BitcoinInsider

Among the interesting stories featured in today's edition of Bitcoin in Brief are the new crypto tokens added by Pornhub, Fcoin founder's defense of the controversial trans-fee mining practice and an update on the upcoming launch of Coinbase Pro. Bigwigs Talking Bitcoin vs Blockchain The Daily: Pornhub Adds New Tokens, Fcoin Defends Trans-Fee, Coinbase Goes ProA few well known people who don't routinely speak about Bitcoin and blockchain technology have recently shared their opinions about the subjects. Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire behind Alibaba Group, opined that "Blockchain technology could change our world more than people imagine. Bitcoin, however, could be a bubble." And he added that "traditional financial institutions serve 20 percent of people and make 80 percent of profits. New financial institutions should service 80 percent of people, and make 20 percent of profit." Steve Wozniak, the Bitcoin-loving co-founder of Apple, has on the other h...

Yukio Noguchi, a famous economist in Japan and an advisor to Waseda University's Business and Finance Research Center argues we can't expect Bitcoin's prices to rapidly surge again. In his books and in recent articles, Noguchi makes his case eloquently. He wrote a recent article in Diamond Weekly clarifying his position but has been making his case since January of this year and published a book last December. "Because It's Now Possible to Trade on Bitcoin Futures You'll Never See a Rapid Surge Again" Noguchi points out that the price of BTC is now almost a third of what it was in December of last year. He believes that because it's now possible to trade on Bitcoin futures people will never see a rapid surge again. On one hand, he says that because the price of bitcoin has gone down, the costs of sending bitcoin are now back to a level that makes it cheaper than doing bank transactions and this is welcome. Bitcoin won't surge, Japanese economist sa...

A key topic of discussion within the cryptocurrency space is the ultimate implications of cryptocurrency and the underlying blockchain technology. One of the first transformational possibilities shared among the community was the idea of the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).  What Is a DAO? A Decentralized Autonomous Organization represents an environment that handles some function or output in a manner that is entirely self-governing, self-sustaining, and self-fulfilling. The term was first coined in 2013 by Daniel Larimer, creator of BitShares, perhaps the first working example of a DAO. The famous early example was given by former Bitcoin contributor Mike Hearn, who described a future DAO as an autonomous vehicle that seeks out and picks up a passenger, drops them off at their destination, and uses the Bitcoin received from the passenger to recharge at an electricity station, before finding its next passenger. To put it more broadly, a DAO can represent any form of produc...

Leading companies from the crypto sector in Ireland have complained they are being denied services by some of the country's major financial institutions. Among the affected businesses are bitcoin exchange Bitcove, winner of the bank-sponsored "Best Business Startup" award, and Ireland's "longest running" bitcoin broker, Eircoin.   Banks Close Accounts of Award-Winning Startup Several Irish businesses have been forced to either stop trading cryptocurrencies or seek partners abroad after local financial institutions refused to offer them banking services. Some of them have lost their bank accounts, while others have never been allowed to open one in the country, the local press reported. Bitcoin exchange Bitcove, which has been operating since 2014 and had previously worked with Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Permanent TSB and Bank of Ireland, is one of the affected companies, The Irish Times reported. One of its co-founders, Peter Nagle, told the newspaper the ban...

Proof of Work can be thought of as the traditional method Blockchains use to validate and finalize transactions. In fact, many of the major cryptocurrencies still use this methodology including Ethereum and Bitcoin. The way Proof of Work validates blocks: Miners within the system are required to process and finalize transactions using very complicated algorithms. This has an immediate and somewhat counterproductive impact on the performance of the network as a whole. This is also one of the reasons why Bitcoin is yet notorious for serious delays when completing transactions. Although many still the advantage of such a system enhances network security making it virtually impenetrable. But it places undue strain on electricity, requires plenty of workspace, and demands extra cooling as well. How DPOS is different to POW and POS? Delegated Proof of Stake, and DPOS for short takes a completely different approach to transaction validation. The first difference is that miners are chosen ...

The Thai financial regulator is expected to approve five ICO projects once the new regulatory framework takes effect this month. Out of 50 ICO projects in the country, only five satisfy the registration requirements set out by the regulator this week. Five ICO Projects Expected to be Approved Thailand Expects to Approve Five ICO Projects Out of 50The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to approve five initial coin offering (ICO) projects once the law to regulate cryptocurrencies and ICOs goes into effect, according to the Bangkok Post. The Commission approved the relevant regulations earlier this week and expects them to become law by the end of the month, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported. While the SEC has not revealed which ICO projects will be approved, Mr. Thawatchai Kiatkwankul, the Commission's director of corporate finance in the equity department, was quoted by the news outlet: Out of 50 ICO projects expecting to raise funds from the Thai capit...

TogaCoin is here to stay for a long time because this token sale is not only about cryptocurrencies but also about other important areas of the world economy. Yes, you heard it right and we will be telling you more interesting things about this token sale right away. Unique Selling Points You will be paid during the token sale. Yes, it is true and you should think about it right away. In fact, you could end up earning up to 20% of the invested money per month. Really? Yes, it is true and you should be happy with it. Explainer video Features These guys have a lot of experience in the world of IT and they will shine with this token sale. TogaCoin's staff will work on the important field of cryptocurrency mining and even in data management. These are amazing fields that could generate a lot of money down the road. Technical Analysis Well, TogaCoin will work hard to make money via these activities: -0Electricity is a very important part of the world econom...

Coinbase is seeking to become a fully licensed broker-dealer through its acquisition of three federally regulated firms. The company is confident that it will get the approvals necessary to start offering fully-regulated crypto securities. Coinbase as Regulated Broker-Dealer One of the world's largest cryptocurrency companies, Coinbase, has implemented a plan to list crypto securities, the company announced on Wednesday. President and COO, Asiff Hirji, wrote: Today, we're announcing that Coinbase is on track to operate a regulated broker-dealer, pending approval by federal authorities. If approved, Coinbase will soon be capable of offering blockchain-based securities, under the oversight of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra). With a presence in 32 countries, the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency company has traded $150 billion in assets and claims to have over 20 million customers. Obtaining Licenses Coinbase...

Obelisk, a new ASIC manufacturer led by Siacoin developer David Vorick, has released plans for an ASIC launchpad for Proof of Work coins. Its aim is to provide new and existing cryptocurrencies with an ASIC-friendly algorithm that will mitigate the rising threat of 51% attacks. Although initially devised with the company's own ASIC miner in mind, an open source design will allow other ASIC developers to release their own compatible units. Obelisk Proposes a More Open ASIC Algorithm New ASIC manufacturer Obelisk has shown a knack for releasing pronouncements that set tongues wagging within the industry. Founder David Vorick's hard-hitting manifesto The State of Cryptocurrency Mining went viral last month, and the company has followed this with news of a launchpad for ASIC-friendly coins. Obelisk plans to partner with coin developers to devise an algorithm that ought to reduce the risk of 51% attacks. In the past month, Verge, Monacoin, Bitcoin Gold, and Zencash have all been hit...