Coin News

Bitcoin gained another 6% Wednesday, reaching a new high for the year.

The cryptocurrency reached the $450 mark late in the day before falling back to $425. That's compared with around $250 a month ago.

What's behind this? Investors and brokers can't agree.

In the last few days, explanations have included a rise in demand from China, an upcoming auction by US Marshals of seized bitcoin, and the influence of a convicted Ponzi schemer's latest gambit.

Another catalyst for recent appreciation comes from Europe, says Adam White, vice president and product manager at Coinbase, one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges globally by volume.

The European Court of Justice recently ruled that the cryptocurrency is exempt from the region's "value added tax," which White compared to the decision by US taxation authorities in the 1990s to not implement taxes on goods sold online.

What is certain is that use of bitcoin by consumers and trading is broadly on the rise.

"There has been a steady increase in the number of transactions processed on the bitcoin blockchain," White says.

In the last two years, the number of bitcoin transactions has increased threefold from 50,000 daily to about 140,000 today, according to Blockchain.info, which tracks bitcoin data.

It is true that Chinese investors are eager to trade bitcoin, White says.

In the US, between 300,000 and 500,000 bitcoin are traded daily, White said. But in China, that daily figure has been closer to 1 million to 1.2 million.

That isn't to say US investors are neglecting the currency. There has been a three-times increase in the relative trading volume by what are referred to as "High Net Worth" traders on Coinbase's trading platform — people making trades in dollar amounts worth up to six figures, White said.

Perhaps most telling — at least about the recent jump — is that there's been a recent surge in trading, sharp rise in new user sign-ups, according to White.

So what's behind the recent surge in bitcoin? Maybe just the surge in bitcoin.

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 Google has the highest score. Facebook, not so much. Overall, there are no winners. Users are still the losers.

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A smoke shop in Atlanta, Georgia, was robbed of its bitcoin ATM during a brazen Tuesday night heist.

Bitcoin Press Release: 21st Oct 2015: ADVGeneration, a cloud hashing platform has now made it possible for interested users to take part in Bitcoin mining without having to go through the trouble of managing the hardware. The money that has been mined by people can be used to increase their production capacity or simply transfer it to their account. Getting started with the system is quite easy as well, which makes it a smart option to Generate Bitcoin In Cloud. To get started with this system from ADVGeneration, users can begin with $0.1 of the S3 program. As they increase […]

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Wedbush has revised its outlook for the price of bitcoin, revealing it expects the digital asset to rise to $600 in value over the next 12 months.

From hiring bad apples to failing to not improving communications as you scale, there's no shortage of ways to cripple a company's culture. Fortunately, there are ample ways to rebound from them, too

A proposal to add the bitcoin “B” to the Unicode computing character standard was accepted this week.

Bitcoin Press Release: Being one of the most universal cryptoplatform, Emercoin offers set of features, which are specially designed for the banking sector. While some of these features are designed for increased security and anonymity, the others are specially for trades and operations with property. E.g. DPO (Digital Proof of Ownership) mechanism excludes possibility of fraud in payments, alowing simultaneous transfer (with alienation) any types of digital assets. This allows to setup any electronic trades and auctions without need of escrow services. - Thus Emercoin has the next features for safe operations with digital property: - Solid protected core - […]

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CheckLockTimeVerify (CLTV) has been merged into Bitcoin Core. This is generally considered great news, because it means that Bitcoin's potential has improved drastically. In particular, the patch that was proposed by Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd allows for the proper establishment of payment channels. This means that Bitcoin users will be able to transact cheaper, faster, and at a higher volume than usual, while maintaining all of the advantages as offered by the blockchain.

What is CheckLockTimeVerify?

The CLTV concept is fairly simple. Essentially, it allows users to create a bitcoin transaction of which the transaction outputs are spendable only at some point in the future. As such, the bitcoin sent in that transaction are time-locked until either a specified date, or until a certain number of blocks has been mined.

This in itself is a neat addition that can be used for various purposes. It would be easy, for example, for a dad to grant his son bitcoin as a present, but which the son could use only when he turns 18. Or it could perhaps be used to pay rent on a specific date.

These sorts of applications are relatively straightforward. But CLTV gets really interesting when combined with additional Bitcoin tricks.

What are payment channels?

As perhaps its most important function, CLTV is necessary for properly functional payment channels. These channels are effectively a series of “off-chain” transactions, that benefit from all the security of typical on-chain transactions, and with some added benefits.

