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Greyscale Investments Is On Track To Own 3.4% Of All Bitcoins

By
Adam Barry
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0

Grayscale Investments has so far acquired Bitcoins worth almost $500 million ever since the Bitcoin block halving that took place in May and is on track to own 3.4%.

The company purchased 19,879 BTC a week ago, which added to its rapidly growing Bitcoin Trust. The company has been acquiring Bitcoin faster than the Bitcoin blocks produced by miners. Kevin Rooke, a cryptocurrency analyst at Greyscale Investments, tweeted on June 25 that the firm acquired 19,879 Bitcoin worth $184 million. The investment firm’s total Bitcoin holding currently stands at 400,000 BTC.

“Grayscale *alone* has taken all BTC mined + 14,000 more BTC off the table since the halving,” another Twitter user by the name Hodlonaut pointed out.

More than 18.415 million BTC are currently circulating in the cryptocurrency market, which is still a huge amount compared to Greyscale’s current Bitcoin holding. Nevertheless, the investment firm’s BTC holding makes it one of the biggest accounts that hold Bitcoin. Experts believe that Grayscale will own 3.4% of the total number of BTC circulating in the market by January next year if it maintains its current rate of Bitcoin acquisition.

Why is Greyscale acquiring Bitcoin at such a fast pace

The investment firm has not openly discussed the reasons behind its decision to invest in Bitcoin, but it is rather obvious. The company might be aiming to purchase as much BTC as possible before the cryptocurrency gains more value. Some Bitcoin speculators believe that the cryptocurrency will eventually hit new record highs in the next few years.

Greyscale’s acquisition of Bitcoin has been seen by many as the sign that they were waiting for to indicate institutional involvement. There is also speculation that Bitcoin’s price will likely start going up, especially as more institutional investors jump on board. This is perhaps what Greyscale is hoping will happen, thus validating its hefty investment further down the road.

It is also no surprise that Greyscale has doubled down on its cryptocurrency investments this year when the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 has rocked the traditional financial markets. Many investors have switched to cryptocurrencies to protect their investments from the declining.

Keycard Authorizes Crypto Transactions With a Tap

By
Adam Barry
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0

Keycard is a new hardware wallet built with near-field communication (NFC) that securely store private keys. In the form of a credit card, the new hardware wallet is built with near-field technology to authorize cryptocurrency transactions through mobile devices.

The new card is integrated with private wallet/messenger/ DeFi browser with more integration expected in the future.

New API and SDK for Android, iOS and Go

In addition to contactless NFC hardware wallet, the keycard team also launched software development kits (SDK) and an open application programming interface (API) for Android, iOS, and Go. This will allow developers integrate Keycard into any app that requires authorization and user authentication.

Security is one of the key issue when handling cryptocurrency. In this case, private keys play a big role in accessing private user account. Hardware wallets are most popular and secure options for storing private keys. There is a growing number of private hardware keys to choose from.

The process of authorizing transactions and sharing keys between hardware wallets and a desktop or mobile device is different from one device to another. Hardware has also evolved from the days of using USB connected wallets to wireless versions that use Bluetooth to the recently announced NGRAVE, which works by scanning QR codes.

Using NFC, the Keycard authorizes transactions by tapping the credit-card-sized wallet against a mobile device. The device securely stores the keys.

Status Network developed the Keycard, the company also developed the Status App that integrates with the key. The App has an in-built Ethereum wallet that supports ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens, private messaging capabilities, and a decentralized Web3 browser.

Keycard will Attract a lot more Applications

The launch of API and SDKs will make it possible for technology to be used in several wallets and other applications. Other applications will include authorizing transactions, storing private keys, and as part of a two-factor authentication system.

“As a project with an open source API, we believe the Keycard model will be an industry standard for all sorts of products that expect normal people to interact directly with their cryptocurrency,” said Keycard project manager Guy-Louis Grau.

Cryptocurrency Scams In Australia Led To The Loss Of $14.9 Million USD In 2019

By
Adam Barry
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0

The dawn of the cryptocurrency age brought with it a lot of excitement especially with many people viewing digital currencies from a speculative point of view. This has allowed scammers to take advantage of people and thus resulting in losses.

A study conducted by Scamwatch, a division of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, revealed that Australians collectively lost a total of $14.9 million USD to crypto scams in 2019. Roughly 1,810 cases were filed by Australians that lost money to cryptocurrency scams during the year. The report also revealed that most of the individuals that were affected by the scams were between 25 and 34 years old.

“Cloud mining farms became a common adaptation of this type of scam. Most were Ponzi schemes, with no real cryptocurrency involved,” the Scamwatch report pointed out.

