cryptobully-blog

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Up 33%: Bitcoin's Price Just Had Its Best Month of 2018

http://cryptobully.com/up-33-bitcoins-price-just-had-its-best-month-of-2018/

Up 33%: Bitcoin's Price Just Had Its Best Month of 2018

Bitcoin’s price rose 33% against the U.S. dollar in April, making it the best month of 2018 for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Data from CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) shows that May began with bitcoin’s price at the $9,244.32 mark – a 33% jump from its April 1 start of $6,926.02. This marks the greatest rise in bitcoin’s price this year, and one of only two months where it rose at all within the period.

  Source: BPI

Bitcoin’s price fell overall in January and March, and only rose 1.4% in February, according to BPI data.

Indeed, bitcoin fell by nearly a third in each of the negative months, dropping from $13,860 on January 1 to $10,166 on February 1, and even more drastically – from $10,309 to just below $7,000 – in March. While bitcoin has rallied this past month, it has yet to recover to the $10,000 mark, which it last fell below in mid-March.

That being said, these numbers hide the fact that bitcoin actually rose to past $17,000 in January before falling by nearly half to its February 1 level.

Similarly, bitcoin reached a low below $6,000 before recovering, as shown by the BPI. In other words, while it may have begun spending periods of time trading sideways, it remains volatile year-to-date.

Source: BPI

Notably, bitcoin’s transaction volume jumped by 93% month-over-month, while the number of off-chain transactions through exchanges jumped by a similar 95%. However, fees saw a similar jump, rising 90% in April, according to data collected by CoinDesk.

Bitcoin derivatives had a similarly positive month. Both the CBOE and CME saw their futures contracts trading volume spike this month, with CBOE in particular seeing more than 18,000 contracts traded in a single day on April 25, as previously reported. Similarly, CME saw more than 11,000 contracts traded that day, roughly double its daily average.

Bitcoin and dollars image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Cryptocurrency News

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Second ICO on i-Deal Corp's i-Dx platform

http://cryptobully.com/second-ico-on-i-deal-corps-i-dx-platform/

Second ICO on i-Deal Corp's i-Dx platform

Arrinera Automotive Holding Ltd has become the second ICO placing to be carried out through i-Deal Corp’s i-DX platform.

Businesses undertaking ICOs or token sales are now flocking to i-Dx, said Luca Tenuta, i-Deal Corp’s chief executive, in addition to companies trying to raise money.

READ: i-Deal Corp: Bringing emerging market companies and investors together

Tenuta added that activity on the i-Dx platform, which matches companies trying to raise funds with investors, has jumped by 50% since its reach was widened in January to include private companies.

Founded by two brothers with a passion for cars, Arrinera, which is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, joined i-Deal Corp’s i-DX platform in early 2017 to increase visibility in the global market.

i-Dx’s newsboard has already seen more than 2,500 views of Arrinera’s Brooklands Racing Trailer video.

The company also developed Poland’s first homegrown racing car, as well as its first two-seater electric road car.

Tenuta believes the time is right for the platform. “The ICO placings confirm this,” he said.

ICO News

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NEM-Based Platform Develops First AR Dapp for Blockchain Commercialization

http://cryptobully.com/nem-based-platform-develops-first-ar-dapp-for-blockchain-commercialization/

NEM-Based Platform Develops First AR Dapp for Blockchain Commercialization

This is a submitted sponsored story. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the content below.

With the cryptocurrency market estimated at $400 bln and the rise of 3rd generation decentralized applications (Dapps), Blockchain technology has proven its potential reaches beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Industries like augmented reality continue to expand and improve across time, space, and user devices. By 2021, Statista predicts that the AR market will be valued at $215 bln.

To attain its goals, AR needs a real-time, perpetual spatial map that encourages AR-based collaboration and sharing experiences between multiples users and across many platforms.

With its decentralization, transparency, security, and scalability, Blockchain technology could help AR achieve its goal of becoming the world’s most important infrastructure.

Decentralized project Scanetchain enters the scene with a user-friendly, NEM-based platform targeted at Blockchain commercialization. Based on AR technology, Scanetchain uses an AR-streaming system to digitally identify products, images, and brands both offline and online.

AR-based Blockchain meant for commercializing services

The Scanetchain project will use AR technology to develop a scannable marker to allow users to scan physical objects with their smartphone’s camera. No additional equipment is required, and access is instant due to the connection to the Blockchain. The AR contents will be made available through data streaming on the cloud. At the core of the platform lies a hybrid off-chain and on-chain Blockchain made of four main platforms:

AR advertising system where users can AI scan advertisements anywhere and anytime with the AR camera. They receive tokens as a reward for watching ads.

AR shopping system. Users can use the collected tokens to purchase products in advertisements or buy paid content with tokens.

