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October 6, 2018
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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.
