentralized Insurance Developer Conference
When: October 29, 2018
Where: Prague, Czech Republic
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
IoT Blockchain Summit
When: October 29-30, 2018
Where: Atlanta, GA, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
World Crypto Conference
When: October 31- November 2, 2018
Where: Las Vegas, NV, USA
- Get your tickets for the event HERE.
October 8, 2018
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue their relentless march forward. More and more celebrities are embracing the digital currency phenomenon, and this only helps bring crypto-assets and blockchain technology out into the mainstream. Bitcoin is at the same time experiencing the lowest level of volatility since the dramatic rise and fall of the digital token back in December 2017. Experts believe that this is a sign of the market maturing.
Hip Hop Embraces Cryptocurrency
Hip-hop artists have begun to embrace the cryptocurrency phenomenon, Bitcoinist reports. Florida-based hip-hop band !MAYDAY! mentioned cryptocurrency in their song ‘Bitcoin Beezy’ from a few years ago. Since then. More and more hip-hop artists have come out as cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Snoop Dogg performed at Ripple’s company party earlier this year, and Eminem mentioned Bitcoin on his latest album ‘Kamikaze.’ The latest rappers to show Bitcoin some love is Soulja Boy, who is perhaps most famous for his decade-old hit ‘Crank That.’ Although the digital token is largely absent from most of the album, it does have an entire song dedicated to. The song is aptly titled ‘Bitcoin,’ and Soulja Boy goes over his daily routine of checking his funds online in the morning — something most cryptocurrency traders will be able to relate to. The rapper also names drops payment apps PayPal and Cash App, which he uses for managing his crypto-trades. Bitcoin is not the only digital currency that gets a mention on the song, however. Litecoin is also featured in the lyrics, and Soulja Boy has many more plans for digital entrepreneurship by the sounds of it.
The Beginning of A New Phase for Bitcoin?
If you search for ‘Bitcoin’ in Google News, you will find that half the stories revolve around Bitcoin’s price fluctuation. Every day there is another so-called ‘expert’ who is predicting either an immediate surge or a crash. While these predictions probably make good headlines, those of us who follow cryptocurrency on a regular basis can largely dismiss them. This point was recently made by Nigel Green, the founder of the DeVere Group in an interview with Bloomberg. The fact is that Bitcoin’s volatility is at the lowest level it has been since December 2017. With only a few more months of 2018 left to go, it will be interesting to see if this holds up. Green opines that this is a sign of the market for Bitcoin starting to mature.
The cryptocurrency has been around for a decade this month, and as it becomes more mainstream, volatility is bound to go down. Green is not alone: Mike McGlone from Bloomberg Intelligence concurs. McGlone mentions that volatility and trading volume goes hand in hand. A third voice, coming from Naeem Aslam from TF Global Markets UK, is skeptical, however.
Aslam says that low volume and volatility is a sign of market capitulation. As the year 2018 is coming to a close it will be interesting to see who is right — the optimists, the pessimists, or the realists?
What do you think the future holds for Bitcoin? Will we see a similar surge and crash towards the end of 2018 as we did last year? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
October 6, 2018
No Fork In The Road For Bitcoin Expansion
Cointelegraph reports that the developer behind Bitcoin’s protocol has found a way to expand for upscaling the Bitcoin network without a hard fork. Bitcoin’s expansion has been underway for some time, and the protocol developer Mark Friedenbach believes a soft fork Proof-of-Work solution will be a better alternative. If successful, the move could mean a 3584x increase in transaction volume for the Bitcoin network. Friedenbach has also announced that he will introduce the concept of “sharding” to cull any censorship attempts. Sharding is the practice of dividing the workload of on-chain transactions between several different computers on the network. Bitcoin is not the first network to introduce sharding, however. Ethereum announced their intention to engage in the practice back in April this year. If the attempt to scale Bitcoin’s system is successful, it would mean taking another step towards competing with the big credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard.