AR social network where users can bring their Blockchain-based social network content offline through the Scanetchain AR frame.

Content distribution system where Scanetchain provides an open-market platform with an automatic NEM-based notarization system.

The open platform is looking to become a go-to virtual space where people can buy and sell content and product for a royalty or pre-defined fee. Structured to bring advertisements and products together into a single, interlinked ecosystem made of multiple platforms, Scanetchain is powered by Blockchain and AR technology to make sure shopping experiences, advertising, and social networking services performed offline and online are executed seamlessly.

Scanetchain is a win-win for all parties involved. Users are rewarded tokens for watching advertisements. With their collected tokens they can purchase contents and goods. On the other hand, advertisers can place ads using tokens gathered from user purchases, thus boosting their brand recognition.

A hybrid Blockchain based on NEM technology

On the one hand, Scanetchain features an off-chain user-friendly interface for editing and deleting content, AR markers, AR commercialized APP, and fast transactions. On the other hand, it will leverage on-chain transactions to support the NEM-based Blockchain core, e-wallet, Scan Ledger, and tokenization.

The AR-based Blockchain powering Scanetchain is based on the NEM network for managing the billing system and content more efficiently. The uniqueness of the platform lies in its distributed ledger called ScanLedger, which uses pioneering encryption technology as Scanetchain’s Blockchain network.

Considering the NEM Blockchain features an open-node network with a two-tier architecture, every action performed on Scanetchain is highly secure and transparent. Users can create their own AR-based content, upload their markers, and match their data without downloading anything or dealing with latency and storage problems.

Developed on the Ethereum network, Scanetchain has recently launched its ERC-20 compliant private sale. With a hard cap of 600 million Scanetchain tokens (SWC), 60 percent will go to the fundraiser. 15 percent will be allocated to members and advisors, and 10 percent to the foundation. Upon successful completion of its private sale, the project will hold its SWC token Public Crowd Sale throughout May and June.   

CryptoCoins News

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Is the SEC Gunning for Cryptocurrencies Ethereum, Ripple? Fat Chance

https://cryptobully.com/is-the-sec-gunning-for-cryptocurrencies-ethereum-ripple-fat-chance/

Is the SEC Gunning for Cryptocurrencies Ethereum, Ripple? Fat Chance

The digital currency markets, already spooked by a crackdown on digital tokens, got some more bad news this month: A former top regulator told an audience he thinks two of the most popular cryptocurrencies, Ethereum and Ripple’s XRP, are “noncompliant securities” operating outside U.S. laws.

This conclusion is potentially disastrous for the crypto economy as it would undermine the liquidity of the two popular cryptocurrencies, and place exchanges and other financial services businesses in legal jeopardy from the SEC. The good news for crypto investors is that the prospects of the SEC taking action are remote.

Should Ethereum be treated like Apple stock?

Until mid-2017, selling digital tokens to the public wasn’t much harder than selling lollipops. A team would describe the purpose of the tokens in a white paper, and then arrange a so-called “Initial Coin Offering” (ICO) where anyone could buy them in exchange for Bitcoin or cash.

In theory, the point of an ICO is to fund the construction of an online service (such as file storage or remote computing) on which the tokens could eventually be redeemed. Many ICO participants, however, regarded the tokens as a source of speculation—hoping to flip them to another buyer rather than using them for the underlying service. In some cases, the ICOs amounted to blatant scams where the organizers promptly absconded with the money.

Unsurprisingly, regulators took a dim view of all this. While the SEC was slow off the mark, the agency fired a warning shot last July by saying tokens sold in an ICO could be securities that needed to be registered in the same way as a share of Apple or GM. And in March, SEC head Jay Clayton put a deep chill on the once-hot token economy by saying every ICO he had seen amounted to a securities offering.

While the crackdown is bad news for those planning an ICO, few thought the regulators’ new hardline would affect existing tokens like Ethereum and Ripple’s XRP, which have been trading for years. Nonetheless, this could change if one former agency head holds sway. As Bloomberg reports:

Gary Gensler, the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said that government officials should take a closer look at the largest coins by market capitalization, not just at tokens sold in ICOs. Ethereum’s Ether and Ripple’s XRP could probably be classified as securities, Gensler said.

Gensler added that other longtime cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin are likely exempt because they were not issued via an ICO.

Gensler’s remarks, made at an MIT gathering last week, imply that Ripple and the Ethereum Foundation—both of which sell reserve stocks of their respective cryptocurrency—could be violating securities law. Likewise, it implies that the popular U.S. exchange Coinbase won’t be able to add new Ripple or other new digital currencies, and that it could face trouble for selling Ethereum, which it has made available since 2016.

“Picking Winners and Losers”

The SEC swooping down on the likes of Ripple and Ethereum would convulse cryptocurrency markets. But the chances of that happening are remote, according to securities lawyers and former regulators.

