Coin News

Looking for some good holiday shopping deals using bitcoin? This Friday will mark the biggest single day of spending for bitcoin merchants when Bitcoin Black Friday returns for the fourth straight year. More than 150 online merchants will offer discounts offered exclusively to bitcoin users. Shoppers will be able to buy all of their holiday gifts in bitcoin. Bitcoin Evangelist Jon Holmquist launched the event in 2012 and with the help of various businesses and bitcoin investors. The bitcoin community grew it into the event it is today. Discounted items will include gifts such as comic books, hot sauce, VPNs, […]

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With Mike Hearn taking a step back from Bitcoin development to work for private blockchain startup R3, former Bitcoin Core lead developer Gavin Andresen indicated he might take over the lead of Bitcoin XT, the Bitcoin implementation programmed to increase the block-size limit through BIP (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal) 101.

Andresen, who shifted his efforts to Bitcoin XT earlier this year, told Bitcoin Magazine, reluctantly: “I might take over lead of XT, but I don't want to.”

It was announced last week that Hearn recently joined R3 as lead platform engineer, where the Google veteran and Bitcoin XT lead developer will work with some of the world's largest banks on distributed ledger-based protocols for global financial markets. Hearn confirmed to Bitcoin Magazine that he will do the minimum required to keep Bitcoin XT running, but won't actively develop or advocate the implementation any longer.

Hearn, a staunch advocate of a block-size increase in order to allow for more transactions on Bitcoin's network,implemented BIP 101 into Bitcoin XT this summer. With this patch, designed by Andresen, Bitcoin XT is set to increase the maximum block size to 8 megabytes if a threshold of 75 percent of mining power accepts the change. Once activated, this limit is set to double every two years.

On Reddit, Hearn detailed:

The implementation of BIP 101 in Bitcoin XT without industrywide consensus was considered controversial by many, in particular among the Bitcoin development community. Shortly after Hearn implemented the patch, however, several prominent Bitcoin companies stated their intent to upgrade their code to support BIP 101 by December of this year. As such, the timing of Hearn's departure could have been experienced as unfortunate by supporters of a rapid block-size increase. While the Bitcoin industry could still adopt Bitcoin XT, this seems unlikely with no active lead development.

Success of Bitcoin XT might therefore depend on Andresen taking over as lead developer, Hearn acknowledged when asked by Bitcoin Magazine. This idea – which was previously advocated by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong – was not dismissed by Andresen, though he is not keen to take such a step. Andresen, who is currently on MIT's payroll, explained:

“I might take over lead of XT, but I don't want to. I stepped back from lead of Core because I got tired of the constant trivial decision-making needed to lead an active open source software project. I want to spend my time thinking about and working on bigger, longer-term issues; like: 'What are the benefits and risks of increasing the maximum block size?'”

BIP 101 itself currently garners little support among the Bitcoin development community, and seems very unlikely to be implemented in Bitcoin Core. Regardless, Andresen does expect that BIP 101 might be adopted by the industry at large. Either through Bitcoin XT, or by miners, companies and other users implementing the patch in their own software.

“It depends on what comes out of the big Hong Kong meeting,” Andresen explained. “If the other developers can't make up their minds and reach consensus on a solution, then we'll have a messy, chaotic couple of months where companies and big mining pools or miners pick sides until a solution emerges. Though, in that case, I do expect that the most likely solution will be BIP 101, since it is the only solution with well-tested code they can download and run.”

Photo Web Summit / Flickr(CC)

The post Gavin Andresen: I Might Take Over Lead of Bitcoin XT appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

New York bitcoin exchange Coinsetter has instituted a new $65-per-month account fee, a move it says is aimed at offsetting its compliance costs.

Market expectations of a December Fed rates hike are running high (at the time of writing the US Dollar Index had just breached 100 points). The question about why there is a need for higher interest rates is missing from the market and media discourse, so today's Global Economic Outlook considers the reasons for this central bank action. This post is powered by the Bitcoin Trading Network xbt.social - CCN29 and get 29USD off! Economic Indicators World Indexes and Forex Rates   Commodities In the Calendar This Week Mon 23 November US Fed Announcement Tue 24 November US Prelim GDP […]

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An unknown malicious hacker has successfully breached a Sharjah, UAE-based bank of its customer statements and records. Over the past few days, the hacker has released the confidential data via social media after the bank refused to give in to the hacker’s extortion. A cybercriminal who goes by the alias ‘Hacker Buba’ (yes, really) has – for the past week – held a bank in Sharjah, UAE to ransom. The hacker blackmailed the bank to pay a ransom in Bitcoin and the failure to do so will lead to the public leak of the bank’s customers’ account statements. Customers include […]

The post Malicious Hacker Tries to Extort Bank for $3 Million in Bitcoin appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin price has broken out of a consolidative wedge pattern and the upside is wide open if price can maintain momentum. 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: 15h00 UTC BTCC 1-Hour Chart From the analysis pages of xbt.social, earlier today: Two trendlines (blue) that had contained price during the past few weeks have been breached - to the upside - and price is currently retesting a long-term Fib line in the […]

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When it comes to investing in companies, the first port of call is often the stock market. A stock market is where different investors can buy and trade shares in listed companies with the hope of making a profit from dividends and rising prices. Investing in companies through shares is just one of many ways to get involved with the market. You can also gain access through funds, investment trusts, enterprise investment schemes and venture capital trusts. Buying shares is a relatively simple concept, you own a portion of a company and benefit if its share price rises and lose […]

The post What are the differences between CFD & Spread betting? appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Visa Europe discusses why it is using the bitcoin blockchain as part of its new proof-of-concept for the remittance market.

