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New Digital Currencies on the Horizon

Posted on September 4, 2019September 2, 2019 by Kelley N.

The world seems to be slowly warming up to the idea of digital currencies. Already, there have been a couple of institution-backed efforts to introduce newer kinds of digital currencies such as Facebook’s Libra and while many of them are yet to take off in major ways, there is a lot of enthusiasm about them.

Manny Pacquiao Releases His Own Cryptocurrency

Philippine celebrity boxing champion turned politician and singer Manny Pacquiao has recently launched his own cryptocurrency with the support of a number of private investors including Michael Owen who is an ex-Liverpool and England soccer star and Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. He is clearly very serious about this token.

Referred to as the ‘Pac’, the digital currency or token has already been listed on n Singapore’s Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX) which means that fans can buy merchandise and interact with the Filipino boxer on various social media platforms. Jeffrey Lin, the Founder and CEO of the Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX), has been quite welcoming to the idea and has even said that Pac will not only raise money but will also build a token ecosystem.

As it turns out, Manny is not the only one who has had his sights set on the world of crypto. American singer-songwriter Jason Derulo is also reportedly planning to launch his own cryptocurrency on GCOX.

China’s State-Backed Digital Currency Coming Soon

Meanwhile, China is also reportedly on the verge of launching its own cryptocurrency sometime in the next few months. When it launches, the new currency will initially be issued to a total of seven institutions. These institutions will include the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, Alibaba and Tencent; and Union Pay, an association of Chinese banks – they will be tasked with dispersing the cryptocurrency to the over 1 billion Chinese citizens as well as to any party doing business in the country’s fiat currency.

Speaking on behalf of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), Mu Changchun, its deputy director, has revealed that the new digital currency will use a two-tier system. The first tier will connect the Chinese central bank with commercial banks while the second tier will connect the commercial banks to the retail market.

It is, however, worth noting that the currency will not be a ‘cryptocurrency’, at least not in the traditional sense. A report by Binance states that central authorities will be able to gather information and unlike other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, it will be “fully non-anonymous”.

Is Facebook’s Libra The Future of Cryptocurrency?

Posted on July 4, 2019July 3, 2019 by Kelley N.

Mid last month, Facebook finally revealed the details of Libra, its digital currency that will allow users to not only make purchases but also send money to each with close to zero costs. On paper, the cryptocurrency is a near perfect iteration of the concept of digital currencies especially because it bears many of the traits of ideal cryptocurrencies while at the same time being backed some of the top players in the financial sector. Yes, that is right. Libra will not be under the full control of Facebook – instead, the company will have just a single vote in the governance of the currency alongside other members of the Libra Association who will include Uber and Visa among others, each of whom have invested no less than $10 million in the project.

The Libra Association will be responsible for the promotion of the open-sourced Libra Blockchain and eh developer platform with the Move programming language in addition to signing up various businesses to accept Libra for various payments. Libra users will be able to use pseudonyms to buy or cash out their Libra both online and at grocery stores after which they can choose to spend it using third-party wallets apps or the Calibra wallet that was created by Facebook themselves.

What This Means for Bitcoin

Ever since it was announced, Libra has generated a tremendous amount of hype and this makes it less of a competition for other digital currencies like bitcoin. In fact, the international debate over Libra has, in a way, elevated the conversation around digital currencies as a whole and since bitcoin is the most popular one, a lot of attention has been shifted towards it.

Furthermore, regardless of how everything turns out for Facebook’s Libra, it will be a confirmation that blockchain-based solutions will definitely have a lot to do with the future of currency.

Lawmakers Ask Facebook to Freeze Libra Project

Barely a month after its announcement, Facebook’s Libra seems to have finally met its first hurdle after United States lawmakers formally called on the company to halt all development of the project. The House Democrats who sent the letters said that the company will need to wait until both Congress and the regulators get time to formally investigate the possible risks that the digital currency poses to the world’s financial system.

“If products and services like these are left improperly regulated and without sufficient oversight, they could pose systemic risks that endanger U.S. and global financial stability. These vulnerabilities could be exploited and obscured by bad actors, as other cryptocurrencies, exchanges, and wallets have been in the past,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee wrote in the letter.

The Facebook executives have not responded to the letter but when they do it is speculated that they will be able to able to offer clarifications some very important issues especially with regards to the potential risks to data privacy. It is even more serious in this case since Facebook has a rather skewed reputation when it comes to data protection.

A Review of Blockchain Poker: Is This It?

Posted on June 4, 2019June 1, 2019 by Kelley N.