“It’s highly unlikely they’ll go back and impose some onerous burdens. It would be very unusual for a regulator to go back in time and say ‘you should have thought three or four years ago when you started that this was a security’,” said Phil Lookadoo, a commodities lawyer with Haynes and Boone. “To single out one or two cryptocurrencies because of the way they were formed would be picking winners and losers. It’s not the sort of thing the SEC would want to be doing.”

Others shared this view, saying the SEC might make a case against the Ethereum Foundation and Ripple using a legal assessment known as the Howey Test, but that it would be a tough slog and the companies would dig in long for a court fight. The consensus view appears to be the agency would prefer to spend its resources and political capital elsewhere.

“To the extent the SEC even holds that view, I agree it wouldn’t go back in time and apply the Howey Test to something from 2015 or 2016. To the extent there were security elements on these platforms, they’ve dissipated over time,” said Blake Estes, a financial lawyer with Alston & Bird.

Meanwhile, the SEC may also be wary of chilling innovation when it comes to the emerging blockchain and cryptocurrency industries, according to Keith Higgins, a former SEC director who is now a securities attorney at Ropes & Gray. In Higgins’s view, the SEC should use its prosecutorial discretion in a way that doesn’t introduce a “regulatory cloud” over the industry.

Several of the attorneys who spoke to Fortune also pointed out that Gensler’s background is as at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which does not have a role in determining what constitutes a security.

The upshot of all this is not the go-go ICO days of 2017 will return anytime soon. Instead, it means the SEC is likely to maintain the current status quo—allowing well-established digital tokens to trade freely, while restricting new ICOs for the time being.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear to what degree regulatory uncertainty is causing Coinbase to delay adding new tokens like XRP. According to Estes, the delay is unlikely to be rooted in SEC concerns, but could instead be tied to the time and expense of complying with state level regulations.

Ripple

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Want to go for an ICO with your startup? SprintX is the answer

http://cryptobully.com/want-to-go-for-an-ico-with-your-startup-sprintx-is-the-answer/

Want to go for an ICO with your startup? SprintX is the answer

There are a number of reasons for startup capital (IPOs – Initial Public Offerings) to be in low demand in the technological world, including the fact that entrepreneurs, today, have several other options to collect capital.

The proliferation of investors, along with their willingness to bet on the next Google or Facebook at its inception, favored the phenomenon of unicorns (startups whose valuation exceeds one billion dollars), and also the rise of alternative financing mechanisms.

One of the most used alternatives is ICO, standing for Initial Coin Offering, which has already surpassed IPOs in terms of total amount of investment. This new mode of capturing investments to make a company grow seems like a mixture of crowdfunding, angel investing, shares and, for some dissonant voices, a pyramid scheme – something that Brigham Santos, CEO of SprintX, completely disagrees with:

“Our platform is about as far away from a pyramid scheme as you can get. Our vetting process, expert guidance and top-notch advisors put so many failsafes in place that any “pyramid-like companies” would be pushed aside quickly. We at SprintX want to set the bar for high quality ICOs starting with LATAM based ideas. Each stage our companies will be lead through is done with tremendous business discipline to make sure our investors are comfortable with each stage of the process.”

The SprintX’s platform Santos refers to is one that allows startups to develop and launch their own ICO tokens, in order to obtain financing for themselves. Featuring an integrated exchange, this platform puts all the benefits from the use of blockchain technology (security, transparency, and reliability, among others) to any startup that seeks it, without the need for complicated systems or too specific operations.

SprintX is also on the verge of launching its own ICO token, which will enter B phase quite soon. It is likely that this sale will attract quite some attention, considering what SprintX can bring to any startup – something that Santos also clarifies:

“Very important, the current financial system has not been able to serve startups effectively for many years. (…) SprintX will be able to give the guidance and support that hundreds if not thousands of companies have been looking for and needed for a long time.”

ICO News

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OIN SPACE Ecosystem to Confirm and Protect Authenticity of Any Purchase Gears up for a $ 30M ICO

http://cryptobully.com/oin-space-ecosystem-to-confirm-and-protect-authenticity-of-any-purchase-gears-up-for-a-30m-ico-2/

OIN SPACE Ecosystem to Confirm and Protect Authenticity of Any Purchase Gears up for a $ 30M ICO

This is a paid-for submitted press release. CCN does not endorse, nor is responsible for any material included below and isn’t responsible for any damages or losses connected with any products or services mentioned in the press release. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the press release.

