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A hacker is releasing customer records after a bank in the United Arab Emirates refused to pay a ransom of $3 million in bitcoins.

The post Hacker Leaks Customer Data After a United Arab Emirates Bank Fails to Pay Ransom appeared first on WIRED.

Fidelity Charitable senior vice president Matt Nash discusses his organization's decision to accept bitcoin donations.

Jim Burton, the British lead developer of “lightweight” Bitcoin client MultiBit, favors a rapid block-size increase in order to allow for more transactions on the network, rather than focusing on layers built on top of Bitcoin.

“Philosophically, we think that Satoshi's vision of a peer-to-peer currency needs bigger blocks,” Burton told Bitcoin Magazine. We want people to be able to transact person-to-person 'on-chain'. We are starting to see large transaction backlogs, for instance recently on Black Friday, so the need for bigger blocks is clear.”

The block-size dispute – which represents a trade-off between the number of transactions the Bitcoin network can handle and its decentralization – seems to be reaching decisive weeks. A large segment of Bitcoin's academic and engineering community will discuss the question of how best to scale Bitcoin at the upcoming Scaling Bitcoin workshop in Hong Kong on the 6th and 7th of this month, while several prominent Bitcoin companies have stated they intend to change their code to allow for bigger blocks within the next weeks.

Burton acknowledged that bigger blocks might add centralization risk to Bitcoin’s network, but he said he believes these are manageable. Additionally, the MultiBit developer hopes that the Scaling Bitcoin workshop in Hong Kong might help establish solutions for moving forward.

“As for the cost of running a full node, any company running a Bitcoin-based service will probably want to run at least one Bitcoin Core or XT node to ensure the data they are using is accurate,” Burton said. “And while bigger blocks need software engineering to improve propagation, this is the focus of the two 'Scaling Bitcoin' conferences.

“We will not be attending the conference in Hong Kong ourselves, but will be following the event closely,’ he added. “Most people I have spoken to about the block-size limit want to see action rather than a prolonged debate, so I am hoping we will see a clear path forward in the next couple of months.”

Currently, there are several proposals and ideas to increase Bitcoin's block-size limit. The solution to increase the block size designed by Bitcoin XT and Bitcoin Core developer Gavin Andresen, BIP 101, was implemented into alternative Bitcoin implementation Bitcoin XT last summer, and is programmed 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 for 20 years, ultimately leading to an 8-gigabyte block-size limit.

Another idea that has been gathering support is Blockstream CEO and Hashcash inventor Dr. Adam Back's “2-4-8” quick fix, which would incrementally increase to the limit to 8 megabytes in three steps over four years time.

Other proposals – both regarding the block-size limit and concerning alternative scaling solutions – will be discussed in Hong Kong this week as well.

While Burton, whose MultiBit was launched more than four years ago, believes the block-size should limit should be increased soon, he did not give a clear preference for the type of solution.

“We are fortunate that the architecture of both MultiBit Classic and MultiBit HD is agnostic to the block size. Both versions will happily connect to either Bitcoin Core or XT, and should work without change for any of the proposed block sizes,” Burton said. “We would be very pleased to see BIP 101 implemented, but if the consensus is that increasing it '2-4-8' is a safer procedure we would be happy to see that, too.”

Lastly, Burton indicated he is in favor of additional scaling solutions, such as layers built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, as long as the scalability doesn’t solely rely on it.

“Additional layers on top of Bitcoin such as the Lightning Network will also be needed to scale Bitcoin,” he said. “But it is not an 'either/or' situation. We can do both.”

The post MultiBit's Jim Burton: Satoshi's Vision of a Peer-to-Peer Currency Needs Bigger Blocks appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Boston University has convened a task force to explore how digital currencies could provide assistance in conflict zones.

I became interested in Bitcoin during the fall of 2013, while leading the inside sales team for Oracle's open source support in Kansas and Iowa. Our territory isn't the first states that come to mind when one thinks of technology and financial innovation; our customers were the excellent university systems, as well as staid financial service companies and enterprises in Des Moines and the western suburbs of Kansas City.

Bitcoin price headed higher earlier today, in what looked like a return to advance. However, there is a technical reason to believe that the current price correction is incomplete. 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: 14h30 UTC BTCC 1-Hour Chart From the analysis pages of xbt.social, earlier today: Price has found support at a long-term support and resistance level (dashed grey). Consolidation may now happen above this level prior to the […]

The post Bitcoin Price May Head Lower Again appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

A commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has spoken about the inadequacies and inefficiency of the current “closed ledger” banking system. He adds that distributed open ledgers could revolutionize financial ecosystems while noting certain “disruptive” implications for the current financial industry and those who are a part of it. Commissioner J Christopher Giancarlo spoke about bitcoin and the blockchain in a wide-ranging lecture on Fintech and international finance at the Harvard School of Law on December 1st.  In a guest lecture that began with a disclaimer that his views did not constitute those of the CFTC, a CFTC […]

The post CFTC Commissioner Sees Blockchain's Potential to Revolutionize the Financial Industry appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Hong Kong is being pushed into a protracted financial winter by the actions of two world powers.

The international financial hub's GDP will fall to 2.2% in the coming months, according to Credit Suisse analyst Christiaan Tuntono, driven by a US Federal Reserve interest-rate hike and a continued slowdown in China's economy.

In a November 27 note titled "Hong Kong: A Long Winter," Tuntono wrote that the city's GDP is expected to clock in at 2.2% between 2016 and 2020 — a significant drop from its GDP of 4% over the past 15 years.

