Elon Musk Reveals Personal Crypto Holdings
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Elon Musk Reveals Personal Crypto Holdings appeared first on CCN Elon Musk has revealed his personal cryptocurrency holdings. The billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla told Twitter followers that he in fact has never purchased cryptocurrency, and only holds a small amount of Bitcoin gifted by a friend. Not sure. I let @jack know, but it’s still going. I literally own zero cryptocurrency, apart from The post Elon Musk Reveals Personal Crypto Holdings appeared first on CCN |
Delta and United Airlines have cut ties with the NRA (DAL, UAL)
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines both announced on Saturday that they will cut ties with the National Rifle Association amid growing calls from gun-control advocates following a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida earlier this month. The airlines are the latest in a string of corporations to sever ties with the NRA in the wake of the shooting, which claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The suspected shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, is in custody and has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Delta and United said Saturday that they will end their discount programs for members of the NRA. In addition, the carriers are requesting to have their information removed from the organization's website. "Delta is reaching out to the National Rifle Association to let it know we will be ending its contract for discounted rates through our group travel program," the Atlanta-based airline said in a statement. "We will be requesting that the NRA remove our information from its website." Several hours later, Chicago-based United followed with a similar statement. "United is notifying the NRA that we will no longer offer a discounted rate to their annual meeting and we are asking that the NRA remove our information from their website." Other companies that have severed ties with the controversial organization include Best Western, Hertz, and MetLife. Following intense scrutiny from gun-control advocates, including victims of the Parkland shooting, President Donald Trump and some Republican lawmakers expressed support for measures like shoring up the federal background check system, raising the minimum age requirement to buy a gun, and banning bump stocks. FOLLOW US: on Facebook for more car and transportation content! Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin |
Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase Launches SegWit Compatability
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase Launches SegWit Compatability appeared first on CCN Coinbase have announced that the site will now be implementing SegWit on Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals. The transition is being implemented over the coming week, and should improve transaction speeds and lower fees. SegWit was introduced August of last year through BIP 141 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal), however Coinbase was slow to adopt the technology. The lack of implementation The post Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase Launches SegWit Compatability appeared first on CCN |
Riot Blockchain Gets Hit by Another Shareholder Lawsuit
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Bitcoin Magazine, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST After changing its name to Riot Blockchain in October to include the word “blockchain,” the public company watched its stock skyrocket from $8 a share to more than $38 during a cryptocurrency rally at the beginning of the year. The first significant problem was the company did not have any real focus on blockchain technology. Before October, Riot was known as Bioptix, a maker of diagnostic machinery for the biotech industry. The company also changed its ticker symbol to RIOT from BIOP. Another problem was that key shareholder Barry Honig got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, selling off a big stake of his shares at $38 per share after the name change. On February 22, 2018, law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announced it was filing a class-action lawsuit against Riot. The complaint charges Riot, along with Honig and company CEO John O’Rourke and CFO Jeffrey McGonegal, with securities violations. Specifically, the charges claim that despite its lack of blockchain expertise, Riot changed its name to generate investor enthusiasm to further an insider scheme that would allow Riot’s controlling shareholders to dump their stocks at grossly inflated prices. At least two other lawsuits have been filed against Riot and its principals, charging them with securities violations and false and misleading statements. These lawsuits follow a scathing investigation into Riot by CNBC on February 16, 2018, that raised questions about the company’s business model and Honig. In the wake of that report, shares tumbled 33 percent to $11.46. It is likely these class-action lawsuits may be the first of many to come against Riot. Shady ActivitiesOn October 4, 2017, Riot adopted its new name and headed off in a radical new business direction, announcing it was going to invest in and operate blockchain technologies with a focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company had no previous business in blockchain technology, yet in press releases, Riot portrayed itself as a seasoned player in the space. “At Riot Blockchain, our team has the insight and network to effectively grow and develop blockchain assets,” said Riot’s then-CEO, Michael Beeghley, in a statement at the time. The company has a history of questionable activities. In December, Riot began purchasing cryptocurrency mining equipment. But rather than purchasing from the manufacturer or other suppliers, the company paid more than $11 million for equipment worth only $2 million by purchasing it through a newly formed shell entity. Honig is also charged with