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PayPal allows Bitcoin and crypto spending

PayPal has entered the cryptocurrency market, announcing that its customers will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin and other virtual currencies using their PayPal accounts. Those virtual coins could then be used to buy things from the 26 million sellers which accept PayPal, it said. PayPal plans to roll out buying options in the US over the next few weeks, with the full rollout due early next year. Bitcoin prices rose alongside the news, breaking the $12,000 (£9,170) mark. The other cryptocurrencies to be added first will be Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash (a spin-off from Bitcoin). All could be stored "directly within the PayPal digital wallet", the company said. 'Penny stocks' Cryptocurrencies have remained a niche payment method, partly down to the rapid change in prices they can experience compared with traditional state-backed currencies. That has made them popular among some types of investors. PayPal said it was aiming "to increase consumer understandin

PayPal Crypto currency exchange

Crypto for the people Now you can discover crypto in the  PayPal app Discover Crypto Start exploring crypto with PayPal Claim Your $500 Worth of Bitcoin Sign In Now Here’s what you need to know Start with as little as $1  right in your PayPal Wallet* Discover at your own pace and learn about crypto with our articles for beginners. Buy, hold, and sell crypto  with PayPal You can choose from Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash 1 Discover crypto with  peace of mind Enjoy the same protections you're used to with PayPal. ** Learn More * PayPal Cash or Cash Plus account required. Terms apply. * Keep in mind that we can't protect you from losses as a result of market volatility. Be sure to do your research and buy and sell carefully. Get started on the PayPal app Select "Crypto" from  the dashboard Click on the buy button and you’ll  be asked to verify your identity Explore articles about  crypto to learn more Discover Crypto Screenshots simulated, sequences shorte

Chinese E-Commerce Giant JD.com Launches Blockchain Accelerator

Bitcoin  Chinese e-commerce company  JD.com , a member of the Fortune Global 500 headquartered in Beijing, is launching AI Catapult Accelerator (AICA), an accelerator program designed to unlock the transformative potential of startups demonstrating cutting-edge talent in the blockchain space. JD.com is one of the two largest business-to-consumer (B2C) online retailers in China by transaction volume and revenue, and a major competitor to Alibaba-run Tmall. As of September 2017, JD.com’s platform, often referred to as the “eBay of China,” had more than 266 million active users, with a revenue of close to $50 billion. JD considers blockchain technology and its integration into mainstream use as the key to a new age of cost effectiveness and customer satisfaction. "Whole-process traceability is not a new concept but blockchain makes it really possible,” Yongli Yu, president of JD's supply chain research unit, said in conversation with  Bitcoin Magazine . "Throughout th

Venezuela’s On-and-Off Love Affair With Cryptocurrency Mining

Cryptocurrency  If you want to see first hand how cryptocurrency functions in a market outside of speculative investing, right now, Venezuela is an interesting place to look. “Venezuela could become a case study repeated all over the world under certain conditions,” said Jeffrey A. Tucker, editorial director of the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), in correspondence with  Bitcoin Magazine . “Crypto is there as the escape hatch, the way out, a tool of emancipation. If you have a power source, you can mine. If you need to save or trade or move your wealth, crypto is there for you.” Crisis-Catalyzed Currency Venezuela has been in economic recession for more than a decade. As a result, the government has maintained strict control over its currency, the Venezuelan bolivar (VEF), since 2003. Venezuela’s most abundant resource is oil. It is the fifth largest oil exporting country in the world, with the largest reserves of non-conventional oil (extra-heavy crud

Bitcoin Transaction Fees Are Pretty Low Right Now: Here's Why

Bitcoin transactions  The relatively high transaction fees on the Bitcoin network were a major topic of conversation last year, but these fees have been plummeting so far in 2018.  According to data from CoinMetrics , bitcoin miners are now collecting less than a third of the value they were collecting in fees at one point in December 2017. So what’s causing this decline in the costs of on-chain transactions? Is it as simple as declining demand leading to a lower price? Are there other factors at play? Let’s take a closer look. The Simple Explanation for Lower Fees In 2017, the congestion on the Bitcoin blockchain led to a bidding war over block space, especially as speculative interest in bitcoin continued to rise over the course of the year. According to CoinMetrics , bitcoin transaction fees started 2017 at an average of $0.30, but they eventually peaked at over $40 in December. As the price tripled during a month-long stretch from mid-November to mid-December, those w

South Korea’s Second Largest Bank Supports Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Traders Relieved

Cryptocurrency  Bithumb and Korbit, two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the South Korean market, have announced that Kookmin Bank deposits and withdrawals will be disabled by the end of January. Shinhan Bank Will Support Cryptocurrency Exchanges Kookmin Bank, the biggest financial institution in South Korea, has decided not to support cryptocurrency exchanges and provide virtual bank accounts to cryptocurrency investors. On South Korean trading platforms, each investor is provided with a virtual bank account with which they can withdraw and deposit Korean won, without having to directly move funds from and to actual bank accounts. Over the past few weeks, local investors were concerned with the abrupt decision of Kookmin Bank to close down virtual bank accounts launched on South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges. Many traders feared that other banks would follow the decision of Kookmin Bank and simply cut financial links to cryptocurrency exchanges. Earlier this wee

What is Ripple?

