Original author: Stan Higgins
Coin News
Bitfinex has entered the bitcoin mining space with the introduction of a new tradable asset tied to hashing power.
The Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange will offer the asset, which it says will be sold in a live beta tranche. The asset, dubbed TH1, represents hashing power in a pool that produces approximately 3,500 Th/s in mining power, according to its announcement.
The approach is similar to the way hashing power is sold on exchanges like CEX.io, but differs from other types of contract mining in which customers pay for an amount of hashes over the course of an established period of time.
Bitfinex said in a statement that it actively sought a different approach to offering mining power, but emphasized that the initiative could change as future tranches are rolled out, noting:
“We have worked for some time to develop what we believe is a superior approach to ‘cloud mining’ that is smartly packaged to offer simplicity and transparency.”
The exchange indicated that, while excited about the offering, it expects to improve the product during its beta stage. The beta will last three months and feature a total tranche size of 100 terahashes, the price of which includes maintenance fees.
Tradable commodity
By creating an asset, Bitfinex joins other exchanges in seeking to turn hashing power into a tradable commodity that can appeal to more investors. In the case of Bitfinex, exchange members will also have the opportunity to borrow and margin trade TH1.
Rewards for TH1 ownership will be based on the time of purchase in relation to the time that blocks are discovered and paid out, the company said.
Bitfinex explained:
“The block chain time stamp on block rewards will be used to determine ‘holders of record’ at the time that the block was mined. Positions will be aggregated between balances in the Exchange Wallet and trading position in the trading wallet to determine a ‘net position’.”
Bitfinex went on to say that “dividends will be computed as the pro rata share of the block reward less the pool fee”, and those who borrowed or margin traded TH1 will receive dividends as well.
In addition to its latest product, Bitfinex offers three accounts, its basic exchange wallet, deposit wallets that allow users to provide liquidity to traders and trading wallets for leveraged trading.
Advanced bitcoin finance
Assets that generate BTC returns aren’t new to the bitcoin exchange marketplace.
China-based bitcoin exchange Huobi recently closed the sale of a fixed-return investment asset. Like similar products offered on the market, these returns are tied to the rewards of a mining operation owned by Huobi. Demand for Huobi’s fixed-return asset was strong, with the company reporting that the tranche had sold out within two hours of initial offering.
Offerings like Huobi’s and the Bitfinex mining asset point to the continued development of advanced bitcoin-denominated financial instruments.
Yet, the growth in advanced trading options has come at a cost, some say. Recent fluctuations in the price of bitcoin have been connected to these activities, although the platforms that offer margin trading say that it is an important part of the ecosystem that could help lead to long-term stability.
Hong Kong image via Shutterstock
BitfinexHong Kong
The approach is similar to the way hashing power is sold on exchanges like CEX.io, but differs from other types of contract mining in which customers pay for an amount of hashes over the course of an established period of time.
Bitfinex said in a statement that it actively sought a different approach to offering mining power, but emphasized that the initiative could change as future tranches are rolled out, noting:
“We have worked for some time to develop what we believe is a superior approach to ‘cloud mining’ that is smartly packaged to offer simplicity and transparency.”
The exchange indicated that, while excited about the offering, it expects to improve the product during its beta stage. The beta will last three months and feature a total tranche size of 100 terahashes, the price of which includes maintenance fees.
Tradable commodity
By creating an asset, Bitfinex joins other exchanges in seeking to turn hashing power into a tradable commodity that can appeal to more investors. In the case of Bitfinex, exchange members will also have the opportunity to borrow and margin trade TH1.
Rewards for TH1 ownership will be based on the time of purchase in relation to the time that blocks are discovered and paid out, the company said.
Bitfinex explained:
“The block chain time stamp on block rewards will be used to determine ‘holders of record’ at the time that the block was mined. Positions will be aggregated between balances in the Exchange Wallet and trading position in the trading wallet to determine a ‘net position’.”
Bitfinex went on to say that “dividends will be computed as the pro rata share of the block reward less the pool fee”, and those who borrowed or margin traded TH1 will receive dividends as well.
In addition to its latest product, Bitfinex offers three accounts, its basic exchange wallet, deposit wallets that allow users to provide liquidity to traders and trading wallets for leveraged trading.