Kynetix, a post-trade technology company, is putting together a consortium to look into the use of distributed ledger technology in commodities markets. UK-based Kynetix, a firm that deals in commodity post-trade technology platforms has launched a consortium focusing on integrating blockchain technology into commodities post-trades and mainstream financial services. The firm announced an inaugural meeting to take place in London today wherein 15 major commodity exchanges, investment banks, brokers and clearing houses will collaborate in bringing blockchain to the physical economy. Kynteix did not reveal the identities of the 15 participants in a press release [PDF]. In the same release, […]

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Just days after the hacker group Anonymous pledged to hunt down Islamic State members and launch cyberattacks against their accounts, a separate group of techies claims it has identified a key funding avenue for the terror network – bitcoin accounts.

Bitcoin Press Release: The World’s First Bitcoin bank NextBank has stopped their public crowdfunding campaign. All those that have contributed small amounts to the $2.35 million fund will be minority shareholders or will be refunded in full. The vast majority of the fund comes from private angel investors. The world’s first Bitcoin bank NextBank has confirmed that they have received $1.4 million in funding for 4% of the company from 2 venture capitalists from Europe this week. NextBank has previously received $0.95 million in private VC investment bringing the total investment capital to 2.35 million USD. NextBank has now stopped […]

The post Bitcoin Bank NextBank Halts Public Crowdfunding Process, Receives 2.35 Million USD Total In Seed Investment Capital appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Release: Bitcoin and Litecoin trading platform eCoin.eu has recently launched instant bank transfer for some European customers; enabling them to instantly buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with funds in their bank account. On November 01, 2015 eCoin.eu together with Online Bank Transfer launched an instant funds deposit service for customers registered in Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Spain. Every customer from the above-mentioned countries possessing an e-Coin account can instantly transfer money from their local bank account and buy any cryptocurrency including Bitcoin. The process has been designed to take the least possible time and works smoothly. In […]

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Bitcoin Press Release: Bitcoin and Litecoin trading platform eCoin.eu has recently launched instant bank transfer for some European customers; enabling them to instantly buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with funds in their bank account. On November 01, 2015 eCoin.eu together with Online Bank Transfer launched an instant funds deposit service for customers registered in Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Spain. Every customer from the above-mentioned countries possessing an e-Coin account can instantly transfer money from their local bank account and buy any cryptocurrency including Bitcoin. The process has been designed to take the least possible time and works smoothly. In […]

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Bitcoin Press Release: Established in 2000, Digital Currency trading platform XMLGold is pleased to announce a new Instant Bank Transfer service for clients wishing to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. XMLGold, the cryptocurrency exchange services provider, is famous for its reliable attitude to every customer and every transaction. It provides customers many interesting and very useful services. XMLGold clients can buy and sell Bitcoin and other types of cryptocurrency withdraw their earned money to their bank card and so on. Moreover, XMLGold clients can now use instant money transfer service launched together with Online Bank Transfer in November 2015. This […]

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Bitcoin Press Release: Crypto-games.net invites gamblers from all over the world to take advantage of their low-edge online Dice, Blackjack, Lottery and Slot machine games, in which they are offering everyone an opportunity to gamble online with cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Dash, Gamecredits, Peercoin and Gridcoin) both, securely and anonymously. This online gambling site also offers the feature to invest in their house bankroll. Bitcoin gambling has been gaining momentum for the past few years and we can surely expect more and more bitcoin casinos to launch in the near future. It now poses as a threat to […]

The post Crypto-games.net Offers a Collection of Supreme Games for Crypto Gamblers appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Release: Crypto-games.net invites gamblers from all over the world to take advantage of their low-edge online Dice, Blackjack, Lottery and Slot machine games, in which they are offering everyone an opportunity to gamble online with cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Dash, Gamecredits, Peercoin and Gridcoin) both, securely and anonymously. This online gambling site also offers the feature to invest in their house bankroll. Bitcoin gambling has been gaining momentum for the past few years and we can surely expect more and more bitcoin casinos to launch in the near future. It now poses as a threat to […]

The post Crypto-games.net Offers a Collection of Supreme Games for Crypto Gamblers appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Release: Crypto-games.net invites gamblers from all over the world to take advantage of their low-edge online Dice, Blackjack, Lottery and Slot machine games, in which they are offering everyone an opportunity to gamble online with cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Dash, Gamecredits, Peercoin and Gridcoin) both, securely and anonymously. This online gambling site also offers the feature to invest in their house bankroll. Bitcoin gambling has been gaining momentum for the past few years and we can surely expect more and more bitcoin casinos to launch in the near future. It now poses as a threat to […]

The post Crypto-games.net Offers a Collection of Supreme Games for Crypto Gamblers appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Bitcoin Press Release: Crypto-games.net invites gamblers from all over the world to take advantage of their low-edge online Dice, Blackjack, Lottery and Slot machine games, in which they are offering everyone an opportunity to gamble online with cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Dash, Gamecredits, Peercoin and Gridcoin) both, securely and anonymously. This online gambling site also offers the feature to invest in their house bankroll. Bitcoin gambling has been gaining momentum for the past few years and we can surely expect more and more bitcoin casinos to launch in the near future. It now poses as a threat to […]

The post Crypto-games.net Offers a Collection of Supreme Games for Crypto Gamblers appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

For nearly twelve hours, Cryptsy.com, an elder “alt coin” exchange which has been the subject of semi-regular community outrage for various reasons, has been inaccessible. According to one of the exchange's proprietors, Paul Vernon, the site has suffered a DDoS attack not unlike the one CCN has been experiencing as of late. The difference is that CCN has managed to come back online in a matter of a couple hours, not half a day. More importantly, CCN isn't holding onto anyone's money. Cryptsy has recently had other serious issues as regards its wallet servers, which it is claiming will have […]

The post PSA: Cryptsy Down, Claiming DDoS appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.