Ripple What is Ripple? Technically speaking, is Ripple a cryptocurrency in the mold of Bitcoin? The short answer is probably “no,” but that doesn’t stop it from often being lumped into that same category. What is Ripple? Originally released in 2012 as a  subsequent  iteration of Ripplepay, Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS), currency exchange and remittance network. Using a common ledger that is managed by a network of independently validating servers that constantly compare transaction records, Ripple doesn't rely on the energy and computing intensive proof-of-work used by Bitcoin. Ripple is based on a shared public database that makes use of a consensus process between those validating servers to ensure integrity. Those validating servers can belong to anyone, from individuals to banks. The Ripple protocol (token represented as XRP) is meant to enable the near instant and direct transfer of money between two parties. Any type of currency c

Soaring Bitcoin Price Leads $159 Billion Crypto Market Recovery

Bitcoin  Well, somebody bought the dip. Just as critics were rushing to proclaim that the bitcoin bubble had burst, the markets staged a $159 billion recovery. The rally was headlined by the bitcoin price, which rebounded from its sub-$10,000 fling and is currently flirting with $12,000. Several other top-tier coins, meanwhile, returned single day increases in excess of 40 percent. Source: CoinMarketCap Altogether, the  cryptocurrency market cap  clawed its way back to $574 billion, representing a 38 percent recovery from Wednesday’s intraday low of $415 billion. Bitcoin Price Eyes $12,000 Wednesday served as a trial-by-fire for recent bitcoin investors, some of whom had purchased the flagship cryptocurrency for $19,000 at the height of the rally in mid-December. Bitcoin Price Chart The correction forced the  bitcoin price  below $10,000 for the first time since early December, but Thursday’s rally enabled bitcoin to regain a bit of the ground it had lo

Bitcoin Price Roller Coaster Makes Ransomware Cybercriminals Queasy

Bitcoin  Bitcoin has done what regulators haven’t been able to accomplish — getting cybercriminals to lay off of cryptocurrencies as the ransom payment du jour in malware attacks. Bitcoin’s price swings over the past few days — from below $10,000 24 hours ago to more than $11,500 today — have stoked emotions ranging from fear of a bubble bursting to euphoria for a buying opportunity. But recent volatility has also unearthed an unlikely trend, causing cybercriminals to forego the sci-fi effect in ransomware demands and name their price in local currency rather than bitcoin. It’s not that bad actors have stopped developing malware, but due to an inability to properly value the cryptocurrency amid the wild ride between Q4 2017 and this week, they’re increasingly turning to more stable fiat money instead to protect their bottom line,  according to a Proofpoint report . The below chart reflects activity for the 90-day period leading up to mid-December. While i

Bitcoin Laundering” Study: Where Do Criminals Turn to Mask Illicit Cryptoassets?

A recent study ( PDF ) from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance and blockchain analytics company Elliptic explored the “bitcoin laundering” ecosystem. In the study, Elliptic’s forensic analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain and other publicly available data were used to track the flows of illicit funds from 2013 to 2016. “This study aimed to identify where individuals turn in order to cash out or transmit bitcoins (BTC) acquired from illicit entities and to discover typologies for criminals ‘laundering’ bitcoins,” the report says. The study describes bitcoin laundering as a special type of money laundering that exists within the Bitcoin network where a user moves some bitcoins to a new address in a manner that obscures the original source of funds. The conversion of bitcoins into fiat currency on exchanges that lack adequate anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) policies can also fall under the category

Japanese Bitcoin Exchange bitFlyer Now Licensed in the U.S.

Bitcoin  Tokyo-based  bitFlyer  has become the fourth digital currency exchange to receive approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for a  “BitLicense”  to operate as a virtual currency exchange in New York. This brings the total number of states in which bitFlyer is licensed up to  40 . The bitFlyer platform has over 30 percent of the worldwide bitcoin exchange volume and more than $100 million in virtual currency traded in 2017, all without access to the U.S. market. This latest expansion is providing access and technology to institutional investors in the United States, a largely untapped market. “Our expansion and upcoming cross-border trading addresses a huge unmet need in the U.S. by institutional traders looking to access large amounts of liquidity across multiple virtual currency markets,” said bitFlyer USA’s chief operating officer, Bartek Ringwelski, in a statement. “Through our web interface or API, approved professional traders can be up

Introducing a Programming Language so Simple, It “Fits on a T-shirt”

Blockstream  Blockstream is  introducing Simplicity , a new programming language for blockchain-based smart contracts, intended for inclusion in Blockstream’s sidechains and eventually in Bitcoin. The new language was presented by its creator, Russell O'Connor, Infrastructure Tech Developer at Blockstream, at the ACM SIGSAC Workshop on Programming Languages and Analysis for Security ( PLAS 2017 ). "Simplicity is a blockchain programming language that is so simple, it fits on a t-shirt,” O'Connor told  Bitcoin Magazine . “It is critical that smart contracts behave in ways that all participants expect, and applying formal verification to Simplicity allows us to achieve that.” Simplicity is still a Blockstream Research & Development project, but there’s potential for its use in Blockstream products in the future, according to the company’s announcement. “Simplicity is flexible enough that I anticipate many new, domain-specific, languages will generate Simplicity, and

Simple steps in trading bitcoin

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