Moscow|Shanghai, April 30 – 2018: OIN SPACE, the blockchain-based consumer trust ecosystem allowing to confirm authenticity of any purchase, today announced its plans to conduct a $ 30M ICO. OIN SPACE will allow the confirmation of authenticity of any purchase – such as, but not limited to, clothing and footwear, alcohol, essential consumer goods, tickets, medicines. In the OIN SPACE ecosystem, the authenticity of products will be warranted by a blockchain protocol, eliminating the chance of counterfeiting, copying or bypassing the security system. OIN mobile app users will receive the OIN tokens for each authenticity confirmation and purchase of the original products from the manufacturers. OIN tokens then can be used by consumers as a mean of exchange for the authentic products of the ecosystem participants, or withdrawn and transferred to the bank card account. “Anything can be counterfeited, and there is no such person that hasn’t fallen victim to counterfeit goods, regardless of age and social status – comments Anatoly Smorgonskiy, the OIN SPACE ecosystem CEO and co-founder, – Manufacturers spend an annual $127 bn to design and introduce new technologies protecting against counterfeits, while the counterfeit goods global market is now estimated at unthinkable $1.2 trln. Manufacturers need a universal scalable system capable of providing protection against counterfeits once and for all. Under the OIN SPACE ecosystem, we will develop a universal and simple authenticity verification tool secured by blockchain technology. We believe that OIN SPACE will lay the foundation for the radically new relationships between the manufacturer and the consumer based on trust and loyalty to the authentic brands”. The OIN SPACE solution implies the QR-codes protected by OIN’s decentralized platform’s algorithms and the system of smart contracts eliminating the chance of counterfeiting. A blockchain-protected QR code is a simple, user-friendly, universal protection system. The OIN SPACE ecosystem will provide customers an opportunity to have a single authenticity verification tool.

“2017 can no doubt be considered the ICO year for the whole industry: we have witnessed the global scale of the projects successfully attracting their initial funding within the cryptocurrency market. Hundreds of projects that require significant primal investment, which they in other circumstances would have craved from business angels, foundations and venture investors – they do now have the opportunity to quickly test and implement the idea by enlisting the support of crypto-community” – comments Maria Lapuk, the OIN SPACE ecosystem co-founder. OIN SPACE aims to lay the foundation for the consumer trust economy based on loyalty to authentic manufacturers, direct interaction and mutual respect between brands and consumers, free from fakes and counterfeiting. OIN SPACE gears up for a 1-stage ICO, which will start in mid-June. The exact date is yet open and will be announced in a temporary manner, with sufficient timing and respect for the crypto-community. OIN SPACE is planning to reach the $ 30M hard cap to develop, implement and scale the universal authenticity confirmation system.

CryptoCoins News

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OIN SPACE Ecosystem to Confirm and Protect Authenticity of Any Purchase Gears up for a $ 30M ICO

http://cryptobully.com/oin-space-ecosystem-to-confirm-and-protect-authenticity-of-any-purchase-gears-up-for-a-30m-ico/

OIN SPACE Ecosystem to Confirm and Protect Authenticity of Any Purchase Gears up for a $ 30M ICO

This is a paid-for submitted press release. CCN does not endorse, nor is responsible for any material included below and isn’t responsible for any damages or losses connected with any products or services mentioned in the press release. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the press release.

Moscow|Shanghai, April 30 – 2018: OIN SPACE, the blockchain-based consumer trust ecosystem allowing to confirm authenticity of any purchase, today announced its plans to conduct a $ 30M ICO. OIN SPACE will allow the confirmation of authenticity of any purchase – such as, but not limited to, clothing and footwear, alcohol, essential consumer goods, tickets, medicines. In the OIN SPACE ecosystem, the authenticity of products will be warranted by a blockchain protocol, eliminating the chance of counterfeiting, copying or bypassing the security system. OIN mobile app users will receive the OIN tokens for each authenticity confirmation and purchase of the original products from the manufacturers. OIN tokens then can be used by consumers as a mean of exchange for the authentic products of the ecosystem participants, or withdrawn and transferred to the bank card account. “Anything can be counterfeited, and there is no such person that hasn’t fallen victim to counterfeit goods, regardless of age and social status – comments Anatoly Smorgonskiy, the OIN SPACE ecosystem CEO and co-founder, – Manufacturers spend an annual $127 bn to design and introduce new technologies protecting against counterfeits, while the counterfeit goods global market is now estimated at unthinkable $1.2 trln. Manufacturers need a universal scalable system capable of providing protection against counterfeits once and for all. Under the OIN SPACE ecosystem, we will develop a universal and simple authenticity verification tool secured by blockchain technology. We believe that OIN SPACE will lay the foundation for the radically new relationships between the manufacturer and the consumer based on trust and loyalty to the authentic brands”. The OIN SPACE solution implies the QR-codes protected by OIN’s decentralized platform’s algorithms and the system of smart contracts eliminating the chance of counterfeiting. A blockchain-protected QR code is a simple, user-friendly, universal protection system. The OIN SPACE ecosystem will provide customers an opportunity to have a single authenticity verification tool.