exercising outside influence over the company’s business operations. Beginning in April 2016, long before the company changed its name to Riot, Honig began purchasing shares in the company. By December 2016, he had become the company’s largest shareholder, owning more than 11 percent of the company. He used that influence to nominate several new directors to the board, including O’Rourke. In addition to insider selling after the name change, other worrying signs about the company included: Riot lost two auditing firms in just one year, and two annual stockholder meetings were postponed at the last minute. Also, some of Riot’s business deals involved investors who had worked on similar deals together in the past, raising questions about the company’s governance. “All Aboard”Riot is not the only company to have jumped onboard the rename-your-company “blockchain” bandwagon. Several other companies have also rewritten their names to cash in on the blockchain and cryptocurrency craze. In December, the Long Island Iced Tea Corporation, a New York–based company that makes iced tea, rebranded itself as “Long Blockchain.” Its company shares rose 300 percent as a result. In January, legacy photography company Kodak announced the launch of KODAKCoin, a “photo-centric” cryptocurrency for photographers, and its stock went up 80 percent within hours. Lawsuits like the ones now piling up against Riot stand as a reminder that a name change is not enough — a company needs real blockchain experience and technology and a solid business plan behind it before adding “blockchain” to its name. This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine. |
There Has Been An Awakening. Have You Felt It? [Part 4]
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post There Has Been An Awakening. Have You Felt It? [Part 4] appeared first on CCN We’ve previously discussed my personal view on the three bottlenecks surrounding cryptocurrency, mainly bitcoin: Part 1: the price; Part 2: the exchanges; Part 3: the fees This fourth and final part will go deeper into what the community considers to be the most challenging endeavour for Bitcoin and the blockchain. Scalability: The Fourth Bottleneck The The post There Has Been An Awakening. Have You Felt It? [Part 4] appeared first on CCN |
Warren Buffett says Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria dealt his bread-and-butter businesses a loss for the first time in 14 years
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
While he's famed for his investing prowess, the Berkshire Hathaway chief's property-and-casualty insurance business is "the engine that for 51 years has powered Berkshire’s growth," he said in his annual letter to shareholders. That's because the "float" from the insurance underwriting business — cash customers pay in premiums that Berkshire holds on to until the customer makes a claim — allows the company to make billions in investments, and it gets to keep the returns from those investments. Buffett bought the insurer National Indemnity in 1967, and it helped launch Berkshire Hathaway into the juggernaut it is today. The company is the largest property-and-casualty insurer in the country measured by float, with $114.5 billion. It's a key to Buffett's success, but as he writes in his annual letter, float also comes with risk — sometimes "oceans of risk." Rare catastrophes can cause unexpected and significant losses in the insurance business. Berkshire manages its insurance business conservatively, so usually it avoids losses and instead turns a decent underwriting profit each year. But not in 2017. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria romped through Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, causing by Buffett's estimates $100 billion in losses. If Irma had taken a slightly different path, that tally could've doubled. Berkshire Hathaway took $3 billion in losses from those three hurricanes, or $2 billion after taxes, Buffett wrote in the letter. It's the first time in the last 14 years that his vaunted insurance business took a loss. The business recorded $28.3 billion in pre-tax profits over that span, but in 2017 lost $3.2 billion. "I have regularly told you that I expect Berkshire to attain an underwriting profit in a majority of years, but also to experience losses from time to time," Buffett said in the letter. "My warning became fact in 2017, as we lost $3.2 billion pre-tax from underwriting." It's worth noting that despite the insurance losses, Berkshire Hathaway made $3.7 billion in dividends from its stock holdings alone last year, with even higher unrealized gains from market appreciation. Those stock holdings were enabled by the company's float from its insurance business. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin |
Emirates Airline boss reveals that the nastiest feud in the airline industry could kill his $76 billion Boeing order (BA)
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Emirates Airline president Sir Tim Clark believes the US aviation industry could become a victim of the trade dispute centered around the Open Skies agreements that govern air travel between the US and the United Arab Emirates where his airline is based. The US Airlines led by American, Delta, and United have accused Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways of receiving more than $50 billion in state aid over the past decade. Something the Middle Eastern carriers have vehemently denied. According to the US carriers, this is a violation of Open Skies and would like to see the agreements re-evaluated. This, Clark believes, threatens to weaken the network of Open Skies agreements that have served the aviation industry so well over the past couple of decades. "There are those in the United States who would like to see a shut down of the Open Skies," Sir Tim said in a recent interview with Business Insider. However, if the Open Skies agreements are scrapped or made more strict, it may take a toll on the US economy and the US aviation industry, specifically.
