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script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"> Bitcoin  A Credit Suisse report downplayed fears that the growth of the bitcoin mining industry would initiate an “environmental armageddon.” Bitcoin Mining Not an ‘Environmental Armageddon’ script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"> The emergence of bitcoin as an economic force has had a correlative effect on the  bitcoin mining industry , as increased profitability has attracted more miners to the ecosystem. This increased hashpower has come at the price of increased electricity consumption, provoking consternation among environmental activists and leading some critics to warn that bitcoin could cause a global energy crisis. However, a new report from Credit Suisse Group throws shade on those apocalyptic predictions. Last Week, Morgan Stanley  predicted  that cryptocurrency miners could consume as much as 140 terawatt-hou...

So you want in on bitcoin? Guide for Noobs Simple and Not A Lot of Money setup an account on coinbase.com, buy your coins, walk away until next year or later, fees are ~1.5% which is $1.5 USD for a $100 USD of coinnote coinbase does have an option to buy via credit card instead of a bank account, fees are ~4% when you do that, your credit card company may charge more if it considers it a cash transfer Guide for Not Noobs Less Simple -setup an account on coinbase.com, move dollars into your account, setup an account on gdax.com (same company, same login), move your cash from coinbase to gdax, buy your coins on GDAX at Market, fees are cheaper 0.25% versus 1.5% -consider buying alternative coins supported by coinbase No Fees -all of the above but use GDAX's Limit/Buy, zero fees, but you have to wait for the market to dip below your buy price More Money Available -setup several Limit/Buy orders at different price points to capture dips when you are away More Control but M...

Bitcoin  You’ve probably heard it many times if you frequently spread the good word about crypto. “Isn’t Bitcoin volatile? What if the price crashes?” By now, many POS systems offer free fiat conversion, alleviating some concern, but until the volatility of cryptocurrencies is addressed, most people will be unwilling to hold any. We need to find a way to fight the volatility that is inherent in Bitcoin. This doesn’t necessarily mean Bitcoin has to change; many people prefer to use a deflationary currency, especially those who like to save. Despite the skepticism of many altcoin critics, a currency can be better suited for some applications than others. Financial privacy, for example, is great for political activists, but more problematic when it comes to political campaign finance. We need a stable cryptocurrency designed for use in commerce; unless you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this would be held as only a fraction of your wealth, the rest reserved as other coins like bit...

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 ...

If you aren’t sure which coins to mine then it can be a difficult process carrying out the required research to find the largest profit margins. Thankfully there are already websites available that simplify the selection process. First you need to establish whether you are mining with a GPU or ASIC’s device. Then head over to  whattomine.com  and then select GPU or ASICS link from the top of the page. You will instantly be presented with the crypto coins with the highest profitability in realtime. Now once you have mined your coins you may want to convert your cash back into a safer currency such as BTC or LTC. Well there are tools for this as well. Check out  Shapeshift  a website that allows you to instantly convert your coins from one coin to another. I for example would generally move some of my profits back into LTC or BTC as I feel more comfortable with the stability of these currencies. As of today the most profitable coins to mine by GPU are as follows ...

Ethereum fans got a bit of a boost today from two different companies in the crypto space. UK-based cryptocurrency firm  Blockchain  and Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange  Bitstamp  have each added ether to their platforms for the first time. Blockchain  says its customers can simply toggle between bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) to manage and transact funds quickly and easily. Additionally, Blockchain has also integrated ShapeShift’s API so trading bitcoin to ether and vice versa can happen all from one place. In an earlier, separate announcement to its customers, Bitstamp said it will allow full trading functionalities of ether today. Ether deposits and withdrawals opened at 9 am (UTC) and began to allow full trading functionalities at 1 pm (UTC). Nejc Kodrič, CEO of Bitstamp, said: "We've been encouraged by ether's potential and the demand shown for its inclusion among our trading pairs.” Ether now joins USD, EUR, bitcoin, litecoin...

The number of countries with banks experimenting with blockchain technology is growing rapidly. The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG), north of Australia, has joined the movement with its own central Bank of Papua New Guinea running blockchain trials. Central Bank Governor Loi Bakani,  known  as a champion of new technologies as a way to enable financial inclusion, recently hosted a conference to showcase his country’s commitment to blockchain technology, with participants from at home and around the world, including Abt Associates, Paycase, Othera, IDbox, Pacific Markets, UCash, Seso and ADCCA. At the conference, Bakani described the blockchain trials underway at the  Bank of PNG  and introduced the  PNG Digital Commerce and Cryptocurrency Association  for the growing number of Papua New Guinea tech entrepreneurs and businesses interested in blockchain technology. Bakani said, “This will allow PNG to join the Global Blockchai...