Online gambling has been around for a very long time now but the level of innovation in the sector puts many other industries to shame. This is mostly because the gambling industry has shown time and time again that it is more than willing to try out new and risky ideas in a bid to appeal to the newer generation of players while at the same time cashing in on new gaming verticals.

Some of the areas where online poker and online casinos have been focusing on in the past couple of years include digital currencies and blockchain technology. At this point in time, it would be an understatement to say that the blockchain has had its fair share of success with online gambling. In fact, the technology has solved so many issues that previously plagued online gambling activities – these include such aspects as biased gameplay, unfairness by some operators, lag timings and even slow transactions, all of which have now been improved significantly.

That said, more and more blockchain-powered gaming applications are beginning to rise and Blockchain Poker is one of the more interesting ones that players will come across on the internet. Not only is this online platform a great place to try out your luck at gambling but it is also a near-perfect version of the older generation of online casinos. In other words, it delivers on some very vital promises. For instance, all the transactions are secured, not biased in any way and are very secure.

What It Offers

Transaction speeds aside, Blockchain Poker gives poker players the opportunity to play using bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin SV (BSV) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). In essences, the blockchain-powered online gambling platform was “built to be a fun, easy way to help get more people using Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Bitcoin SV (BSV)!”

Unsurprisingly, while this platform is geared towards giving poker players the convenience of playing on an improved version of an online gambling site, the aim of the project is to facilitate further growth of the crypto community and ecosystem. What better way to do this than by showing people just how useful blockchain applications can be?

More Features

One of the most notable features that Blockchain Poker offers is the ability to instantly enter into No-Limit Texas Hold’em cash games or tournament using bitcoin. For these games, anonymity is guaranteed since the players are not required to sign up. The platform further award free satoshis to new players.

Moreover, Blockchain Poker also offers some very lucrative rake caps and rake backs thus giving the players a better chance to build their bankroll.

Online Crypto Sportsbook and Gambling Platform Goes Beta

Posted on April 4, 2019April 2, 2019 by Kelley N.

Wagerr, a new generation online cryptocurrency sportsbook and gambling platform has recently opened access to its 3.0 testnet in private beta, that is, this is now available to a small group of customers – 50 to be more precise. The expansion will allow the core group of valued users within the crypto community to test the company’s new 3.0 mainnet fork before it is finally released.

Wagerr’s new version 3.0 upgrade includes a complete redesign of the website interface and the backend betting protocol – these are meant to not only improve scalability but to also assist in making the overall system much more efficient than it was before.

More About Wagerr

Wagerr is a decentralized online gambling platform that touts itself as the blockchain for betting. The platform uses its native WGR token to facilitate payments made within the Wagerr ecosystem thus providing its users with fast, extremely affordable and effortless payouts – the token is a proof-of-stake coin which uses coin “weight” and a randomization system to calculate the chance of rewards staking. To provide its users with the highly secure and fair betting services it boasts of, Wagerr utilizes various forms of blockchain technology including master nodes and smart contracts. In addition to that, the gaming platform has recently made significant upgrades to its Oracle Masternode system.

Oracle master nodes use Application Specific Smart Contracts (ASSC) to ensure both stability and security on the network and this, in turn, provides platforms such as Wagerr with a secure and decentralized network that assists in keeping the sportsbooks updated while also verifying the bets made through the smart contracts. Moreover, the system includes a revenue model that allows the customers to make a bit of additional income through the Wager platform by becoming one of the masternodes on the Oracle system.

Lightning Spin Becomes First-Ever LApp to Sell

In other stories, Rui Gomes, the creator of Lightning Spin which is one of the pioneering Bitcoin Lightning Network’s pioneering lightning applications (Lapps) also recently announced that he was selling it. With the Lapp players “could pay 6¢ for a single spin, (1 BTC was around $6,000 back then) and withdraw your winnings in seconds — something that would be impossible with the fiat system and would be increasingly difficult on Bitcoin’s base layer.”

While very little details have been disclosed about the buyer of the gaming app, Gomes assured fans of the game that the new owners shared his vision and therefore they can expect the same features and perks as they did before.

SwC Poker: The World’s First True Bitcoin-Only Poker Game

Posted on March 4, 2019March 3, 2019 by Kelley N.

As much as the crypto buzz may have dwindled a little over the last few months, there are still tons of innovative ideas being floated around and implemented in a bid to get both blockchain and digital currencies to be massively adopted. The use-cases have grown immensely but there is still a lot to be done in order to propel further growth which means that the industry needs all the help it can get. Fortunately, one of the industries that have been taking the concept of bitcoin and blockchain very seriously has been the gambling industry.