Crypto mining scams were a favorite for many scammers

Scammers running crypto mining scams would entice Australians with the promise of genuine activity that generates cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin mining. However, the report states that most of the crypto mining scams were just websites with no physical mining equipment or servers anywhere and thus no cryptocurrencies.

Scammers preyed on Australians eager to capitalize on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies. Some of the scams. People were looking for an alternative way of making money through cryptocurrencies other than speculation especially after the crypto bubble burst in 2018. The report revealed that there has been a steady rise in the amount of money lost through crypto scams from 017 to 2019.

One of the scams pointed out by the report was USI Tech which was quite popular in Australia in 2019. More than 200 cases were reported over this particular scam, in which Australians collectively lost roughly $ 2.2 million. The sad thing is that the losses could not be recovered since they were transacted in Bitcoin and could not be reversed.

Scamwatch described USI Tech as one of the biggest crypto scams in the world. According to the report, Bitcoin was the cryptocurrency that was predominantly used to facilitate the theft. This is because Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency.

Gavin Andresen Has Good Reason To Believe That Craig Wright Is Not Satoshi Nakamoto

By
Adam Barry
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0

Gavin Andresen has expressed his doubts that Craig Wright is the creator of Bitcoin and the true identity behind the alias Satoshi Nakamoto, despite previously believing so.

The world has been curious to find out who Satoshi Nakamoto really is. To uncover the true identity of the genius behind Bitcoin and blockchain technology, numerous people have come forward claiming to be Satoshi, but none of them could prove their claim. There have been rumors that Craig Wright is the true Satoshi, and Andresen was one of the people who believed this. However, he recently expressed doubts about it.

Andresen was involved in a deposition that was part of Wright’s case against David Kleiman’s estate. During the deposition, Gavin was asked if he believed that Wright was the real Satoshi. His answer was that he believed it at first, but he later started to see that it was a lie.

“There are places in the private proving session where I could have been fooled, where somebody could have switched out the software that was being used or, perhaps, the laptop that was delivered was not a brand-new laptop, and it had been tampered with in some way,” stated Andresen.

Wright dismissed as another fraudster?

Andresen also added that another major reason why he disputes the claim that Wright is the true Satoshi is the fact that the evidence presented to him was different from the evidence presented to the world. Andresen was one of the few people that communicated with the true Satoshi through emails back in 2010 and 2011. However, the communications ceased, and Satoshi went silent.

Wright later came out claiming to be the real Satoshi. However, there has not been substantial evidence proving that he is, in fact, the true Bitcoin creator. He has even been described as a fraud or thief by prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry, such as Mark Karples, the former CEO of the Mt. Gox crypto exchange.

Wright even attempted to sue Roger Ver, the Bitcoin Foundation founder, for making similar remarks against him. Interestingly, Satoshi is believed to own a substantial amount of Bitcoin and would likely not sue someone for disputing his identity just so he can get some cash.

Australia Provides Financial Backing For Blockchain-Based COVID-19 Communications Program

By
Adam Barry
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0

The Australian government has sanctioned a blockchain-based program called QualiSig, which was created out of the need to ensure secure communications to citizens regarding COVID-19.

The Aussie government reportedly provided 60,000 euros to fund the program, which is currently in a pilot phase. The project was created by a blockchain startup called A-Trust. Its purpose is to create a platform through which the government can ensure secure communications with institutions and the country’s citizens, especially during a crisis. The Coronavirus crisis has demonstrated the need for such a program, and QualiSig should particularly be useful in ensuring communication between the government and research institutions on COVID-19 research.

The QualiSig program will be highly secure and transparent thanks to the fact that it has blockchain technology as its underpinning.  Michael Butz, the CEO of A-Trust, explained how the platform will work, stating that citizens will be responsible for how they control their data. The platform will also feature digital signatures facilitated through mobile devices.

“The mobile phone signature, with around 1.5 million users, is a widely used tool and has stood for highly secure authentication in the digital world for ten years,” stated the A-Trust CEO.

Mr. Butz further pointed out that the blockchain-based project will access traceable and secure communications, especially now that there is a major crisis affecting the country and the rest of the world. The project is also a win for the blockchain community because it marks another blockchain use case and is particularly important because a government is involved.

Blockchain adoption and government accountability

More governments worldwide are embracing blockchain-based solutions, which is great news because it means the technology is gathering a good adoption pace. Many experts believe that mass adoption of blockchain technology is a step in the right direction, especially as far as ensuring highly secure and more efficient solutions and systems.

Governments are particularly poised to benefit from adopting the technology. This is particularly great for governments that are determined to demonstrate transparency and reliability of service delivery. Such efforts could help people to gain more trust in their governments since blockchain technology paves the way for more accountability.

The U.S Tax Court Sides With The IRS On Requirement For Traders To Use Their Cryptocurrency Investment To Cover Their Tax Obligations

By
Adam Barry
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0

If you are a cryptocurrency trader and you owe a tax debt to the IRS, chances are that you will have to use your cryptocurrencies to clear your debt according to a decision by the U.S Tax Court.

The U.S tax court decided in a case where a couple was involved in a tax dispute with the IRS. In 2017, Alexander and Laura Strashny failed to pay the amount they owed to the IRS as per their tax return. Their tax liabilities and fines to the IRS grew to $1.1 million, thereafter they requested to make the payments in 6 yearly installments.

The couple also revealed that they had a cryptocurrency account worth $7 million from which they withdrew $19,000 every month and that their annual income was more than $200,000. Based on this information, the IRS concluded that they could pay the amount in full, and the request for payments through installments was denied.

The Strashnys decided to push the matter to the U.S. Tax Court which unfortunately for them, sided with the IRS. The court’s ruling was that the couple could withdraw the money to pay off the IRS debt from their cryptocurrency account.

What does the court ruling mean for cryptocurrency traders?

The court ruling in the Strashnys case will apply to crypto traders moving forward. This might put cryptocurrency traders at a disadvantage because it means that they might be caught off-guard. For example, if you invest in a cryptocurrency and the value of the cryptocurrency goes down, that means you are losing money in the investment. However, cryptocurrencies are quite volatile, and you might decide to wait a while longer so that the value of the investment goes up.

In case you get into trouble with the IRS before the investment value increases, you might lose your money. In this case, the remedy is to make sure that you are right as rain with the taxman to avoid being caught up in a situation through which your crypto investment is at a higher risk than necessary.

Deloitte Survey Reveals That 39 Percent Of Major Global Firms Are Leaning Towards Blockchain

By
Adam Barry
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0

Blockchain technology has been around for just over a decade, during which it has already made a global impact, and is on its way into the mainstream. The Deloitte audit firm recently released the results of a survey in which it discovered that 39 percent of major global companies are working on blockchain developments.

Deloitte surveyed between February 6 and March 3 this year, with feedback coming from 1,488 senior executives of major companies from 14 countries. 39% of the executives revealed that they have already started integrating blockchain into their operations. This represents a 15% bump from the number of companies that embraced blockchain technology as per a previous survey in 2019.

The number of companies embracing blockchain is even higher at 41% when the list includes companies that generate more than $100 million in annual revenue. Deloitte’s survey evaluated companies in major countries, including Germany, Mexico, Canada Singapore, Israel, Ireland, Switzerland, South Africa, Brazil, Hong Kong, China, UAE, the UK, and the U.S.

Major companies are starting to see the potential that blockchain has to offer

Deloitte also revealed that the executives whose businesses have been shifting towards blockchain demonstrated a significant understanding of the technology. This includes an understanding of decentralized ledger technology and cryptocurrencies. The audit firm also revealed that most of the companies that are involving themselves with blockchain technology have prioritized it as a tool for improving their business. Most of them also believe that cryptocurrencies will be of huge significance in the future.

“Eighty-nine percent of the respondents stated that digital assets could be of great importance to the underlying industries over the next three years,” Deloitte revealed.

Deloitte also revealed that 82 percent of the executives in companies working on blockchain said they plan to hire individuals with blockchain expertise in the next few years. 83% of the companies believe that failure to adopt the technology will rob them of competitive advantage.

The findings from the Deloitte survey is great news for the blockchain community. It means that major companies are increasingly becoming aware of blockchain’s potential. It also means that the rate of adoption will likely increase, especially due to the fear of missing out or fear of losing a competitive advantage.

Sapiens International Corporation Pays Hackers Bitcoin Worth $250,000 As Ransom After They Threatened To Shut Down Its Systems

By
Adam Barry
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0

Sapiens International Corporation has reportedly parted with $250,000, which it paid to hackers in the form of Bitcoin in ransom dealing.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Sapiens decided to go ahead with the ransom payment of $250,000 without involving regulators from Israel or from the U.S. This was after hackers threatened to shut down the Israeli company’s systems through a ransomware attack. The Tel-Aviv company reportedly faced the ransomware attack between March and April this year.

Did Sapiens have a reason for not reporting the situation to regulatory authorities?

Sapiens has not revealed why it decided to handle the ransomware situation the way it did. However, the answer might be found in the company’s operations. The Israeli company makes software for finance and insurance companies. It also has customers from across the globe. The two segments which it serves with its software offerings are quite sensitive. This might explain its decision to handle things under wraps without risking the shutdown of its services, which would have undoubtedly affected clients.

Like many other companies, Sapiens allowed most of its workers to work from home earlier this year when governments across the world issued a directive for people to stay at home. This was aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus. However, the transition to remote work created a loophole that the hackers took advantage of so that they could push the company to a corner.

Statistics indicate that the $250,000 payment that Sapiens paid to appease the hackers was higher than most ransomware payments. According to a cybersecurity company called Coveware, hackers requested $40,000 on average as a ransom payment. This means that Sapiens was among the companies that have paid the highest amount of money in ransomware-related cases.

The hackers also requested payment in the form of Bitcoin to avoid being traced easily. In such cases, hackers take advantage by routing the cryptocurrency through exchanges to make it harder to track. Ransomware attacks have become increasingly common, and anyone or any organization might be at risk. Thus the need to deploy significant security countermeasures to prevent the occurrence of such attacks in the future.

Massive ETH Transfer Fee Scandal Worth Millions Reportedly Involved Blackmail

By
Adam Barry
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0

The cryptocurrency community was left in shock after it was revealed that there were recently three Ether (ETH) transactions with outrageously high fees amounting to around $5.2 million.

Researchers from PeckShield looking into the matter did not disclose the identity of the cryptocurrency exchange involved. However, they claim that the transfer involved hackers who are now blackmailing the crypto exchange to access the funds. They believe that the exorbitant transfer fees amounting to millions. The research firm revealed that the hackers may have hit a brick wall trying to transfer the funds into their wallets.

The hackers were reportedly unable to achieve their objective thanks to the numerous passwords required to facilitate the processing of cryptocurrency transactions. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin pointed out that the hackers resorted to blackmail to access the funds.

“Hackers captured partial access to exchange key; they can’t withdraw but can send no-effect txs with any gas price. So they threaten to ‘burn’ all funds via tx fees unless compensated,” stated Buterin.

 The most expensive transfer fee ever

The hackers reportedly transferred just 0.55 ETH, which was charged an absurdly high fee of $2.6 million on June 10.  Another transfer involving a similar transfer fee of $2.6 million was conducted before the end of 24 hours after the first transfer. This time, the transaction involved 350 ETH. Another transaction was the next day in which the hackers paid 2,310 ETH to transfer 3,221 Ether.

Such high fees were obviously not going to go unnoticed. There was some speculation suggesting that the seven-figure transfer fees were part of a system error, while others suggested that it was part of a money-laundering scheme. There was also speculation that it could have been one of the former employees’ actions at the exchange.

Researchers say that the hackers used phishing to access the exchange’s funds. They were also able to send funds trusted cryptocurrency wallets on the exchange. However, they did not manage to send the funds to their own wallets, suggesting that the attempted hack did not go as they expected.

Hyperledger Continues To Grow As Eight New Members Join The Consortium Among Them Cardano’s IOHK

By
Adam Barry
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0

Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)and Cardano’s IOHK are among the latest members to join Hyperledger. The eight new members span from firms operating in blockchain-based payments, supply chain solutions, and token standardization.

Eight new members join hyperledger as the adoption of token standardization grows

Hyperledger is a group of companies that working on distributed ledger technologies-based open-source business solutions. Linux Foundation launched the consortium in December 2015. Since then, the project has received contributions from Intel, IBM, and other top tech firms working on blockchain applications.

Among the new members that have joined the consortium include industry veterans IOV Labs which was formerly called RIF Labs, Cryptocurrency payment platform Public Mint as well as IOHK, the firm behind Cardano (ADA. Other new entrants include Atomyze, a Swiss-based tokenization platform launched by TokenTrust AG, and Japanese PR and consulting firm Binarystar.

Deutsche Bahn’s digital-focused subsidiary, DB Systel GmbH, also joined hyperledger. The company’s blockchain and distributed ledger solutions’ head, Moritz von Bonin, indicated that the company was working on various DLT applications in logistics supply chains, mobility services, and railway control systems.

Hyperledger Executive Director Brian Behlendorf indicated that as the crop of new members shows, the consortium is focused on putting blockchain and DLT to work across the world in various industries.

InterWork Alliance and GBBC join hyperledger as associates

Besides the new firms joining the consortium, InterWork Alliance and Global Blockchain Business Council also joined hyperledger as associate members. InterWork is a non-profit launched at the beginning of this month to establish standardized frameworks in various platforms that support tokens and distributed applications. GBBC works in publishing tokenization research, engaging lawmakers as well as promoting its Global Blockchain Standards Initiative.

At the beginning of this month, the consortium formed a collaboration with tech giants, IBM and Microsoft, to develop global tokenization standards. Widespread token standardization is becoming a requirement for increased acceptance of tokenization.

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