“2017 can no doubt be considered the ICO year for the whole industry: we have witnessed the global scale of the projects successfully attracting their initial funding within the cryptocurrency market. Hundreds of projects that require significant primal investment, which they in other circumstances would have craved from business angels, foundations and venture investors – they do now have the opportunity to quickly test and implement the idea by enlisting the support of crypto-community” – comments Maria Lapuk, the OIN SPACE ecosystem co-founder. OIN SPACE aims to lay the foundation for the consumer trust economy based on loyalty to authentic manufacturers, direct interaction and mutual respect between brands and consumers, free from fakes and counterfeiting. OIN SPACE gears up for a 1-stage ICO, which will start in mid-June. The exact date is yet open and will be announced in a temporary manner, with sufficient timing and respect for the crypto-community. OIN SPACE is planning to reach the $ 30M hard cap to develop, implement and scale the universal authenticity confirmation system.

CryptoCoins News

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Markets Now: Dow Tumbles 250 Points as 27 Out of 30 Stocks Drop

http://cryptobully.com/markets-now-dow-tumbles-250-points-as-27-out-of-30-stocks-drop/

Markets Now: Dow Tumbles 250 Points as 27 Out of 30 Stocks Drop

Updated May 1, 2018 11:08 a.m. ET

Want to know why the Dow Jones Industrial Average is doing what it’s doing? Check back here for a semi-live look at the volatile markets from Barron’s reporters.

10:58 a.m. Did I say barely moving? The Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined 262.67 points, or 1.1%, to 23900.48, while the S&P 500 has dropped 13.68 points, or 0.5%, to 2634.37 and the Nasdaq Composite has declined 8.18 points, or 0.1%, to 7058.09.

We mentioned that the market appeared worried about two things: Apple’s (APPL) earnings and tomorrow’s Fed announcement. And since Apple is up 1% at $166.92, I think it’s safe to assume that today’s drop is more about the latter than the former.

And that’s readily apparent in the Dow, which has seen 27 of its 30 stocks fall today, with just Apple, Intel (INTC) and Microsoft (MSFT) up on the day. That would seem to indicate a general risk-off environment, except for the fact that the 1o-year yield has risen to 2.98%.

Maybe the Fed can make sense of it all tomorrow.

Dow Waits…and Waits…for Apple, Fed

6:57 a.m. The market is barely moving today, and I’m not sure I blame it. S&P 500 futures are little changed, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures have dipped 0.1% and Nasdaq Composite futures declined 0.1%. But two events over the next 48 hours could have a huge impact on where the major indexes end up trading in the short and long term.

The first is Apple’s (AAPL) earnings, which are due after the market close. As the largest component in the Nasdaq and a big piece of the Dow, as well as the dominant force on numerous other stocks, Apple’s numbers, good or bad, should help determine which way the market heads tomorrow.

But that’s nothing compared to the Fed meeting tomorrow. No one expects the Fed to raise rates, but would anyone be surprised at this point if it signaled that three more increases this year? Or that it is a bit more worried about inflation? Either of these could have an impact on where markets trade.

Or maybe not. “…at the ‘off-cycle’ meetings (those mid-quarter gatherings not followed by a press conference), the Committee can devote more time to other topics of interest,” writes NatWest Markets’ Kevin Cummins. “In May, this might include financial conditions (including further discussion over the yield curve), financial stability, the appropriate monetary policy framework and/or the FOMC’s communication strategy. In this way, the minutes from the May FOMC meeting (due Wednesday, May 23) could be far more interesting (and potentially eventful) for market participants.”

Does that mean another three weeks of uncertainty?

Sign up to Review & Preview, a new daily email from Barron’s. Every evening we’ll review the news that moved markets during the day and look ahead to what it means for your portfolio in the morning. 

Markets

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Tapestry Sinks Amid Struggles at Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman

https://cryptobully.com/tapestry-sinks-amid-struggles-at-kate-spade-stuart-weitzman/

Tapestry Sinks Amid Struggles at Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman

Same-store sales at Tapestry’s Kate Spade brand missed analysts’ estimates in the latest quarter, while production delays and other problems at the Stuart Weitzman brand were a drag as well. Same-store sales for the Coach brand, its biggest business, met projections, but the downbeat smaller brands and a full-year profit warning disappointed investors.

Business

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Samsung launches preorders for the Galaxy S9 in 128GB, 256GB storage varieties

https://cryptobully.com/samsung-launches-preorders-for-the-galaxy-s9-in-128gb-256gb-storage-varieties/

Samsung launches preorders for the Galaxy S9 in 128GB, 256GB storage varieties

Enlarge / The big improvement is the lower fingerprint reader, which now lives below the camera module.