However, despite all the innovations in the crypto-gambling scene, most operators have been forced to keep one foot out of the fold – even though several online gambling websites have integrated crypto onto their platforms, very few of them have completely tokenized their services. Now, SwC Poker is changing the narrative by becoming the very first gambling service provider to go all in on bitcoin gambling with the tag line “No Banking, Only Bitcoin”.

Bitcoin 3.0

Launched in March 2015 following the shutdown of SealsWithClubs over some ethical issues, SwC Poker builds upon its predecessor’s ethos as well as data which included usernames and krill amounts. This basically means that some of the things that the site focuses on are anonymity, fast cashouts, and, of course, significantly low rakes. The concept of decentralization is also very important to the internet-based organization which has its server geographically distributed across the US hence its popularity among crypto enthusiasts and online poker players.

Moreover, in November last year, the company relaunched the amazing “Bitcoin Poker 3.0” and since then its customers have been treated to one of the most stable online poker experiences. Regardless of whichever device or operating system you may be using, the poker experience will be nothing short of exceptional.

Not only is the site now accessible from virtually anywhere in the world, but is also much easier to register on it and begin playing. As expected, in addition to a robust web-based client, the online poker platform also offers the users the luxury of downloading platform-specific software and apps – the experience is, fortunately, streamlined across all of the devices.

To register, all that is required is an email address but even though the site puts a lot of emphasis on anonymity, it also offers two-factor authentication for some important actions like making withdrawal or logging in.

Some of the other features that players should look forward to including 24/7 freerolls, a number of lucrative tournaments as well as the recently introduced Bad Beat Jackpot – the latter is a no-limit hold’em cash game that builds a jackpot fund using the normal rake amounts.

Is BTC Gambling Still a Lucrative Investment Opportunity?

Posted on February 4, 2019February 2, 2019 by Kelley N.

Bitcoin and digital currencies, in general, have become quite appealing as business prospects which was not the case just a couple of months back. Despite recent declines in the overall value of most digital currencies, the crypto industry is on a rather consistent upward trend. In many ways, the industry has seemingly gotten to the point where it can be said to be ripe for investment and exploration – a number of these are already underway. This is especially true for the gambling industry which is among the very first industries to adopt various crypto-related innovations. If history is anything is to go by, then this is a sign that crypto will be vital in the quest to boost returns for the gaming industry.

What 2019 Has in Store

Well, according to a number of experts, 2019 is going to be the year of next level application of bitcoin, and other digital currencies, in the gambling market. These projections mainly rely on the trends and forecasts for both markets that indicate several extensive changes that will come into effect by the second quarter of the year. This steady growth trend is expected to go on for the next two years with the areas expected to see the most changes being mobile gaming, sports betting and live online gaming.

Online casinos and online poker operators stand to reap the most from the integration of crypto technology and mainstream consumer technology. The trends indicated by these projections and forecasts are going to peak in 2019 which means that we might actually get to see fully-fledged applications taking advantage of the untapped potential of the crypto market. That said, it is safe to conclude that despite the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency space, it was always bound to rise above all that.

Blockchain Poker Tournaments

Last year we got to see the very first blockchain poker tournament that highlighted the three-day World Crypto Conference and was hosted by Las Vegas-based Aria casino. The tournament brought together live poker action that was powered by blockchain technology, making it the first to show off the full potential of blockchain and crypto technology in the gambling space. Poker players should expect more of these in 2019.

Prior to the inaugural blockchain poker tournament, there were already a number of established online poker brands including Virtue Poker that were already using decentralized smart contracts to manage their data. Even though the technology is still far from being perfected, players have grown to love the idea of their data and gaming application being managed by decentralized platforms primarily because the technology helps in reducing the possibility of site fixing and the use of poker bots.

Crypto Mining Businesses in Japan and China Close Up Shop

Posted on January 4, 2019January 3, 2019 by Kelley N.

The world of crypto had its fair share of lows in 2018 and, even though it did not seem like it at the time, the effects of the year-long bear market of the last year affected much more than the prices of the digital currencies. Some of the worst-hit sectors were those that had a direct link to crypto, that is, related businesses such as large-scale mining businesses suffered greatly. This was primarily because the crypto market was beginning to become less appealing to some of the largest firms in the world and they began to slowly pull the plug on what were once some of the most lucrative operations in the industry.

China’s Bitmain to Pull the Plug

Crypto mining giant, Bitmain was once considered a titan in the digital currency mining business, not just in China but in the whole world as well. In fact, the company controlled close to 80 percent of all the hardware that was used in the generation of new digital currencies. Well, not anymore. The company is no longer as highly regarded as it was a short while back and there are even reports that it is planning to lay off between 50 and 80 percent of its staff. This is despite the fact Bitmain controls some of the largest mining pools on the planet and is the leading supplier of the mining equipment, both of which gave it significant control over the bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash networks.