BitMEX Hires Industry Watchdog To Help Regulate Bitcoin Exchange
SCMP reports that BitMEX has hired a Hong Kong watchdog to assist with Bitcoin regulations. One of the big scare stories of 2018 has been that of cryptocurrency exchanges falling victim to hackers. The incidents have made many people apprehensive of trading and investing in digital assets for fear of falling prey to criminals. Now, however, BitMEX, one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world, has launched a brand new partnership with a regulatory watchdog to combat any future attempts at hacking. The new COO Angela Kwan is a certified accountant and has worked for the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing as well as the Securities and Futures Commission. Kwan cites the lack of a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry in Hong Kong as one of the main issues she aims to tackle in her new role. The appointment of Kwan is good news, not only for traders in Hong Kong but the international cryptocurrency community. The more countries that take preemptive steps to regulate their businesses, the faster we will see a reduction in hacking scandals and other criminal activities.
Most Bitcoin Investors Are Young, Rich, and Male
CNN Business recently published the results of a survey that examined the social demographics of the American Bitcoin industry. The study, conducted by Clovr, asked 1,000 American cryptocurrency owners and traders about their background. The results showed that the overwhelming majority of Bitcoin enthusiasts are young men who live in suburban areas and are relatively well off. The average income of the respondents was $75,000 per year, which could indicate that the industry is most attractive to those with money saved for a rainy day. One of the co-founders of Clovr, Mike Cribari, had a few suggestions as to why that might be the case. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency is still a relatively new concept to most people, which leads to a lot of uncertainty around investing. Secondly, the frequents peaks and valleys of the market poses a risk to those who cannot afford to lose money. However, once Bitcoin becomes more mainstream and can be used to buy groceries and other products, then this trend is predicted to change.
October 4, 2018
More Bitcoin ATMs Spotted in Utah
Bitcoin ATMs have been around for a while, but they are nowhere near the level of regular ATMs. That could very well change soon, as the state of Utah ramps up the number of ATMs available to Bitcoin users.
The U.S. is currently leading the way when it comes to Bitcoin ATMs — 2259 of the world’s 3824 Bitcoin ATMs are in the United States. Canada is the country with the next-largest number of Bitcoin ATMs (669), followed by Austria (241), and the U.K. (204).
Utah only has 12 Bitcoin ATMs in the state, and a company by the name of CoinCloud owns 11 of them. CoinCloud’s CEO Christ McAlary launched his first Bitcoin ATM in Utah back in 2015, and it has been a success ever since. McAlary cites the many Millennials and startup companies in Salt Lake City as one of the driving factors.
But Utah is by no means CoinCloud’s only site of operations. The Las Vegas-based company is active in 22 states and has big plans to expand. Although the United States is the stronghold for Bitcoin ATMs, a recent report revealed that Greece is also growing its number of Bitcoin ATMs.
Bitcoin ATMs Rising In London
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, an entrepreneur by the name of Landry Ntahe also has big plans to expand his Bitcoin ATM empire. Like CoinCloud, Ntahe set up his first Bitcoin ATM in 2015. It required him to learn how to program the machine, and then convince someone to have it on their business premises.
Ntahe made friends with the owner of a convenience store in Enfield, London. Coincidentally, Enfield is also the place the first ATM opened in London back in 1967. Today Ntahe’s company BCB ATM has 60 Bitcoin ATMs spread across London, Manchester, Brighton, Liverpool, and other major U.K. cities. The plan is to open 3,000 Bitcoin ATMs across Europe by the year 2023.
Part of the success BCB ATM has experienced is due to the versatility of Ntahe’s machines. His ATMs are the only ones currently allowing users to buy, sell and trade tokens, as well as allowing shop owners to accept Bitcoin payments.
Chinese Tech Magazine Accepts Bitcoin Payments
The government of China has been anything but gentle when it comes to ICOs, cryptocurrency, and blockchain projects in general. Crypto-mining is strictly prohibited, as is crowdfunding with ICOs, and trading on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Although the Chinese government is not hostile to the idea of blockchain technology, it has expressed interest in keeping the popular phenomenon on a tight leash by effectively imposing a state monopoly on blockchain projects.
Now, however, the oldest media outlet in China has decided to accept Bitcoin payments as a social experiment to demonstrate how practical cryptocurrency is. Subscribers to the Beijing Sci-Tech Report are now able to pay for their subscription by sending Bitcoin tokens to a wallet address provided to them by the publication.
An annual subscription to their ‘Tech Life’ magazine comes out to 0.01 BTC or $65. Owning and investing in cryptocurrency is not explicitly illegal in China, and moves like the one made by Beijing Sci-Tech Report will contribute to the continued popularity of Bitcoin.