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...

An Initial Coin Offering, also commonly referred to as an ICO, is a fundraising mechanism in which new projects sell their underlying crypto tokens in exchange for bitcoin and ether. It’s somewhat similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in which investors purchase shares of a company. ICOs are a relatively new phenomenon but have quickly become a dominant topic of discussion within the blockchain community. Many view ICO projects as unregulated securities that allow founders to raise an unjustified amount of capital, while others argue it is an innovation in the traditional venture-funding model. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently  reached a decision regarding the status of tokens issued in the infamous DAO ICO which has forced many projects and investors to re-examine the funding models of many restrictionsICOs. The most important criteria to consider is whether or not the token passes the  Howey test . If it does, it must b...

Using our handy guide, you may have already familiarized yourself with the ins and outs of Bitcoin. But aside from bitcoin, there are hundreds of other digital currencies out there. These are known as “altcoins,” or alternatives to bitcoin; for example, ether, ripple, zcash, monero and dash, to name just a few. Altcoins can differ from Bitcoin in a range of ways. Some have a different economic model or a different coin-distribution method, like altcoins that were given away to all citizens of a country. Others employ different proof-of-work mining algorithms, perhaps to resist specialized mining hardware — or maybe they don’t even rely on proof of work at all. Several altcoins offer a more versatile programming language to build applications on top of, while yet others offer more privacy compared to Bitcoin. And there are also altcoins that serve very specific, non-monetary use cases, like domain name registry or data storage pointers. However, there are also ...

Questions about the value of bitcoins as an investment will likely differ depending on who you ask. Those with a vision of a fully-distributed future in which the lack of a centralized overseer becomes key to an asset’s value will tell you that, yes, bitcoins are poised to become only more valuable in the future. Others who put more value in the traditional trust afforded by banks and government institutions would likely steer you away from bitcoins as an investment. While determining how “good” any investment will be is ultimately a guessing game, there are some tried and true ways to determine an asset’s worth. One of the simplest ways to think about bitcoin as an investment is to consider its rise against the U.S. dollar. Recently, bitcoin prices eclipsed $1,000 and have reached beyond $1,500. If you had invested in the digital currency when its worth was still hovering around $150 just a few years ago, or when it was first introduced in 2009 and worth nothin...

If you are thinking through the process of accruing bitcoins, you may be wondering where to keep them once you’ve done so. After investing time and resources into the digital asset, can you be sure they are locked safely away for when you want to use them? In truth, bitcoins aren’t “stored” anywhere. As a purely digital entity, it is not as if they are held in bank vaults or stuffed under mattresses. They are accessible through Bitcoin addresses, which require a set of digital keys for entry. So, the question of how to securely store bitcoins comes down to the security of these keys. Every Bitcoin address has two keys: a “public key” and a “private key.” Bitcoin addresses are derived from public keys, and these Bitcoin addresses are shared. Think of it like sharing your email address with someone: they can send you an email but can’t get into your inbox to read your mail. Similarly, nobody can get into a wallet and take bitcoins from it with a public key; it can only b...

With a firm understanding of what Bitcoin is and how bitcoin wallets work, chances are that you’re interested in getting some of the digital currency for yourself. The question is: How can you get bitcoins? Based on an understanding that bitcoins originally come from mining processes, you might think this is the best way to get some for yourself. Sadly this has become increasingly difficult as Bitcoin has grown in popularity. As more powerful, mining-specific devices have been introduced and the number of bitcoins out there to be mined has fallen, it is becoming increasingly unrealistic for average individuals to participate. Another way to get bitcoins is to earn them like you would any other currency: by providing goods or services in exchange for the digital currency. There are websites that list offers for jobs that pay in bitcoins, rather than traditional currency. You can also ask your current employer to pay you in bitcoins, which can be a good option for...

It’s understandable to have questions about the legality of using Bitcoin. The platform introduced a brand new paradigm away from the traditional regulators and regulations that govern fiat currency. Unlike illegal, counterfeit money, which is a blatant example of a “currency” that misrepresents itself as legal tender, Bitcoin is entirely different. Nevertheless, it operates in a seemingly gray area when it comes to regulation. However, many of these concerns boil down to misunderstandings or a lack of concrete rules that govern Bitcoin, rather than overt violations of the law. The question surrounding the relationship between Bitcoin and the law really depends on how the digital currency is being used. Ever since the now-defunct Silk Road gained notoriety, regulators have been concerned about Bitcoin’s semi-anonymity and decentralized nature. In the U.S., as well as in other countries, authorities fear that the platform could be used for money laundering and the ...