Unfortunately, as the prices of the digital currencies continued to dwindle in 2018 and the level of difficulty in minting new digital coins remained high, there was a significant drop in profitability. As a result, a number of companies including Bitmain have chosen to exit the large-scale cryptocurrency mining business which is no longer viable since the cost of hardware and power is much higher than the value of the digital currencies that are mined.

The Situation in Japan

According to Japanese media, GMO, one of the country’s retail giants, is pulling out of the bitcoin mining hardware industry in Japan citing increased pressure on the profitability of the business due to increased hash rates and mining competition. The move, as it turns out, reportedly cost GMO a whopping 25 billion Yen. Despite exiting the crypto mining hardware business, GMO will still continue to mine and also plans to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in the near future.

Japanese e-commerce company DMM is also reportedly leaving the business through the closure of its crypto mining firm in Kanazawa. As expected, the company also cited declining profits as the main reason for the move. The company now intends to focus on its crypto exchange platform that has already achieved full regulatory and license status in Japan.

Hyperledger Adds New Members, AriseBank to Pay $2.7m

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Kelley N.

Blockchain solution Hyperledger has onboarded 12 new companies all of which come from the highest echelons of the business world. With Alibaba, Cloud, City and Deutsche Telekom now seeking the services of Hyperledger, the company’s own portfolio has grown significantly.

Hyperledger, the Future of All Ledgers

Hyperledger was founded back in 2016 for the purposes of providing blockchain-based distributed ledgers to heighten security and uphold the industry’s security standards. Developed by the Linux Foundation, the solution has enjoyed significant interest on the part of investors and as recent events demonstrate – corporate clients.

A number of new members were announced during the Hyperledger Global Forum which took place in Basel, Switzerland. The list is quite significant, with 12 new entities tying up with Hyperledger, from e-commerce platforms to banks and telecommunication services providers.

Alibaba Cloud, Citigroup, we.trade and others are all associated with the blockchain company. Coined by the Linux Foundation, it comes as no surprise that the company’s executive director, Brian Behlendorf, has stressed the importance of open source solutions to guarantee that blockchain technologies hit their intended mark. His opinion was shared by Citi’s Head of Innovation, Beth Devin.

We believe blockchain has the potential to drive new forms of efficiency and develop new markets, and are pleased to join the Hyperledger project to advance our exploration. – Beth Devin, Citi’s Head of Innovation

The banking sector is becoming increasingly aware of the potential of blockchain-driven solutions. Deutsche Bundesbank and Deutsche Boerse (DB) the country’s stock exchange, have both completed trials to implement the technologies.

AriseBank Founders to Pay $2.7m in Fines for Fraudulent ICOs

AriseBank has been fined to pay a $2.7-million settlement fine with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). A United States federal court has found the company guilty of misleading investors by setting up a fraudulent Initial Coin Offering (ICO).

The case began with the arrest of AriseBank CEO Jared Rice who was apprehended by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on November 28, 2018. Mr. Jared was arrested on charges that he had help set up the ICO that had cost investors $4 million.

According to investigators, Mr. Jared had promised potential customers that the bank would offer them “FDIC-insured accounts and traditional banking services, including Visa-brand credit and debit cards, in addition to cryptocurrency services.”

In simple words, Mr. Jared was promising his clients to bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and traditional banking, making it possible to use crypto assets in the financial system without having to jump through unnecessary legal and technical hoops.

Mr. Jared and the former COO, Stanley Ford, could be fined $2,259,543 in disgorgement with additional prejudgment interest worth $68,423. Civil penalties have also been taken into account, including $184,767 per each person.

The SEC has been toughening its stance on crypto projects. Just recently, SEC issued a cease-and-desist letter to CoinAlpha Advisors LLC, which is managed by the namesake Falcon LP fund, slapping it with $50,000 in fines. The watchdog has been targeting a number of companies, paving the way for a future in which even crypto projects will have to answer to the law.

Asus Empowers Gamers with Crypto Mining Opportunity

Posted on December 6, 2018December 10, 2018 by Kelley N.

The once pushed with unyielding persistence bitcoin hype has come to a halt. Be that as it may, Asus isn’t content to give the shrug of resignation just yet. The Taiwan-headquartered hardware giant has formed an interesting tie-up with Quantumcloud, bespeaking trust in the blockchain technology. The company is looking to buttress the optimization of idle GPU resources for the purpose of mining crypto coins.