October 3, 2018
More big companies adopt blockchain technology
While there is a lot of speculation about which direction Bitcoin will go in, more big companies are taking to blockchain technology. The premise of the technology has too much potential for them to ignore.
Amazon, for example, is working in migrating their cloud services as well as their supply chain management to the blockchain.
Walmart is working on a food safety blockchain project, and will already be implemented in less than a year — September 2019.
Microsoft is working on similarly providing BaaS (Blockchain-as-a-Service) to their SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). They are no strangers to blockchain technology, however. Microsoft was already in 2015 utilizing the Ethereum network for its Azure cloud solution.
Like Microsoft, both IBM and Oracle are considering blockchain solutions to complement their existing portfolio. IBM has already entered a five-year contract with the Australian government, which will see the tech giant provide blockchain-based security and automation solutions.
Regardless of whether or not Bitcoin holders are entering a bull or a bear market, there is no sign of blockchain technology going away anytime soon. Quite the opposite.
The Lightning Network could speed up Bitcoin transactions
One of the reasons that companies like Visa and Mastercard are not yet considering adopting blockchain technology is the low transaction volumes. Bitcoin and other favorite cryptocurrency tokens are not however at the level of the major credit card companies.
The Lightning Network has emerged as a potential solution to this problem. The concept is to create a pre-blockchain on top of Bitcoin’s actual blockchain, which will facilitate much faster transactions. This means that purchases made through the Lightning Network are not registered on Bitcoin’s blockchain until the channel has been closed.
So what is a channel? To make a payment through the Lightning Network, two people can use a common Bitcoin address to make unlimited transactions between each other. This address is referred to as a channel and can be used to make small regular payments to each other. When no more trades are needed, the channel can be closed, and the transactions will be recorded on Bitcoin’s blockchain.
Bitcoin could see more mainstream use with CoinGate
The project has received backing from Jack Dorset, the founder of Twitter and Square. It has also received support from a payment processing company called CoinGate, which will now help facilitate Lightning Network transactions. This means users will have the option to pay with Bitcoin when using sites like Mmoga.com, Bitlaunch, Livejasmin, and Manyvids.
A Spanish hardware hacker by the name of Ricardo Reis has also demonstrated how the Lightning Network can enable vending machines to accept Bitcoin payments. In a video released by Reis, he shows how he purchases a bottle of Coke from a modified vending machine.
This is great news for Bitcoin. The more everyday uses there are for Bitcoin, the more it will increase in popularity. It’s difficult to see how Bitcoin will lose its value as long as these developments are happening all around us.
September 28, 2018
Bitcoin expected to build momentum in Q4
Cryptocurrency analysts are speculating on the future of Bitcoin as we enter the fourth quarter and the year is drawing to a close. Many voices have noted that Bitcoin could see an exponential rise towards the end of the year if the trend of 2017 is anything to go by. Whilst Bitcoin has recently seen an unprecedented period of calm and stability, analysts predict that there is a bull market on the horizon. Some are worried that this will lead to a similar rise and fall as seen last year. Although it’s been almost a year since Bitcoin’s rise to, and subsequent fall from, an all-time high, cryptocurrency experts just can’t seem to let go of this event. Fortunately, their predictions have so far been anything but reliable, so for the time being it’s safe to say that Bitcoin will maintain its position as the leading cryptocurrency in terms of market cap.
Bitcoin watch and an art exhibition to celebrate the anniversary of Bitcoin
The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Hublot announced on September 19th that they would release a new watch called Big Bang Blockchain. The release is meant to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Bitcoin. Interested buyers will have to sign up to a dedicated website in order to get their hands on the new watch. The payments for the watch will be handled with Hublot’s new partner Octagon Strategy Limited. Hublot is not the only brand celebrating the anniversary of Bitcoin, however. An art exhibition called Bitcoin Art (R)evolution will be put on by a Parisian gallery to create more awareness around cryptocurrency. The exhibition will also allow visitors to purchase items in exchange for the cryptocurrency. Payments aren’t limited to Bitcoin, however, but can also be made with Monero, Litecoin, and Ethereum.
