Coin News

Bitcoin may now have a fee market, but that reality doesn't mean the network has optimized for this environment, developer Jameson Lopp argues.

Bitcoin price is trading lower today after forming another rounded wave top. Analysis considers mining production costs and the historical relationship of market price to this fundamental metric. 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 […]

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Craig Wright, the Australian man who explosively — and dubiously — claimed to have invented bitcoin says that he will not be providing any further proof of his claims.

In a statement posted to his website, Wright said that as he prepared to provide "proof" of his access to the earliest bitcoin that would verify his identity, he broke down. "I do not have the courage. I cannot," he wrote. "I know now that I am not strong enough to this."

The identity of the inventor (or inventors) of bitcoin is one of the enduring mysteries of the tech sphere. There have been multiple attempts to track down its mysterious creator, known only by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, but none have been conclusive; indeed, some have been positively disastrous.

Craig Wright entered the running last year when allegedly leaked documents supplied to Wired and Gizmodo suggested he might have hand in the the creation of the digital currency, although doubts remained.

Wright didn't comment at the time, but in the last week finally came forward to claim to have invented bitcoin.

His claim was initially bolstered by the support of Gavin Andresen, a leading developer in the bitcoin community who worked closely with Nakomoto during the cryptocurrency's earliest days to develop its software. Andresen had met with Wright, and became convinced he was telling the truth: "After spending time with him I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt: Craig Wright is Satoshi."

But very significant doubts have since been poured on Wright's claims — namely the lack of any clear independently verifiable proof. It'd be technically simple for him to prove his claims (or at least, prove ownership of bitcoin that once belonged to Satoshi Nakomoto) by signing a message with the encryption key associated with the "genesis block," the first block of bitcoin ever mined. But Wright failed to do so.

He had promised to provide more evidence for his claims, writing that "over the coming days, I will be hosting a series of pieces that will lay the foundations for this extraordinary claim." But this is no longer the case.

"I'm sorry," the message on Wright's website reads. "I believed that I could do this. I believed that I could put the years of anonymity and hiding behind me. But, as the events of this week unfolded and I prepared to publish the proof of access to the earliest keys, I broke. I do not have the courage. I cannot."

This about-face is certain to be taken by doubters as proof that Wright is lying — that he was called on his bluff, could not provide the evidence people are demanding, and is trying to save face. (It's also possible that Wright's website has been hacked, but there has so far been no evidence of this.)

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Longtime Bitcoin core developer Jeff Garzik acknowledges Bitcoins’ branding problem. “The bitcoin name, in terms of marketing, is something that larger institutions are somewhat reluctant to deal with, related to the history with Mt Gox and Silk Road, most notably.” Garzik bemoans how this reputation follows the word Bitcoin. Luckily, it doesn’t follow the technology. […]

The post Exclusive: Jeff Garzik’s Stealthy Ploy To Get Bitcoin Onto Private Blockchains appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

A federal court has sentenced Arthur Budovsky, 42, to 20 years in prison for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars through a virtual currency called Liberty Reserve that was used by cyber criminals for laundering, according to the U.S. Justice Department. U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote also ordered Budovsky to pay a $500,000 fine. Budovsky […]

The post U.S. Court Sentences Man to 20 Years in Prison for Virtual Currency Money Laundering appeared first on CCN: Financial Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency News.

Barclays just resurrected a type of mortgage product that was killed off after the credit crisis — "100% mortgages."

As the name suggests, a 100% mortgage lets a buyer borrow all the money he or she needs to purchase a house without putting down any of their own cash as a deposit. Usually, people need to stump up a deposit of anywhere between 5% to 20% of the asking price of a property before a bank will grant you a mortgage. The greater the percentage the borrower puts down as a cash deposit, the safer the mortgage likely is — because a deposit says something about the ability of the borrower to come up with cash if need be.  

Conversely, 100% mortgages go to people who are unwilling or unable to raise their own cash deposits. The greater amount of debt someone takes on, the bigger risk they are.

The reappearance of 100% mortgages is a big deal because part of the reason for why the global financial system went into meltdown was because people who couldn't afford their homes defaulted on their payments, which led to a ripple effect across the markets.

Even 95% mortgages were struck from the market after the crisis. But now they've made a comeback:

Barclays said in a statement to the media, including The Sun and The Guardian it is now the first high street bank to re-launch the 100% mortgage — which was previously thought to be dead and buried — under its "Family Springboard Mortgage" branding.

It's the latest sign that banks are taking more risks in lending again. Historically, poor-quality mortgages are a timebomb waiting to go off. Britain's property prices are skyrocketing but household earnings and savings aren't keeping up. Couple this with the amount of debt Britons are taking on and it looks like the UK's property market is heading for a crash. 

Why? Because getting a mortgage is possibly the most debt you'll take on in one go and interest rates can't stay low forever. Eventually, they'll rise and so will monthly payments.

If household wages fail to keep pace as payments rise, mortgage holders will be stretched further and further. 

The average price to buy a house in Britain now stands at £291,504, according to the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, the average London property price is at a huge £551,00o.

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