Indeed that's what has happened. Since 1992, the state department has signed more than 120 Open Skies agreements that have opened up air travel into and out of the US. "I know that as a result of what they did, the number of planes Boeing sold went nuclear," Clark declared. "Becuase the number of aircraft sold was a direct function of the Open Skies versus closed skies relationship." In the 26 years since the first Open Skies agreements were signed, Boeing has sold an average of 10% more planes a year than in the five years prior to the treaties. Emirates is one of Boeing's most lucrative customers. Not only does the airline buy in bulk, it buys Boeing's most expensive products in bulk. Emirates currently operates nearly 170 Boeing 777 airliners, the largest fleet of its kind in the world by a large margin.
According to Clark, the whole Open Skies system is put in jeopardy if the US decides to go after the agreement with the United Arab Emirates and Dubai. So what happens if the Open Skies agreements are rolled back and restricted? "For one thing, I certainly won't need those 150 planes," Clark said in regards to his record-breaking order. SEE ALSO: 'There's a storm coming': Emirates boss warns airlines of a looming seismic shift in technology FOLLOW US: on Facebook for more car and transportation content! Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin |
"When the US went Open Skies I thought it was the best thing because if the US had done it then everybody would follow suit," Clark told us. 
In 2013, Emirates agreed to an order for 150 of Boeing's next-generation 777X jets worth a record $76 billion. Although it is believed Emirates received a healthy discount from Boeing as the plane's launch customers. In addition, Emirates signed a $16 billion deal with GE Aviation to service and maintain the 300 GE9X engines that will power the 150 777Xs. ECB Member Detained in Anti-Corruption Probe (But Banks Continue to Finger Bitcoin as the Problem)
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post ECB Member Detained in Anti-Corruption Probe (But Banks Continue to Finger Bitcoin as the Problem) appeared first on CCN A member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) governing board has been detained in an anti-corruption probe. ECB Member Detained in Anti-Corruption Probe Ilmars Rimsevics, who heads the Bank of Latvia, is suspected of demanding bribes amounting to at least 100,000 euros. He was detained last weekend as part of an anti-corruption investigation launched by the country’s The post ECB Member Detained in Anti-Corruption Probe (But Banks Continue to Finger Bitcoin as the Problem) appeared first on CCN |
Will Lightning Help or Hurt Bitcoin Privacy?