Ron Amadeo

If you’re looking for a US Galaxy S9 with more than 64GB of space, Samsung is starting preorders today for two higher-storage variants of its flagship smartphone. Samsung has announced that 128GB and 256GB versions of the Galaxy S9 can now be preordered in the US, with shipments starting May 18.

The Galaxy S9 originally launched in the US in March with only an entry-level 64GB storage tier. Samsung forfeited the spec sheet bragging rights to its biggest rival, Apple, which launched its latest iPhone with a 256GB storage tier. Extra built-in storage isn’t as necessary on Samsung phones since they have a MicroSD slot, allowing digital pack rats to buy the 64GB phone and slap in a giant SD card later.

The move to only launch with 64GB in the US certainly seems carrier-driven, as all the carrier models are 64GB and Samsung’s new higher storage models are exclusively available on Samsung.com. Thankfully, Samsung is only charging $50 for each 64GB jump in storage. Here’s the price breakdown for the new models:

Galaxy S9:

64GB: $719.99

128GB: $769.99

256GB: $819.99

Galaxy S9+

64GB: $839.99

128GB: $889.99

256GB: $939.99

Samsung is even offering a deal for S9 buyers: customers that buy the S9 or S9+ on Samsung.com between now and May 17th can get a free pair of Gear IconX (2018) wireless earbuds (regularly $199.99) or they can buy a Gear S3 Frontier Tizen smartwatch for $99 (regularly $279.99).

Technology

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Bitcoin Price Corrects to $9,200 while EOS Drops 15%, Market Moves Toward $430 Billion

http://cryptobully.com/bitcoin-price-corrects-to-9200-while-eos-drops-15-market-moves-toward-430-billion/

Bitcoin Price Corrects to $9,200 while EOS Drops 15%, Market Moves Toward $430 Billion

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The bitcoin price has slightly corrected to $9,200 after rising above $9,500. The valuation of the cryptocurrency market has increased to $425 billion, moving towards $450 billion, where it was in the beginning of March.

EOS Down 15%

EOS, the fifth most valuable blockchain protocol in the cryptocurrency market, has declined by more than 15 percent after recording a meteoric rise in price over the past 48 hours. Ari Paul, the co-founder of cryptocurrency hedge fund BlockTower, stated that if EOS had been able to sustain its momentum, it could have been possible for the ERC20 token to surpass Ethereum in value.

“Price observation: EOS is an ERC20 smart contract currently valued at $16 billion. If it repeated the run of the last two weeks, it would surpass ETH’s value, while residing on top of it. This is an observation; not at all a prediction nor investment commentary,” said Paul.

Since peaking at $22.86, EOS has fallen to $18.53, from about $17 billion to $15.2 billion in valuation. On a weekly basis, within a seven-day period, EOS has still more than doubled in value as it was priced at $11 on March 23.

Analysts have attributed the rise in price of EOS to the launch of its mainnet scheduled to be executed on June 1. EOS, as a scalable and flexible blockchain network based on the Ethereum protocol, has been anticipated by decentralized application developers throughout the past year and its mainnet launch would allow dapps to be deployed on its blockchain network.

On April 28, momentum oscillators including Williams’ Percent Range and Relative Strength Index (RSI) demonstrated overbought conditions for EOS. As the market continued to acquire more EOS at overbought conditions, the token experienced a 15 percent correction over the past 24 hours.

Currently, while the RSI of EOS still remains quite high, it is no longer demonstrating overbought conditions and the market has stabilized. As long as EOS does not demonstrate significantly overbought conditions, in the short-term, at least throughout the countdown of its mainnet launch, it is likely that the price of EOS would increase.

Bitcoin Trend

It is optimistic that bitcoin has been able to sustain its momentum above the $9,000 region subsequent to recording a 10 percent increase from the $9,800 mark. If bitcoin holds its trading volume and remains above $9,500 in the next 24 hours, it is possible for the price of bitcoin to breach into the $10,000 in the first week of May. Breaching the $10,000 level is expected to lead bitcoin to its previous levels, potentially to a major support level at $12,000.

Both simple and exponential moving averages show a positive short-term trend for bitcoin and given that its RSI has dropped to 58.7 points over the past few days, it is likely that the bitcoin price will record a small rally in the short-term.

With executives from the finance and banking industry moving to cryptocurrency hedge funds and investors, and the demand from institutional investors rising for cryptocurrencies globally, the cryptocurrency market is an ideal position to potentially secure a valuation of $0.5 trillion, as it did in November 2017.

For a real-time bitcoin price chart, click here.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Analysis

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Polydex Pharmaceuticals Provides Year End Financial Report OTC Markets:POLXF

http://cryptobully.com/polydex-pharmaceuticals-provides-year-end-financial-report-otc-marketspolxf/

Polydex Pharmaceuticals Provides Year End Financial Report OTC Markets:POLXF

TORONTO, May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited (OTC Pink:POLXF) (the “Company”) reports financial results for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2018. All figures are reported in U.S. dollars.