Advanced bitcoin finance
Assets that generate BTC returns aren’t new to the bitcoin exchange marketplace.
China-based bitcoin exchange Huobi recently closed the sale of a fixed-return investment asset. Like similar products offered on the market, these returns are tied to the rewards of a mining operation owned by Huobi. Demand for Huobi’s fixed-return asset was strong, with the company reporting that the tranche had sold out within two hours of initial offering.
Offerings like Huobi’s and the Bitfinex mining asset point to the continued development of advanced bitcoin-denominated financial instruments.
Yet, the growth in advanced trading options has come at a cost, some say. Recent fluctuations in the price of bitcoin have been connected to these activities, although the platforms that offer margin trading say that it is an important part of the ecosystem that could help lead to long-term stability.
Hong Kong image via Shutterstock
BitfinexHong Kong
Original author: Stan Higgins
Original author: Pete Rizzo
CoinSimple’s user dashboard.Antonopoulos said he is confident in CoinSimple’s platform:
“CoinSimple’s commitment to decentralized solutions for payment processing, including the Do-It-Yourself solution that CoinSimple offers, as well as the strength and the proven execution record of the team, give me the confidence that CoinSimple will bring more consultants and e-commerce merchants to the bitcoin ecosystem.”
Last year, CoinSimple’s potential was also recognised by seed-stage funding outfit Seedcoin when the incubator invested 200 BTC in the company during its SF1 round.
Multiple advisor roles
Earlier this month, Antonopoulos announced he was leaving the post of chief security officer at bitcoin wallet and information services company Blockchain. He is now an advisor to the company’s board.
In recent years Antonopoulos has advised several bitcoin startups, lectured on cryptocurrencies and published more than two hundred articles on security, cryptography, cloud computing, data centres and a range of other topics.
He currently works at RootEleven, a technology incubator he founded in January 2013, which focuses on cryptocurrencies.
Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPay.
Andreas AntonopoulosCoinSimplee-commerceHong KongSaaS
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic
As the attack continued, Silk Road 2.0 remained offline.
Defcon eventually issued a second update, indicating that the team is trying out different approaches to blocking the inbound DDoS. He stressed that the site is still processing withdrawals, although these have been delayed by the attacks. Silk Road 2.0 is aware that cashflow is very important and the site is therefore prioritising delayed withdrawals, the moderator added.
Defcon ended the update on a defiant note:
“To our adversaries: you cannot stop us. We will overcome every attack.”
Questions persist
Silk Road 2.0 vendors started reporting problems earlier last week, before the site was finally forced to shut down. Despite official updates, the outage prompted a number vendors to raise questions about the impact of the attack.
Silk Road 2.0 was targeted by hackers in the past: last February, the site lost 4,476 BTC to an alleged hack, worth over $2.6m at the time. The attack was blamed on a transaction malleability exploit used by one of the vendors.
The site decided to compensate affected customers and, by late May, it said more than 80% of bitcoins stolen in the alleged heist have been repaid to the victims.
The source and goal of the latest attack remains unclear. Speculation is mounting that the attack was in fact launched by law enforcement in an attempt to ascertain the location of Silk Road 2.0 servers, while other users believe the attack was launched by criminals or competitors.
Following the February hack, Silk Road 2.0 said it would introduce a multi-signature wallet system to replace its previous escrow platform. A multisig system should be less vulnerable to hackers, but has not been fully implemented yet.
Online black market Agora faces outage
Silk Road 2.0 is not the only black market suffering outage issues. While Silk Road 2.0 was struggling to restore services, which it eventually did late on Friday, competing market Agora went offline.
Agora users started reporting intermittent problems on Saturday. The site was out of action over much of the weekend and had still not become available by press time (12:15 BST, Monday).
The reason for the outage remains unclear. Earlier this month, Agora confirmed that it was suffering from availability issues on a regular basis. However, the team offered an extensive explanation into the inner workings of the market and the need for security, saying it considers that more important than around-the-clock availability.
The Agora team said at the time:
“Our primary goal is to stay hidden from law enforcement agencies and secure from hackers. We implement much more security measures than many others, which causes problems with availability.”
AgoraDDoSSilk Road 2.0
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic
Payments and compliance startup Vogogo is now trading as a public company on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) under the ticker symbol ‘VGO’.