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST As the reality of faster, cheaper bitcoin payments approaches via the Lighting Network, concerns are spreading about the privacy it will offer. |
Strip Clubs, Lambos and Hackers: A Tale of Two Bitcoins
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST A conference in Miami played host to evidence of a growing schism in the crypto community between passionate developers and fly-by-night traders. |
easyJet's billionaire founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou gets into fintech with new online investment platform
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
easyMoney will help write online peer-to-peer loans secured against people's property. The capital will be drawn from investors in easyMoney's new "Innovative ISA", which is targeting annual interest of 4% for investors. Innovative ISAs were launched by the government in 2014 to allow ordinary people to invest in innovative new fintech products, such as peer-to-peer loans, in a tax efficient manner. easyMoney's new ISA will compete with the likes of Funding Circle, which advertises rates of up to 7%, and RateSetter's ISA, which will open to new investors from the start of next month. Haji-Ioannou, best known for founding easyJet in 1995, said in a statement: "Everyday investors in the UK have gone almost a decade without real interest rates. With the easyMoney Innovative Finance ISA, we’re offering something new and taking on the big boys." Property developer Andrew de Candole will serve as the CEO of easyMoney. He said in a statement: "We’re offering a clear, simple alternative to a cash ISA for investors looking for real returns in exchange for a little more risk. The inflation-busting interest rates we target are streets ahead of anything the banks could contemplate." easyMoney says it plans to launch more products in the future "through its cutting-edge fintech platform." easyMoney will sit within Haji-Ioannou's Easy group of companies, which include easyHotel, easyGym, easyFoodstore, and easyGym. Haji-Ioannou, who remains easyJet's biggest shareholder, has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion according to Forbes. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin |
Week in Review for February 23, 2018: Sidechains, Stings and Venezuela
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Bitcoin Magazine, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST In the past week, news from Venezuela was at the forefront, where crypto mining is way up due to cheap electricity. But their stab at launching their own crypto, the Petro, is not looking like a great plan so far. Good news in regulation, however, is coming from the state of Wyoming as the House unanimously passed two pro-blockchain bills, with five more in the pipe. On the technological front, researches think they have solved a big part of the “sidechain” puzzle and have published a detailed paper called “Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof-of-Work.” Here are some of the headlines from this past week in the Bitcoin and blockchain space. Featured stories by Amy Castor, David Hollerith, Erik Kuebler and Aaron Van Wirdum Sidechains: Why These Researchers Think They Solved a Key Piece of the PuzzleBitcoin was the original blockchain that everyone knew about, but new ones are being created all the time, with hundreds currently available. At issue is if you want to use the features offered on another blockchain, you have to buy the tokens to use it. A technology looking to change all that is called “sidechains.” Blockchain researcher Aggelos Kiayias and researcher Dionysis Zindros released a paper in October 2017 called “Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof-of-Work” (NiPoPoW), introducing a critical piece to the sidechains puzzle that had been missing for three years. A sidechain is a technology that allows you to move your tokens from one blockchain to another, use them on that other blockchain and then move them back at a later point in time, without the need for a third party. IOHK CEO Charles Hoskinson is confident it can be done. “We can definitely do that,” he said. “We can definitely have a NiPoPoS [non-interactive proof of proof-of-stake]. The question is how many megabytes or kilobytes is it going to be? Can we bring it down to 100 KB? That is really the question.” Bitcoiner Faces Charges After Selling BTC to an Undercover CopOn February 9, 2018, officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Morgan Rockcoons (aka “Morgan Rockwell” or “Metaballo”), CEO of Bitcoin, Inc., and an entrepreneur behind several other Bitcoin startups, at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rockcoons was charged with money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to court records. According to those records, Rockcoons allegedly exchanged 10 bitcoin (worth about $9,200 at the time) for $14,500 in cash from an undercover law enforcement officer at the beginning of 2017. It is alleged that Rockcoons was told in advance that the cash came from the manufacture and distribution of “hash oil,” which contains a federally controlled substance. This is what led to the charges of money laundering. Since his arrest, Rockcoons has been tweeting and emailing his innocence and asserting that he was entrapped, in addition to refuting many aspects of the court records. He is actively seeking donations to pay for his legal fees, which he expects to be between $150,000 and $300,000 Wyoming House Unanimously Approves Two Pro-Blockchain BillsThe Wyoming House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass two blockchain-oriented bills — HB 70 the “utility token bill” and HB 19 the “bitcoin bill” — sending them to the State Senate for consideration. HB 70 defines utility tokens as neither traditional money nor securities; HB 19 exempts cryptocurrency from the 2003 Wyoming Money Transmitters Act (passed in the state before Bitcoin’s invention in 2008). Wyoming Blockchain Coalition co-founder and 22-year Wall Street veteran Caitlin Long explained, “There are already bitcoin miners setting up shop because of [Wyoming’s] cheap electricity, no income tax and no franchise tax.” Wyoming aims to set the standard for blockchain-friendly regulation in the U.S. and to become a hub for blockchain-based innovation with these two bills. The Wyoming House of Representatives is also reviewing bills HB 101 and HB 126 in the House and SF 111 in the Senate. Venezuela’s On-and-Off Love Affair With Cryptocurrency Mining: It’s ComplicatedThe economic recession has been active in Venezuela for more than a decade, with inflation of the Venezuelan bolivar (VEF) exceeding 650 percent, and gross domestic product (GDP) contracting 12 percent in 2017. Falling oil prices in 2014 have exacerbated the economic depression in the country; however, it is oil that has catalyzed Venezuela’s current cryptocurrency boom. Because the government subsidizes electricity to the point where it costs almost nothing, people are able to run three Antminer S9s running at a cost of about 30 cents per month. These miners will generate about one bitcoin every 10 months, thus providing an alternate method of generating income in the impoverished nation. “There must be tens of thousands of people mining in Venezuela,” said Randy Brito, founder of the nonprofit website BitcoinVenezuela.com. Bitcoin is the most commonly mined cryptocurrency because it was the first, and LocalBitcoins also gives bitcoin an advantage because it does not trade other cryptocurrencies; it is able to operate more safely than other local exchanges because it’s not based within the country. This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine. |
Bitcoin Price Analysis: Bitcoin Faces Pivotal Support as Bulls Exhaust Buying Pressure
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Bitcoin Magazine, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST After seeing a rally to the $11,000s, bitcoin has managed to pull back to the $9,000 range and has left many bullish investors confused. The initial bullish rally seemed promising as it broke the macro, descending channel that governed much of the market over the last two months:
The breakout of the descending channel (red dotted channel) gave hope to many bullish investors as it seemingly signaled the end of the downtrend and perhaps the beginning of a sustained bullish reversal. The volume was increasing and the price was pushing full steam ahead. However, after a few days of strong bullish movement, the price took a sharp turn downward and broke the governing channel that outlined the bullish rally from the $6,000s: As noted in the previous BTC-USD market analysis, there was a possible distribution trading range (TR) under way, and I mentioned that a breakout above the TR was likely. However, if the market managed to break out and return back inside the TR, that would possibly mark the beginning of a sustained move downward:
Yesterday, the market saw a strong push below the TR, where it managed to find a bottom around the $9,600 range. After finding a local bottom, the market returned to the TR from the bottom side and was ultimately rejected from the TR, marking a possible last point of supply (LPSY) for the TR. Currently, the market is hovering just below the TR and is on the tipping point of breaking strong support. If we manage to break the strong support around the 38% retracement values (shown in Figure 3), I expect to see widespread capitulation that will lead to a return to the bearish channel shown in Figure 1. It is entirely possible that we could see a return to the TR once more, so I’m not ruling out the possibility of a short-term bullish rally. However, I have very little hope at the moment for a resumption of the macro uptrend. If we manage to push new lows, I expect to find support in the low $9,000s as this marked the breakout of the current, failed rally. From there we will have to reassess the market conditions, but for now, I have very little confidence in a bullish continuation. Summary:
Trading and investing in digital assets like bitcoin and ether is highly speculative and comes with many risks. This analysis is for informational purposes and should not be considered investment advice. Statements and financial information on Bitcoin Magazine and BTC Media related sites do not necessarily reflect the opinion of BTC Media and should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation to buy, sell or hold. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine. |
Bitcoin Giant Bitmain Rivals GPU-Maker Nvidia in Profits, Analysts Say
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Bitcoin Giant Bitmain Rivals GPU-Maker Nvidia in Profits, Analysts Say appeared first on CCN It’s taken China-based bitcoin miner Bitmain four years to achieve performance that its larger tech peer took more than two decades to accomplish, according to analyst firm Bernstein. Beijing-based Bitmain, which came on the scene in 2013, generated between $3 billion and $4 billion in operating profits last year, according to Bernstein data cited in The post Bitcoin Giant Bitmain Rivals GPU-Maker Nvidia in Profits, Analysts Say appeared first on CCN |