    Fiscal Year End 2018 Fiscal Year End 2017         Sales   $5,279,040   $6,621,330         Net Income (Loss)     448,789   669,259         Income (Loss) per common share Basic   0.13   0.20           Diluted   0.13   0.19         Weighted avg. common shares outstanding Basic   3,409,728    3,390,228   Diluted   3,466,649   3,504,508        

Gross margins have been maintained and, combined with management efforts; a solid financial position has resulted.  EBITDA remains strong at $765,742, with a working capital ratio of 3.15. Management is also hopeful that the registration of a new product could result in $250,000 of additional supply agreement fees in fiscal 2019 or 2020.

“We have made significant investments into production again this year,” said company President and CEO George Usher. “Another $375,000.00 dedicated to upgraded equipment has simultaneously resulted in increased production capability and reduced utilities costs. We are also in the fortunate position of beginning this fiscal year with $1.2 million in cash and investments on hand, and accounts receivable of a further $1.5 million.  This will allow us to continue to prudently invest in more efficient equipment that will lead to either further savings or increased control the rising cost of utilities.”

The Company’s publicly traded shares continue to be quoted on the OTC Pink platform (www.otcmarkets.com/stock/POLXF/quote).

Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is engaged in the manufacture of bulk pharmaceutical intermediates for the worldwide veterinary pharmaceutical industry and also the development, manufacture and marketing of biotechnology-based products for the human pharmaceutical market.  Company website: www.Polydex.com

Note: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding Polydex Pharmaceuticals Limited, including, without limitation, statements regarding expectations about future revenues or business opportunities or potential research projects. These statements are typically identified by use of words like “may”, “could”, “might”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, or similar words. Actual events or results may differ materially from the Company’s expectations, which are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties including but not limited to changing market conditions, future actions by the United States Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory authorities. Other risk factors discussed in the Company’s financial reports may also affect the actual results achieved by the Company.

Contact:

Investor Relations:  North Arm Capital Services, Linda Hughes, 1-877-945-1621, ([email protected])

OTC Markets News

[cryptobully-blog]

Ethereum is reportedly coming under regulatory scrutiny

https://cryptobully.com/ethereum-is-reportedly-coming-under-regulatory-scrutiny/

Ethereum is reportedly coming under regulatory scrutiny

Ether, which has a roughly $65 billion market cap, fell about 6 percent Tuesday, and was trading near $652, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com.

The analysis is based on whether founders of virtual currencies other than bitcoin have any control over their value, similar to how a company’s managers might influence a company’s stock value based on strategy and investments, the Journal said.

Two federal regulatory agencies have applied different definitions to what exactly a cryptocurrency is. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has labeled them as commodities, meaning they’re exempt from SEC regulation. The SEC on the other hand, has indicated that it sees cryptocurrencies as securities. In March, the agency said it is looking to apply securities laws to everything from cryptocurrency exchanges to digital asset storage companies known as wallets.

Senior SEC and CFTC officials are among those scheduled to discuss the matter on Monday, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Ethereum foundation raised more than 31,000 bitcoin in July 2014, worth about $18.3 million at the time, when it first sold the first 60 million ether. Because investors were speculating that the launch would result in a rise in asset value, the deal resembled a security, the Journal said.

Ethereum is the name of the company that created the digital token ether. The company created a platform for applications built on blockchain, the same technology that underpins bitcoin. Ether was first launched as a fundraising effort to develop the platform.

A consortium called the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, which includes companies like Microsoft and J.P. Morgan, is developing uses for the Ethereum blockchain.

Ethereum

[cryptobully-blog]

A Bitcoin podcaster brilliantly trolled his own hacker

https://cryptobully.com/a-bitcoin-podcaster-brilliantly-trolled-his-own-hacker/

A Bitcoin podcaster brilliantly trolled his own hacker

Aaron Lammer, co-host of the Longform journalism podcast and cryptocurrency show Coin Talk, didn’t even notice at first when his website was hacked. Instead, a follower tipped him off that aaronlammer.com had been replaced by a notice that read “Ooops, your website has been encrypted!” and a countdown clock, indicating that the site would be deleted unless a ransom of 0.025 Bitcoin, or about $230 at the time of writing, was paid to the hacker.

Instead of paying, Lammer clicked on a link that said “Contact us.” It led to a Facebook page under the name Barberousse Mohammed. Lammer sent Mohammed a message. “Hi,” he said. “I don’t have any Bitcoin. Do you accept Ripple?” And thus began an epic trolling as Lammer cycled through ideological talking points from all the facets of the cryptocurrency world while his hacker got more and more exasperated. Mohammed did not respond to a The Verge’s request for comment.