Operated by TMX Group, a Canadian financial services company that oversees the Toronto Stock Exchange among other properties, the TSXV specializes in hosting small-cap stocks and provides early-stage companies the ability to raise funds from the capital markets.
Geoff Gordon, CEO of Vogogo – a Calgary-based payment processing, risk management and regulatory compliance platform – framed the move as a strategic decision that will provide the company with additional access to capital and the ability to execute acquisitions.
Gordon added:
“More importantly, it helps as far as our reputation with banking partners, our ability to secure new banking partners, our ability to provide a sense of comfort to regulators, which to us is all very important stuff when you want to make a big move in the crypto space.”
The move follows the company’s $8.5m funding round in August, and comes as Vogogo is looking to extend its compliance solution to digital currency startups.
Vogogo provides a solution that automates payment processing, regulatory compliance and risk management for cryptocurrency businesses, removing the need for them to build in-house systems.
Reaching out to investors
Apart from providing validation for Vogogo, the stock offering will also provide Canada’s retail investors with new exposure to the digital currency industry.
Gordon said:
“I think there are a lot of people who would like to speculate on bitcoin and altcoins and cryptocoins in general, but they’re looking for perhaps an interim way to do that. We’re very much a great option in that regard.”
Although the news marks the introduction of Vogogo to the Canadian stock market, legally the move reinstates the trading of shares on behalf of its previous legal entities. Earlier this May, Southtech Capital Corporation and Redfall Technologies amalgamated to form a new corporate entity, a move that formally dissolved both Southtech and Redfall.
Vogogo was originally a product introduced by Redfall Technologies in 2012, while Southtech Capital Corporation was a capital pool company.
Crypto goes public
With its arrival on the TSXV, Vogogo also becomes the latest bitcoin industry company to pursue access to the capital markets and the wider investing public.
Although Gordon indicated he is confident in the decision, other prominent public bitcoin companies have struggled in recent months to hold investor interest.
Bitcoin Shop, which is publicly traded on the OTCQB market, for example, has seen its stock decline from a February high of $5.26 to a press time level of $0.10. Bitcoin Shop’s executive team agreed last week to forgo their salaries for the next six months in light of the stock’s recent performance.
Although primarily focused on the cryptocurrency space, Vogogo also notably serves businesses in the traditional e-commerce space.
Vogogo joins Vancouver-based bitcoin product and service provider Newnote Financial Corp, which is traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, as the latest Canadian digital currency company to list its shares on a major domestic exchange.
Vogogo
Geoff Gordon, CEO of Vogogo – a Calgary-based payment processing, risk management and regulatory compliance platform – framed the move as a strategic decision that will provide the company with additional access to capital and the ability to execute acquisitions.
Gordon added:
“More importantly, it helps as far as our reputation with banking partners, our ability to secure new banking partners, our ability to provide a sense of comfort to regulators, which to us is all very important stuff when you want to make a big move in the crypto space.”
The move follows the company’s $8.5m funding round in August, and comes as Vogogo is looking to extend its compliance solution to digital currency startups.
Vogogo provides a solution that automates payment processing, regulatory compliance and risk management for cryptocurrency businesses, removing the need for them to build in-house systems.
Reaching out to investors
Apart from providing validation for Vogogo, the stock offering will also provide Canada’s retail investors with new exposure to the digital currency industry.
Gordon said:
“I think there are a lot of people who would like to speculate on bitcoin and altcoins and cryptocoins in general, but they’re looking for perhaps an interim way to do that. We’re very much a great option in that regard.”
Although the news marks the introduction of Vogogo to the Canadian stock market, legally the move reinstates the trading of shares on behalf of its previous legal entities. Earlier this May, Southtech Capital Corporation and Redfall Technologies amalgamated to form a new corporate entity, a move that formally dissolved both Southtech and Redfall.
Vogogo was originally a product introduced by Redfall Technologies in 2012, while Southtech Capital Corporation was a capital pool company.
Crypto goes public
With its arrival on the TSXV, Vogogo also becomes the latest bitcoin industry company to pursue access to the capital markets and the wider investing public.
Although Gordon indicated he is confident in the decision, other prominent public bitcoin companies have struggled in recent months to hold investor interest.