BitGo to release $1 trillion Bitcoin wallet
The security provider BitGo has for a long time been at the forefront of cryptocurrency wallets. Their wallets could contain $10 million worth of cryptocurrency tokens back in 2013. Two years later, that figure rose to $100 million. Two years after that, BitGo’s wallets could hold tokens worth almost $1 billion. Although the technology to contain more tokens is available, the stakes involved in storing so much money in one place continues to rise. This hasn’t stopped BitGo for setting their sights on the $1 trillion mark, however. The challenge for the security firm is to ensure that the money will be difficult to get to in case of the owner being threatened by a criminal.
Samourai wallet won’t display fiat value of Bitcoin
The company behind the popular cryptocurrency wallet has announced that future iterations will no longer display the value of cryptocurrency in fiat money. Users are currently able to view their balances in US dollars, but Samourai believes it’s time to end that. An official statement from the manufacturer says that “users will never be ready” to conduct transactions in Bitcoin unless they’re more or less forced to do so. They cite the familiarity of thinking in terms of fiat money, whilst the actual transactions are part of the cryptocurrency economy and not the traditional economy.
September 27, 2018
It has been another great 24 hours for Bitcoin, and other top cryptocurrency tokens as the market continue to bounce back. Check out the latest news below!
Bitcoin and Ripple are gaining ground
The price of all the main cryptocurrency tokens has gone up in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin has increased by 2% and is now trading at more than $6,500 per BTC. At the same time, Ethereum has gone up by 5% and is currently being sold for $220. Ripple clocks in at third place, rising a staggering 16.5% to a value of $0.53. Seems low? Don’t be so sure. Ripple has overtaken Ethereum regarding market cap twice in the past week. The cryptocurrency market is all in all doing pretty well at present. The total market cap is at $217 million, and over two thousand different tokens are being traded on the international exchanges.
Bitcoin is now a word in Scrabble
Yesterday, we covered how Merriam-Webster has added Bitcoin to the latest edition of its dictionary. This means that players of Scrabble can now use the word while playing the Hasbro game, and it’ll earn them nine points. The addition of Bitcoin to the dictionary is significant because it’s another step towards public awareness and acceptance. Among the other words added to the dictionary were “twerk” and “emoji.” This could indicate that the phrase Bitcoin is on par with these terms, both of which are arguably more commonly known. We will undoubtedly see a rise in token value and investment as the general awareness of cryptocurrencies spreads.
New Bitcoin startup backed by Goldman Sachs and Google
Marwan Forzely is the man behind Western Union and has a knack for creating shortcuts when it comes to money transfers. His new venture Veem will be utilizing Bitcoin to cut out the middle man — meaning the banks. The experiment is backed by investment giants like Goldman Sachs, Silicon Valley Bank, Pantera Capital, and Google Ventures. Users of Veem will be able to use Bitcoin to make direct transfers from their bank account to a vendor or supplier. The fact that Bitcoin has risen exponentially in value since the first investment round has only strengthened the project. When Forzely started, Veem Bitcoin was trading at $300 compared to its current value of $6,500.
Bitcoin to become a multi-network token
There is no doubt that Bitcoin maintains the lead regarding market cap, but Ethereum has proven to have much more utility because of the way its network is structured. Countless ICOs have been made possible with the help of the Ethereum network. This is because Ethereum is a multi-network token. It utilizes a series of side chains, in addition to its main blockchain, to facilitate other developers using them. Bitcoin has been working on expanding its network to have the same capacity since 2014. It has taken up until now, however, to finalize the plans and put them into action. It will be interesting to see if Bitcoin will outcompete Ethereum when it comes to working with new ICOs. You can read a full description of the project here.
September 26, 2018
Bitcoin volatility down
One of the main reasons a lot of investors are hesitating to invest in cryptocurrency tokens is the volatility of the market. Bitcoin famously reached an all-time high in December 2017, only to crash down to one of its lowest points in recent history. 2018 has in other words not been a very relaxed year for Bitcoin traders.
Now things are looking up, however. For the past three months, Bitcoin has been at its most stable since the crash of last year. This is the most stable Bitcoin has been in the past 21 months, according to research by Bitcoinity.