Lets say that Bob streams a video, which costs one satoshi per second to watch, and Alice wants to watch that video. It would not be a great idea to use regular bitcoin transactions worth a satoshi for each individual second streamed, since a typical transaction fee costs more than one satoshi, and transactions confirm only once every 10 minutes on average. On top of that, the Bitcoin network is currently limited to a handful of transactions per second, which means that Alice's transactions would be a huge burden on the system. Moreover, only a handful of people could watch Bob's stream at the same time before the whole Bitcoin network clogged up.

Therefore, Alice and Bob decide to open a payment channel instead. Before she starts watching the video, Alice sends – say – one bitcoin to a multi-signature address. And Alice and Bob each control one of two keys required to send funds from that address.

Now, Alice wants to start watching the video. She signs a transaction from the multisig address, in which she sends 99,999,999 satoshi's to herself, and one satoshi to Bob. Bob could now sign this transaction at any time, and claim the satoshi attributed to him. Therefore, he allows Alice to watch one second of his stream.

However, and importantly, Bob doesn't actually claim his satoshi right away, because he believes Alice will probably want to watch longer than one second. And here comes the trick: Alice signs a new transaction from the same multisig address, this time sending herself 99,999,998 satoshi's, and sending Bob 2 satoshi's. Once again, Bob could sign this transaction at any time, and claim the two satoshi's attributed to him. But he could not sign both transactions, as that would constitute a double spend! Therefore, he would have to choose. And unless Bob is keen on losing money, he would always sign the biggest transaction. If he does, he will effectively receive one satoshi per second – even though he didn't actually receive a new transaction worth a single satoshi every second.

This process can be repeated as long as Bob doesn't sign his part of the transactions. So for every second that Alice watches the video, Bob can claim an additional satoshi, with no need to wait for confirmations on the blockchain. And since only one transaction – the last one for Bob to claim – is actually recorded on the blockchain, Alice and Bob do not clog up the Bitcoin network with micro-transactions, and they need to pay only a single mining fee.

So why do payment channels require CLTV?

There is one problem. What if, for some unforeseeable reason, Bob cannot or will not transmit the transaction at all? Perhaps because he falls of a cliff, or he loses his private key, or maybe he holds Alice's bitcoin ransom and demands a bigger cut, or some other reason. In that case, Alice will have lost her bitcoin, even if she didn't watch Bob's video stream long enough for it to be worth a bitcoin.

That's where CLTV comes in.

Alice can add CLTV to the initial bitcoin transaction, using it to send the whole bitcoin back to her own address. This transaction is validated – for example – one day later, but only if Alice and Bob didn't sign the multi-signature transaction before that time. Now, if Bob doesn't sign the transaction at all for whatever reason, Alice can sign it by herself and is guaranteed to get her money back.

Worst case scenario for Alice is that she would need to wait a day. She might be a bit annoyed, but she will not lose any money. As such, the whole process has been made completely trustless.

Activation

On a final note, it should be mentioned that the CLTV concept is actually not new at all; it has existed in Bitcoin since the early days. With the previous incarnation of the time-locked concept, however, locked transactions were not actually included in the blockchain until a certain point in time. Rather, they were kept by Alice and (more importantly) Bob, to transmit over the Bitcoin network once the time-lock expired.

By actually baking it into the protocol as CLTV does, the payment channel process is better streamlined and more robust. Perhaps most importantly, it disables payment channel failures caused by transaction malleability.

Although CLTV is officially merged into Bitcoin Core now, it's not quite in use yet. First, it will be rolled out with the latest version of Bitcoin Core: 0.12. This is scheduled for early 2016. Alternatively, CLTV might be implemented in an update to Bitcoin Core 0.11, in which case CLTV will be available at an earlier (so-far unspecified) date.

After that, a super-majority of Bitcoin miners – 75 percent of hashing power – will need to signify they are ready and prepared to allow CLTV. This seems unlikely to cause much trouble, as there is no real opposition to the patch.

Thanks to Blocktrail CTO Ruben de Vries and Bitonic CEO Jouke Hofman for added feedback.

The post CheckLockTimeVerify, or How a Time-Lock Patch Will Boost Bitcoin's Potential appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Another day and another overhead Fib line achieved in the persistent bitcoin price rally. Price has fallen back just below $500 and 3300 CNY, and looks certain to continue higher in the coming days. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now and receive a $29 discount using the code CCN29. Bitcoin Price Analysis Time of analysis: 16h18 UTC BTC-China 1-Hour Chart From the analysis pages of xbt.social, earlier today: The indicator divergence is stupendous – have a look at the stochastics (second from top) flashing red on […]

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During the price gains over the last several weeks, the focus has been on the big bitcoin exchanges, particularly the Chinese exchanges that are trading at a premium to U.S. exchanges. That being said, the two publicly traded vehicles that offer investors exposure to bitcoin have also been seeing considerable volume.