Bitcoin depends on a distributed ledger system known as the blockchain. The blockchain is possibly the most powerful innovation associated with Bitcoin, as countless industries from financial services to healthcare have begun contemplating how to leverage the technology for their own uses. So it’s worth asking: What is a blockchain? The essential power of blockchain technology is its ability to distribute information. Because it is distributed across all of the nodes, or individual computers, that make up the system, the term “blockchain technology” is often swapped with “distributed ledger technology.” A blockchain’s database isn’t held in a single location, which could be infiltrated or controlled by a single party, but rather it is hosted by numerous (in the case of Bitcoin, tens of thousands of) computers all at once.   The blockchain network automatically verifies itself at certain intervals, creating a self-auditing system that guarantees the accurac...

Bitcoin means different things to different people. For some, it is a future of freely moving currency untied to any central bank. To others, it is a purely digital entity of questionable value and dubious origin. But what is Bitcoin, in the most basic sense? In most casual conversations, you can get away with knowing that bitcoin is, basically, a digital currency. But of course, it’s much more complicated than that. In fact, it is two much more complicated things. Bitcoin has been with us since 2009, when a person (or group) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto introduced a platform (Bitcoin, uppercase) that hosts a digital currency (bitcoin, lowercase). Bitcoin the platform is built on the concept of “ proof of work ” data that is expensive and time-intensive to produce but can be easily verified. In Bitcoin’s case, proof of work is created through the process of “mining.” To mine a bitcoin, a computer must complete a complicated algorithm, essentially going through the work of a...

Tax season can be confusing enough with complicated rules about what types of income are taxable and which are not; what can be written off and what can’t; and which assets need to be listed and which do not. Add to that the confusion around digital currency and its status in the eyes of governments, and there are bound to be questions about how Bitcoin relates to taxes. In the United States, for example, “taxable income” encompasses anything received as payment for goods and services. There is no reason that this would exclude payment in bitcoin. Bitcoin received from another person in the exchange counts as gross income, which is subject to income tax. Bitcoin earned through trade or by running a bitcoin exchange could fall under the “capital gains” category, like gold, and will be taxed. Bitcoins that are mined are counted as income received from the act of mining and are taxable with the expenses accrued (such as computing power) being deductible. When miners s...

When you are trading the cryptocurrency it is necessary to have accessibility to a relied on brokerage company. Though there are lots of brokerage companies available that can be counted upon, figuring out the one that can additionally ensure you attractive returns are essential. Undeniably with Bitcoin brokers’ testimonials you could do it fairly precisely. Bitcoinbrokers are services provider that allow you to buy Bitcoin anonymously for buyers, and also market Bitcoin at a premium. For customers of Bitcoin you will be provided a financial institution account with name, account number and directing information. You transfer loan right into the account to obtain Bitcoin in return. This is lot even more easier now than a pair of years ago. It goes without saying delving into Bitcoin profession is not as very easy as it seems. You require to do research, have an enough understanding of how the profession goes. Additionally, you should understand the sort of people that you are g...

The wild world of Bitcoin is about to get a whole lot wilder.  On August 1, 2017, the preeminent cryptocurrency is set to break in two. Two warring factions, fundamentally divided on Bitcoin's future, are coming to a head — and the impending split could either save Bitcoin or doom it. The split, called a hard fork, will result in two separate and distinct cryptocurrencies:  Bitcoin Cash  and  Bitcoin Core . Oh, and it also has the potential to create billions of dollars worth of new cryptocurrency out of thin air.   But that's not what this is really about. Bitcoin as it currently stands is in trouble, and with so much money on the line opposing parties have naturally come forward with plans to save it. And, surprise, they all don't agree on the solution.  That resulting disagreement is set to play out in full force at  5:20 a.m. PT  on August 1 with the launch of the Bitcoin Cash protocol, and many in the Bitcoin community have no choice but...

August going to be a huge month in bitcoin history. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency on the internet, is currently at a crossroads. Before August 1, the powerful users who “mine” the currency with souped-up PCs will have to choose whether or not to apply BIP 91, a set of software code to the bitcoin’s bedrock, known as the blockchain — a chronological public ledger that documents every transaction of the digital currency. While the miners currently seem to be in favor of the update, the controversial decision on how to update the cryptocurrency’s technology has driven a rift between several groups of users, leading many to speculate that at some point, the technology will “fork.” But  the concept of a fork  is complicated, and involves everything from the specific technology applied to bitcoin to the foundational philosophy behind the cryptocurrency. Here are five things you need to know about a possible bitcoin fork. 1. What is a bitcoin fork? In financial terms, a for...