They have used an analysis tool called Bollinger bands to estimate the level of Bitcoin’s volatility to compare it to the previous months. The device looks at Bitcoin’s moving average price point across a 20 day period and corresponds it to 20-day chunks of price movements.
These findings are good news for anyone currently trading, or considering trading in, Bitcoin.
Bitcoin takes another step towards becoming mainstream
The key to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, in general, going mainstream is public awareness. Although Bitcoin has been around for nearly a decade, public awareness of it is still nowhere near enough to make it a mainstream phenomenon. This has very much changed in 2018, however.
Merriam-Webster has just released the latest update to their dictionary, and Bitcoin was included among the new entries. Eminem also mentioned Bitcoin on his latest surprise album Kamikaze. There have also been numerous mentions of cryptocurrency in other music, film, and popular media, indicating that there is a growing awareness of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
More public awareness will lead to more people investing in cryptocurrency, which will, in turn, lead to the growth of the industry as a whole.
Google scraps Bitcoin ad ban
Just earlier this year we were covering how all the internet giants, such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Reddit, were banning all ads related to cryptocurrency, ICOs, and blockchain projects. The reasons cited for the bans related to how there were too many criminal elements in the cryptocurrency community, and that scams and money making schemes were everywhere.
Now the tune has changed. Due to the regulations being developed to rein in the cryptocurrency market, companies like Google have decided to lift the ban on advertisement partially. It will not be possible to advertise Bitcoin on Google — but only in the US and Japan. There is still a ban on advertising ICOs, trading tools, and hardware wallets.
Google is careful, but it is difficult to see how they can maintain a band on these aspects of the crypto-sphere. ICOs are the future of crowdfunding for startups who can’t secure venture capital. Likewise, trading tools and wallets for cryptocurrencies will only become more popular and make their way further into the mainstream.
Since Google has lifted its ban on Bitcoin advertisement just three months after its implementation, it is possible we could see ICOs and other tools being allowed on the platform before 2019.
September 16, 2018
The Blockchain Venture Summit
The second Blockchain Venture Summit of the year will take place in London this November. Expectations for the event are high, given the first Blockchain Venture Summit held in Istanbul this March was such a roaring success. Although the London event is part of the same event series, the theme will be slightly different. The London event will focus on the future and how blockchain technology will influence the various markets going forward. There will be a number of high-profile speakers, experts, investors, industry leaders, and blockchain enthusiasts attending this spectacular conference. There will also be a string of new startup companies showcasing their innovations and plans for the future. As with the previous event, there will be plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event and advertise your business.
The theme of Blockchain Venture Summit
Topics being discussed at this summit will all revolve around the future and the role blockchain has to play in it. The speakers will analyze the current state of the global cryptocurrency market, and how other industries will be affected by the increasing presence of digital tokens and other blockchain-based innovations.
When and where will Blockchain Venture Summit be held?
8 Northumberland Avenue, London on November 21, 2018.
Where can you get tickets for Blockchain Venture Summit?
Tickets for the event can be purchased via the official website for Blockchain Venture Summit. Super early bird tickets are still available until 30th September, and all tickets include full access to the conference, as well as a buffet lunch. Please note that the event can only hold 500 attendees — don’t miss out!
September 14, 2018
What is the Blockchain Leadership Summit 2018?
The Blockchain Leadership Summit is a conference that draws all the top experts and prominent investors in the blockchain industry to one place where they discuss the present and future state of the market. The topics being presented and discussed will range from innovation to regulation. If you want to hear about the latest news in cryptocurrency, blockchain, and decentralization, then this event is not to be missed.
What will be discussed at Blockchain Leadership Summit 2018?
The event will feature talks from thought leaders in the blockchain space, each bringing with them years of experience in this exciting field. You will as an attendee learn about how you can tokenize your business, the best practices for launching your own ICO, and what the latest investment trends are. You will also learn about how blockchain technology will impact the world economy as a whole, and how regulation will change the finance industry.
When and where will Blockchain Leadership Summit 2018 be held?
The Blockchain Leadership Summit will take place at the Congress Center Basel in Switzerland on the 23-24 of November.
Where can you get tickets for Blockchain Leadership Summit 2018?
You can get your tickets by visiting the official website for Blockchain Leadership Summit 2018. Prices start at €590 for the basic package and go up to €2585 for the exclusive VIP package.