XBT Provider manages Bitcoin Tracker One and Bitcoin Tracker Euro, which are exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that allow people to buy exposure to bitcoin on public markets such as Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. Because of this, the ETNs offer investors worldwide the opportunity to invest in bitcoin. Every share of the ETN represents 0.05 BTC. Over the past few days, and yesterday in particular, the trading volume and price for Bitcoin Tracker One have increased significantly.

While these ETNs have been trading approximately 650-750 bitcoin per day, on November 3rd, the exchanges saw 2,688 bitcoin traded. XBT Provider is able to issue more ETNs by purchasing bitcoin on the open market and holding it securely.

“We are currently seeing a very high demand from both retail and institutional investors. We believe, however, that institutional investors will play a bigger role in the future,” said Christoffer De Geer, marketing manager at XBT Provider, in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine.

Another RECORD DAY for @BitcoinTrust (symbol: $GBTC) - trading volume hit a new all-time high: 71,697 shares and >$3.2MM in notional value!

— Grayscale (@GrayscaleInvest) November 3, 2015

The Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which is a Digital Currency Group product, has also experienced unprecedented volume increases. Its 30-day average volume is 8,291 shares. However, GBTC experienced volume of 71,697 shares yesterday. One share of GBTC is approximately 0.1 BTC before fees.

These two bitcoin instruments are attractive to investors because investors can gain exposure to bitcoin without the work involved in setting up a secure wallet and a trading account at a bitcoin exchange. Instead, institutional investors can use the tools and markets they are trading on every day and purchase bitcoin just like a stock or commodity. Buying shares of GBTC or what XBT Provider offers is as simple as buying a share of Apple. Further, investors can take advantage of tax advantages found within IRAs to buy these shares, giving them further incentive to participate in the rally, which doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

As Bitcoin Investment Trust's founder tweeted, as the wheel continues to turn, it gets faster and faster:

Watch the bitcoin flywheel effect begin... https://t.co/cmBoyD3pta

— Barry Silbert (@barrysilbert) November 2, 2015

The post Publicly Traded Bitcoin Instruments See High Volumes amid Price Rise appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin is ripping higher these days and a report from the Financial Times suggests that a convicted Ponzi schemer's latest enterprise could be behind the surge.

Sergei Mavrodi runs the website MMM, which describes itself as the "Chinese social financial network." 

There, he breaks down in precise detail how investors can buy into bitcoin with multiple trading accounts, FT Alphaville's Izabella Kaminska reports.

Mavrodi offers bonuses to MMM investors depending on how many additional people they can bring into the network, and, additionally, he entices people to take to YouTube to upload testimonials of how much they made. 

While US-based bitcoin investors were reluctant to hang the entire balance of the cryptocurrency's appreciation (about 90% over the past month) on Mavrodi's Chinese social financial network, they also cannot deny the recent impact of China's investors on bitcoin.

"We have not seen volume like this coming out of China since 2013," Brendan O'Connor, CEO of Genesis Global Trading, a bitcoin broker, told Business Insider.

Yesterday, bitcoin shot up about 10%, to around the $400 level and today it rose another 20% by the opening of US markets, to $480. 

Business Insider attempted to reach Mavrodi through his website, but did not receive a response by publication time. 

Here's the post on the Alphaville blog. 

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Bitcoin Press Release: A player made a €200 deposit on established Bitcoin casino BitStarz and won €51,438.47 in an unbelievable winning streak lasting 48 hours. Player with a nickname HAMSTERCHOPS is now the record holder for a single win with €16,500 at the online casino. Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015 – Online Bitcoin casino BitStarz has seen the coronation of a new BitStar as a player broke the record for the highest single win in BitStarz history. Player went on a 48 hours long winning streak seeing her deposit of €200 grow to incredible €51438.47 including a Mega Win on the […]

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The march goes on. Bitcoin price strikes $500. The Bitstamp Price Index bulldozed its way beyond $450 earlier today and has now reached $500, a figure struck at 13:20 UTC. The increase in price charts a remarkable rise from the beginning of October when the price of bitcoin opened at $237.15. In a little over a month, the price has since more than doubled. Bitcoin price has today reached a high of $502 and has since decreased to $492.72 at the time of publishing. The increase in price charts a remarkable rise from the beginning of October when the price of bitcoin opened […]

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Another day, another peak scaled by bitcoin. Today, the Bitstamp Price Index rang $450 for the first time this year. The bitcoin price struck $450.38 at 10:44 UTC today and scaled yet another year high of $483 at the time of publishing. For a live Bitcoin Price chart, click here. Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Here is what you need to know.