Bitcoin Shop, which is publicly traded on the OTCQB market, for example, has seen its stock decline from a February high of $5.26 to a press time level of $0.10. Bitcoin Shop’s executive team agreed last week to forgo their salaries for the next six months in light of the stock’s recent performance.
Although primarily focused on the cryptocurrency space, Vogogo also notably serves businesses in the traditional e-commerce space.
Vogogo joins Vancouver-based bitcoin product and service provider Newnote Financial Corp, which is traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, as the latest Canadian digital currency company to list its shares on a major domestic exchange.
Vogogo
Original author: Pete Rizzo
Nonprofit United Way Worldwide announced today that it now accepts donations in bitcoin, becoming the latest charitable institution to adopt the digital currency into its operations.
The US-based organisation claims to be the largest privately held nonprofit in the world, raising more than $5bn annually with more than 2.8 million volunteers, 9.7 million donors and community initiatives, and partnerships with such companies and organisations as the National Football League (NFL), Exxon Mobile, and General Electric.
The move signifies the further alignment of the charity with its mission to mobilize its activity in improving education, helping people achieve financial stability and promoting better health.
Donations made in bitcoin will support United Way’s Innovation Fund, which aims to help change the social sector with projects focused on technology, relationships and efficiency to power the group’s worldwide movement.
The integration of bitcoin is made possible by using merchant tools provided by Coinbase and comes just weeks after the payment processor announced that it has waived all exchange fees for registered 501(c) non-profit organizations.
Bringing potential donors
With at least one million users and 36,000 merchants across the world, Coinbase brings the potential for new donors to United Way: those who may not have donated to the organisation in the past, but are incentivised by the ease of paying with bitcoin.
Moreover, the company makes it economically feasible to send smaller amounts and micro-donations – amounts of $1 or less – since it does not charge transaction fees.
To make a donation in digital currency, users are directed to the organisation’s website, where they are provided with a bitcoin address to which funds should be sent.
Additionally, Coinbase customers are given the option to complete the payment from their account. There is a 10-minute window during which the payment should be completed.
Philanthropic goals in the bitcoin community
Despite the chatter among the bitcoin community that it has not delivered on its potential for doing good, bitcoin-powered philanthropic activity has increased significantly this year alone.
Small groups like Sean’s Outpost, the Women’s Annex Foundation and some open-souce software organisations accept bitcoin alongside other cryptocurrencies.
Over the summer, Wikipedia started accepting bitcoin donations, becoming one of the first major non-profits to adopt bitcoin, while BitGive, recently became the first IRS tax exempt bitcoin charity.
Now United Way has entered the cryptocurrency arena and, while it may not be the first organisation to seek charitable donations in bitcoin, it is almost certainly the largest.
CharityCoinbaseUnited Way
Original author: Tanaya Macheel
Image via CasasciusWe will start with a familiar face and a familiar coin: Mike Caldwell and his Casascius coin. Caldwell started minting his coins a couple of years ago, but late last year he was banned from selling pre-funded coins.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) classified his activities as “money transmitting” and Caldwell was forced to start selling empty coins. Sales resumed earlier this year and Casascius is currently listing three coins, along with a gold-plated savings bar. However, none of them are priced and it is unclear whether or not Casascius simply ran out of stock or stopped selling them directly altogether.
In addition to these silver, brass and gold plated products, Casascius also sells aluminium promo coins. A bag of 500 costs 0.39 BTC.
2. Alitin Mint
Image via Alitin MintAlitin Mint offers two premium coins, with a third design on the way. The first two coins commemorate economic pioneer Adam Smith and French patron saint Joan of Arc. They are pure silver coins and weigh two ounces. Both coins were designed by presidential sculptor John B Andelin.
Only 600 coins of each series were struck and the pricing reflects the exclusivity. The Adam Smith coin is priced at 2.92 BTC and it ships with 2BTC, while the Joan of Arc coin costs 1.45 BTC and comes with one embedded bitcoin.
3. Titan Bitcoin
Image via Titan BitcoinTitan Bitcoin is going after the premium market with the priciest Titan One Gold coin priced at $2,279, but then again it contains 1 troy ounce of 24 karat gold and one bitcoin. The Titan One Silver is a one-ounce .999 silver coin and it costs $729, with one bitcoin on board.