"Hong Kong's trend growth has already been slowing down despite support from resilient Chinese growth and very easy monetary conditions," Tuntono said. "As these factors dissipate, we expect trend growth to moderate further. We are also concerned about Hong Kong's fiscal condition in the face of weaker trend growth ahead."

UBS has an even more pessimistic projection for 2016 of 1%, The Wall Street Journal said.

The expected shockwave following the US rate hike in December alongside the slowing Chinese industrials sector is expected to ripple throughout the city's economy: It will likely drag on Hong Kong's labor market, property market, and fiscal position, Tuntono wrote.

That will heighten the need for structural and political changes in one of the world's most established financial centers.

"A structural downturn of the Hong Kong economy is likely to put negative pressure on future revenue streams that are dependent on the performance of the real economy and global and domestic asset markets," Tuntono wrote. "Besides the risk over future revenue streams, Hong Kong's rapidly aging population is also expected to raise government welfare and healthcare expenditures."

And as with mainland China, Hong Kong will have to make structural changes to its economy.

"The pending downshift in Hong Kong's growth momentum will only make a revamp of the territory's fiscal structure more pressing, in our view," Tuntono wrote.

Pegged to a struggling ship, falling purchasing power

China's economy has boomed over the past decade, pushing up Hong Kong's service exports to 48% of the city's GDP in 2014.

But as Chinese tourism to Hong Kong starts to wane alongside demand for HKD and USD-denominated loans from Chinese companies, the service exports sector — which includes trade services, transportation services, tourism, and financial services — is also expected to drop.

"A stagnation in global trade flows and a slowdown in the growth of China's share of world markets are expected to restrain the growth of Hong Kong's trade and transportation service exports," Tuntono wrote. "Hong Kong's travel service exports are expected to slow as well, as the tourism sector faces a structural downtrend led by the loss of Hong Kong's appeal to mainland Chinese tourists and greater competition from surrounding destinations.

"We believe the pressure on service exports and rising costs of funding will continue to weaken Hong Kong's potential growth rate," he wrote.

The contracting services sector is also likely to lead to weakening employment growth and stalled wage growth. In the six months ending in March, the city's real wages contracted 2.3% year over year. That in turn would push the general public buying power downward.

"We expect private consumption growth to weaken to 2.1% from 5% in the past as employment conditions deteriorate," Tuntono wrote.

Pressured by giants

The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar, meaning that HKD interest rates will likely move with US interest rates.

"We do not think the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities would be keen to create additional pressure for capital outflows by altering a well-established currency board system," Tuntono wrote.

"This suggests that HKD interest rates will rise over the medium term, while the HKD should appreciate on a trade-weighted basis."

That will likely weaken Hong Kong's property sector.

"A rising HKD deposit rate would encourage capital to stay in the banking system rather than being invested in fixed assets such as property," Tuntono wrote. "As interest rates rise, we expect the balance between buying and selling property to keep tilting, putting downward pressure on transaction volumes and prices."

SEE ALSO: The IMF is about to give China's economic reform efforts a major endorsement

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WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - - New orders for U.S. factory goods rebounded in October after two straight months of declines, but manufacturing remains crippled by a strong dollar and spending cuts in the energy sector.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday new orders for manufactured goods increased 1.5 percent on rising demand for transportation equipment and a range of other goods. Orders in September were revised to show them falling 0.8 percent instead of the previously reported 1.0 percent drop.

Despite the increase in orders last month, manufacturing remains mired in weakness, with a survey this week showing the sector contracting last month for the first time in three years.

Factory activity, which accounts for about 12 percent of the economy, is also being undermined by business efforts to reduce an inventory overhang and tepid global demand.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders rising 1.4 percent in October. The dollar has gained 18.6 percent against the currencies of the United States' main trading partners since June 2014, which has eroded export growth and undercut the profits of multinationals.

In October, orders for transportation equipment increased 7.9 percent, largely reflecting a rise in aircraft orders. They had declined 2.2 percent in September. Motor vehicle orders fell 2.0 percent.

The Commerce Department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft - seen as a measure of business confidence and spending plans – rose 1.3 percent as reported last month.

Shipments of these so-called core capital goods, which are used to calculate business equipment spending in the gross domestic product report, fell 0.5 percent in October instead of the 0.4 percent drop reported last month.

Inventories of factory goods dipped 0.1 percent, dropping for a fourth straight month. That left the inventories-to-shipments ratio unchanged at a still lofty 1.35, a sign that the inventory drawdown could extend through the fourth quarter.

Unfilled orders at factories rose 0.3 percent, after two consecutive months of declines. Shipments fell 0.5 percent. They have dropped in six of the last seven months.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci) (([email protected]; 1 202 898 8315; Reuters Messaging: [email protected])

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Chain is shutting down its free Bitcoin API service as a part of a wider effort to become an enterprise blockchain technology solutions provider from an API service provider. Chain, a blockchain technology startup has announced the end of its free Bitcoin API service. The San Francisco-based company secured a $30 million investment in a round of funding in September, with investors such as Visa, Nasdaq and Citi. Initially, Chain –through the use of its API and system nodes – offered services as an API services provider to bitcoin platforms. By hitting the kill switch on its free API service, […]

The post Chain Ends Its Free Bitcoin API Service appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Gold, the US dollar and euro all printed significant price extremes during this week as investors and speculators position in anticipation of the Fed rates announcement on December 16. We take a look some of the most interesting price charts. 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 Monday November 30 Japan BOJ Gov Kuroda Speaks Japan Housing Starts y/y (actual: -2.5% expected: 2.5% previous: 2.6%) Europe German Retail Sales m/m (actual: -0.4% expected: 0.3 previous: 0.0%) UK […]

The post Global Economic Outlook: 2015 Year-End Market Positioning appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.