Volkswagen has another emissions scandal. The German automaker announced an internal investigation has discovered "irregularities in CO2 levels" in as many as 800,000 vehicles. Volkswagen does not yet know if the irregularities are related to the recently discovered emissions scandal related to NOx testing. "Under the ongoing review of all processes and workflows in connection with diesel engines it was established that the CO2 levels and thus the fuel consumption figures for some models were set too low during the CO2 certification process," Volkswagen said in a statement. "The majority of the vehicles concerned have diesel engines."

Tesla is flying high after its latest outlook. Shares of Tesla were up 10% in after-hours trade after the company announced it expects to deliver 17,000 to 19,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, outpacing the Wall Street consensus. For all of 2015, Tesla said it will deliver between 50,000 and 52,000 vehicles, narrowing its range from its previous estimate of between 50,000 and 55,000. On the earnings front, the electric-car maker lost $0.58 per share, which was slightly worse than the $0.56 loss that was anticipated. Revenue jumped 33.4% to $1.24 billion, in-line with estimates.

US auto sales are at the highest level in a decade. The latest Autodata showed US auto sales rose at an annualized pace of 18.24 million in October, the best in a decade. The number easily surpassed the 17.7 million vehicle Wall Street consensus. Mazda (+35.4%) saw the biggest gains while GM (+16%) and Ford (+13%) posted solid results. BMW USA (-6.6%) was the lone decliner.

Honda is dumping Takata airbags. The AFP reports, Takata's largest client, Honda, has severed its relationship with the company after US authorities announced a $200 million fine against the airbag maker. Takata airbags have been linked to eight deaths and even more injuries around the world. "On a global basis, no new Honda and Acura models currently under development will be equipped with a front driver or passenger Takata airbag inflator," Honda said in a statement. Shares of Takata were down as much as 20% in Tokyo.

Iceland raised rates. Iceland's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 5.75%. The central bank noted domestic demand is expected to increase by more than 7% this year and GDP forecast to grow at 4.6%. As for inflation, "It is still expected that large pay increases will cause inflation to rise above the target as 2016 progresses and the effects of low global inflation taper off. Inflation will not return to target until 2018," the central bank said. The Icelandic krona is weaker by 0.2% at 128.90 per dollar.

European services data was strong. October Services PMI for the eurozone was released, and showed every country outpaced expectations except for Germany. Spain saw the biggest month-over-month increase, as its reading climbed from 54.6 in September to 55.9 in October and easily beat the 54.6 that was expected. Germany's number ticked up to 54.5 from 54.1, but missed the 55.2 that economists were expecting. The eurozone as a whole improved to 54.1 from 53.7. The euro is down 0.3% at 1.0935.

Bitcoin has gone parabolic. On Tuesday, Bitcoin rallied 10% to close just shy of the $400 mark. On Wednesday morning, Bitcoin is up another 15% near $454. The digital currency has surged 89% since the beginning of October.

Stock markets around the world are higher. China's Shanghai Composite (+4.3%) surged after the People's Bank of China released some dated comments from governor Zhou Xiaochuan. In Europe, Spain's IBEX (+1.2%) leads the gains. S&P 500 futures are higher by 2.75 points at 2105.75.

US economic data is moderate. ADP Employment Change is due out at 8:15 a.m. ET before the trade balance crosses the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET and ISM Services is released at 10 a.m. ET. Crude oil inventories will be announced at 10:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.20%. 

Earnings reporting remains heavy. 21st Century Fox, Allergan, CDW, Honda Motor, Michael Kors and Time Warner highlight the names scheduled to release their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell. Facebook, Marathon Oil, MetLife, Prudential, Qualcomm, Strum Ruger and Whole Foods are among the companies reporting after markets close.

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Bryan Micon, 37, former operator of bitcoin online poker site “Seals with Cubs” has plead guilty to a criminal charge for operating an unlicensed gambling system and fined $25,000 as terms of his sentence. In a landmark case and ruling involving a case connecting bitcoin and online gambling, the Clark County District Court sentenced Nevada native and professional gambler Bryan Micon to two years’ probation along with a fine of $25,000. Micon was facing up to ten years in a state prison and a $50,000 fine when he was charged initially. Under the terms, Micon also surrendered 3.0996 in bitcoin […]

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The price of bitcoin hit $450 today for the first time this year.

Bitcoin will be the sixth largest global reserve currency by 2030, according to research by Silicon Valley investment firm Magister Advisors, which surveyed some 30 block chain companies, the International Business Times reported. The research also indicates banks will invest $1 billion in block chain technology in the next few years and that the block chain will become the rails on which finance runs.   Block chain is “without question” the most important enterprise IT development in a decade, said Jeremy Millar, a partner in the investment firm. He characterized the block chain as being on a par with big […]

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