At present, the idea of cryptocurrency still eludes many. Being one of the top dogs in the tech field, however, Asus seems to be privy to insider information not being intimidated by the plummeting exchange rates of all cryptocurrency. By all appearances, the company is not ready to close the book on the innovative payment method. Provided that the partnership with Quantumcloud is brought to fruition, the earnings will still be dependent on the everchanging crypto climate.

What’s Quantumcloud?

In a nutshell, Quantumcloud is a user-friendly secure service that will help you make money on the side. It doesn’t put additional stress on your GPU because it’s designed to intelligently utilize and optimize the excess computing power. In other words, Quantum Clouds makes use of your idle GPU resources to mine cryptocurrency.

Once set up, you can leave the app working in the background and it will do its magic. Especially convenient is the fact that it will automatically transfer any earnings to a WeChat or PayPal account of your choosing. As you may have guessed, this essentially means that you don’t have to register an account or share your personal data. All your sensitive data remains strictly confidential whichever option you choose between WeChat or PayPal.

The app has many great features including but not limited to One Click Sharing and Achievement Bonuses. Inarguably, the real winner is the full GDRP compliance, putting the software in a situation of trust with the sensible gamers. Every bit of the application is designed to be pursuant to the GDRP regulations, thus ensuring the security of all current and future users.

Asus’ Partnership with Quantumcloud Makes for a Streamlined GPU Mining

Jog your memory if you would – when was the last time you tried mining cryptocurrency? The idea of passive income never fails to excite our curiosity, but the execution all too often proves to be more difficult than expected. That’s about to change. With Quantumcloud’s comprehensive mining app, you can easily manage everything and monitor your progress. It comes with a bunch of tools like real-time stats, the already mentioned one-click sharing, you know – the works.

Piling up cash while playing computer games, sounds like a cushy job right? Don’t get super stoked about it. I can cite several reasons why you might not strike gold even if you are an ASUS graphic card owner, but I will mention just a few. Bitcoin has been around the block for a while now and the mining difficulty has vastly increased. Moreover, using GPU resources selectively isn’t going to be all that profitable at the end of the day. Even earning a substantial amount of money through ASIC nowadays is a tall order. So, there’s truth to TechRadar’s words saying that it will be best if you don’t quit your day job yet.

New Blockchain-Powered Video Game to Debut in Spring 2019

Posted on November 22, 2018November 30, 2018 by Kelley N.

Poker and blockchain technology continue to become increasingly intertwined, we’re seeing this type of relationship extend to other areas of the gaming market. In fact, we could see a blockchain-powered video game in the near future – a unique project launched by Marguerite deCourcelle.

A Valuation Worth $13 Million

Earlier this month, Blockade Games raised $833,000 to spend developing its flagship game, Neon District, from a wide range of investors, including BlockTower Capital Partners and Horizon Digital. As a result of this fundraising, the company has acquired a $13 million valuation.

DeCourcelle is a well-known name in the cryptocurrency world. Over the years, he has created impressive fine art puzzles that reveal the keys to bitcoin and other cyptocurrency stashes worth over $1 million. His reputation and expertise is certainly the draw for investors, as well as the rest of the talent behind Blockade games – which includes professionals who have worked on Playstation 4’s Spiderman and World of Warcraft’s trading cards.

These artists and designers are coming together to create Neon District, an innovative video game powered by blockchain technology. It is an incredibly exciting idea, that is sure to change the face of the gaming world.

What Is Neon District?

Neon District is a cyberpunk roleplaying game that will be available to the public by May 2019. In the game’s narrative, the government is attempting to wipe out all previous signs of culture and independent thought by mandating preselected personalities. Anyone who refuses will be prosecuted or must go into hiding. As a player, you’re part of the rebellion, who crafts their own equipment and does battle with the powers that be to take back control.

It is an asset-based game but differs from other titles, as players’ assets become more valuable over time. This occurs as players gain experience, achieve special abilities and add enhancements to their characters. The history of assets if recorded on an appchain until a player moves them to the Ethereum mainnet. The assets use Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) from ERC721, which means that assets are unique and can never be repeated.

Although deCourcelle didn’t commit to cryptocurrencies being hidden throughout the new game, she did say, it might very well include some of her trademark puzzles with bitcoin rewards. The inclusion of “Age of Rust” creator Chris Loverme, who made one of the world’s first games with bitcoin rewards, also makes this very likely.

Neon District is definitely going to be a ground-breaking game, and we can’t wait to give it a go when it’s released in Spring 2019. There are over 8000 people signed up to Blockade’s mailing list so far, so we are in good company. As the game continues to receive more press, that number is sure to grow and Neon District is likely to have a thriving community of players upon its launch.

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