The company has some less expensive options, with three more coins in triple-digit territory and denominations ranging from 0.5BTC to 1BTC. In addition, there is the Titan Tenth coin, which is currently on sale for $96. It is a 12g nickel-silver alloy piece pre-funded to the tune of 0.1BTC
4. Cryptmint coins
Image via CryptcoinIf you’re not willing to spend a small fortune on a novelty item and the Titan Tenth sounds like a good proposition, Cryptmint is also selling a $99 silver coin. This .999 silver coin measures 39mm in diameter and weighs in at 1 troy ounce.
The company also sells copper coins at $42 apiece. Customers can choose from six different QR designs on the back. The coins ship sans bitcoin.
5. Antana Coins
Image via Antana CoinsAntana offers relatively affordable novelty coins and the mint has a healthy sense of humour. Each batch contains network statistic data for a period and a particular theme.
Different batches have different names that should amuse most bitcoiners. There was the ‘Goodbye Mt Gox’ batch and the ‘Transaction Malleability’ batch, preceded by batches such as ‘Pump and Dump’ and ‘Race for ROI’.
The coins sell for 0.02BTC to 0.04BTC and the full set of 20 Antana bitcoin statistic coins costs 0.41BTC. Although they are not physical coins with QR codes and holograms, they still make for an unusual bitcoin-themed product.
6. Raven Satoshi coin
Image via RavenbitRaven is offering the Satoshi coin and the kit is priced at $29. The kit includes a coin, two security holograms, a pouch, display stand a few other goodies.
The Satoshi coin is composed of 85% copper, it has a 39mm diameter and it is 3mm thick. The front features an outline of person filled out in binary code that converts to ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’. Each coin is individually numbered.
7. CoinedBits
Image via CoinedBitsStaying on the more frugal side of things, CoinedBits coins are priced at $14.99 for North American consumers or $19.99 for overseas orders.
Like Antana coins, CoinedBits are novelty items with no bitcoin value and they are not physical wallets. The coins are 38mm in diameter, 3mm thick and they weigh one ounce. The material is pure brass with 18 karat gold plating.
8. Lealana coins
Image via LealanaLealana offers a wide range of unfunded coins with prices ranging from 0.042BTC to 0.325BTC for the flagship silver gold-plated Lealana 1BTC coin. A 4-coin silver bitcoin set is available 0.891BTC.
The company also offers several litecoin designs.
9. Coins that never materialised
There were a number of physical bitcoin projects that never amounted to anything. Most are either defunct or delayed. Although they never got off the ground, some them had certain features that make them stand out from the crowd.
Image via 8btcA Chinese bitcoiner minted a small batch of one-ounce physical coins and the images were posted on the 8btc.com blog earlier this summer. The coin weighs one standard ounce rather than one troy ounce and it is made from 24 karat gold. The 1BTC coin was apparently supposed to ship pre-funded. The current status of the project is unclear.
Alderney, one of the Channel Islands, considered launching a physical coin of its own. Plans for a physical coin were announced late last year but for all intents and purposes they appear to have been shelved for the time being.
10. DIY coins
There is another way of getting your hands on a physical bitcoin – make one yourself. We are not suggesting that you set up a foundry and a mint in your garage, a simple 3D printer will do the trick.
There are a number of print-ready 3D designs out there and they are just a Google search away, usually on 3D print marketplaces like Shapeways.
The trouble with this approach is that most designs are relatively expensive, even before you include the cost of actually printing them. While it is relatively cheap to do a few plastic prints on semi-professional fused filament printers, making a proper metal coin on an expensive laser sintering printer tends to cost a lot.
Image via ShapewaysIn any case 3D printing is an alternative way of producing unique physical coins by tweaking existing designs or developing your own. One example of an affordable design that relies on nylon plastic with a matte finish is the Bitcoin Address Keeper by Ayame Deude. The 3D model costs €8.50 and if you have access to a printer near you, the actual cost of printing a single coin should be low. 3D printing fulfilment services are another option, but in many cases the cost of shipping a single coin would be higher than the cost of printing it.
Disclaimer: This article should not be viewed as an endorsement of any of the companies mentioned. Please do your own extensive research before considering investing any funds in these products.
Featured image via Titan Bitcoin
Alitin MintCasascius CoinsPhysical BitcoinsRavenTitan Bitcoin
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic