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BTC Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, is considering whether the country should introduce a purely digital form of government-backed money, perhaps using distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) similar to the blockchain technology underlying Bitcoin. This move is part of a recent trend: around the world, nations are considering cryptocurrencies issued by central banks; and recently, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave a speech hinting at its interest in the concept. A September 2017 report titled “ The Riksbank’s e-krona project ” outlines a proposal for a digital complement to cash, dubbed e-krona, which would be guaranteed by the state. “This is as revolutionary as the paper note 300 years ago,” Cecilia Skingsley, deputy governor at the Riksbank, told the Financial Times  in November 2016. “What does it mean for monetary policy and financial stability? How do we design this: a rechargeable card, an app or another way?” Skingsley added tha...

BTCC, a major bitcoin exchange and trading platform operator in China, officially launched its first mobile application, “ Mobi ,” introducing various features and products including Twitter payments and the company’s signature bitcoin-based Visa debit card. With its private blockchain, Mobi allows smartphone users to gain access to over 100 currencies including bitcoin, gold and reserve currencies such as USD, and allows users to instantly convert, store or transfer funds globally to other smartphone users. Mobi accounts are simply linked to users’ mobile numbers and therefore a smartphone is all that is needed to use the app. The main feature of BTCC’s Mobi app is the BTCC bitcoin debit card, which operates just like a normal bitcoin wallet. Funds in the wallet are pegged to the debit card and balance is automatically deducted when users make payments at retail points of sale (POS) that accept Visa or withdraw cash via bank ATMs. It is BTCC’s first initiative to target a global ...

Questions about how identity is tied to Bitcoin and its use are understandable. It can be more than a little confusing to parse what aspects of your name and personal information will be tied to the platform. While it carries a reputation for allowing users to operate in the shadows, you may also know that Bitcoin is tied to distributed ledger technology, which records every transaction and traces them back to their origin. So, is Bitcoin anonymous? The short answer is no, not entirely. While anonymity indicates that the identity of an actor is unknown, Bitcoin transactions are linked to a specific address and, thus, an “identity.” However, that address does not necessarily have to be tied to a real-life identity. That is why Bitcoin is often described as “pseudonymous.” If a user’s Bitcoin address is tied to their real identity, then it is possible to trace activity back to them. If not, it is possible only to trace activity back to their Bitcoin pseudonym. Bi...

In a surprising move, the network’s share of Bitcoin Unlimited jumped by more than 10% in the past 24 hours, rising from around 20% to more than 30%, the highest any alternative client has ever achieved. PayPal is giving out $500 worth of Bitcoi n Bitcoin Unlimited Gains More than 30% of the Network’s Share –  image from nodcounter The significant increase coincides with the sudden arrival of 100 Bitcoin Unlimited nodes earlier this week. Although there were suggestions these nodes are fake, it now appears more likely that someone, probably a miner, has switched to Bitcoin Unlimited. Current Bitcoin Unlimited Node Count –  image from nodecounter A new pool has indeed joined with a small amount of hashrate, the Canoe pool. They appear to have left BW.com, which has seemingly lost hashrate, but we cannot currently confirm. Another miner is meant to leave BW.com. Chandler Guo has  stated  he will take out his hashrate form BW.com to form his own ...

The fallout from PBoC’s harsh warnings to all cryptocurrency exchanges domiciled in China is continuing. Yesterday, BTCChina released a statement regarding the ongoing Bitcoin/Litecoin withdrawal delays, saying the hold will be extended to March 15th. Claim $500 worth of Bitcoin from PayPal This is BTCChina’s third withdrawal delay extension this month. On February 10th, the exchange  upped the delay  from 72-hours to 10 days. While existing BTCChina clients are presently unable to get their digital currency deposits out, withdrawals in Chinese yuan are still allowed, “if customers want to withdraw funds within a shorter period, they can first trade their bitcoins and litecoins for CNY on the exchange and then withdraw the CNY.,” says BTCChina. Like many other Chinese exchanges that suspended outflows of customers’ cryptocurrency deposits following  PBoC’s warnings , BTCChina is currently in the process of redesigning its anti-fraud prevention systems to c...