Ransomware attacks peaked in 2016 and 2017 with attacks like WannaCry targeting millions of machines and demanding cryptocurrency payment. According to a report from the cybersecurity firm SonicWall, these types of attacks have been on the decline in 2018 (though more unique ransomware strains are emerging), and the tactic is still popular with hackers.

Cybercriminals have benefited from the proliferation of cryptocurrency as a semi-anonymous way to send cash. “Cryptojacking,” in which hackers seize control of a user’s machine without their knowledge and use the processing power to mine cryptocurrencies, has increased 27 percent from the last quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018, according to the security software firm Malware Bytes, which releases a quarterly cybercrime report. Meanwhile, hackers are still targeting individual public-facing Bitcoin users such as cryptocurrency YouTubers.

“From driveby mining attacks via browser to scams meant to drain users’ cryptowallets, cybercriminals are taking every opportunity to exploit the rising value and popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” the Malware Bytes report says.

“You’re not into Bitcoin? Cmon bro. Why not?”

Luckily for Lammer, he didn’t really care about this particular website, which is just a single page with links to his projects. So he used the opportunity to troll.

At one point Mohammed says, “Dude i’m just hacker i’m not realy into bitcoin [sic]” to which Lammer responds, “You’re not into Bitcoin? Cmon bro. Why not? I was so excited when I saw that you hacked me because I don’t have that many people I can talk to about decentralization.”

Lammer also decided to tap into the most acrimonious of cryptocurrency feuds, the ongoing Bitcoin versus Bitcoin Cash debate. He pretends to have sent Mohammed Bitcoin, then gripes that it hasn’t arrived yet because Bitcoin isn’t as fast as or cheap as Bitcoin Cash and that it “probably hasn’t hit yet because fees are trash.” When the hacker responds, “sir just make the payment the fees don’t matter,” Lammer puts on his best impression of a Bitcoin Cash zealot. “Fees dont MATTER!?!?!?!? oh my god [sic],” he says.

“I just thought it would be funny if I could get him into a ‘who’s on first’ situation where I kept insisting BCash WAS Bitcoin and then eventually blame transaction times for the delay in his payment,” Lammer told me over Twitter DM.

Lammer reclaimed his website by contacting his domain host, which detected that the site had been hacked through a WordPress exploit on an unused domain connected to the account. The fix happened quickly enough that Lammer was still chatting with Mohammed when he regained control of the account. “Towards the end of the chat, Dreamhost had actually already gotten the domain back and he didn’t seem to have noticed, so I was playing with house money,” Lammer said.

Mohammed finally took the bait when Lammer asked, “Whats your favorite anime series ever?” “I like hunter x hunter,” Mohammed says. “No[w] are you gonna ke[ep] wasting my time?”

“I like hunter x hunter,” Mohammed says. “No[w] are you gonna ke[ep] wasting my time?”

Lammer posted the full conversation with his hacker on Twitter and Medium. Most people were amused, although a small number accused Lammer of faking the conversation. Some comments devolved into the same ideological arguments that Lammer was parodying. “Mostly people are like ‘that sucks, but that was funny’ and then if you go deep enough in threads, there are people like ‘buuuuuut wait BCASH is better though,’” Lammer said.

Research suggests that Lammer was right not to pay his hacker. In 2017, only half of the victimized organizations that paid the ransom actually got their data back, according to the cybersecurity research and marketing firm CyberEdge Group.

Even if he paid, Lammer says, he wasn’t sure he’d ever get his site back. “I thought he might just ask for more,” Lammer said. “Plus, I really like talking to scammers and if I had paid him he woulda probably instantly disappeared.”

Bitcoin

[cryptobully-blog]

Ripple's Enterprise Blockchain Network Adds a New Bank

http://cryptobully.com/ripples-enterprise-blockchain-network-adds-a-new-bank/

Ripple's Enterprise Blockchain Network Adds a New Bank

Ripple’s global network of banks and payment providers has a new member.

Announced Monday, BankDhofar, an Oman-based financial investment management company, has joined RippleNet, a move the bank says enables it to provide global cross-border payments using Ripple’s blockchain technology, a press release states.

As such, the move is the latest that finds BankDhofar among an early set of blockchain movers in the Middle East. Earlier this year, BankDhofar joined Bankchain, a consortium of over 27 banks that was launched in February 2017 to explore blockchain solutions for the banking sector.

Dr. Tariq Taha, chief information officer at BankDhofar, commented:

“With this, we can provide instant, frictionless and secure cross border money transfers within seconds, with end-to-end visibility over the journey of the payment.”

BankDhofar notably did not say which Ripple products it is seeking to use to tap those benefits, nor if it was open to using XRP Ledger, the open-source codebase that utilizes the XRP cryptocurrency.

Still, the recent entrance into RippleNet blockchain network is a part of BankDhofar’s larger effort “Together 2020,” which aims in positioning the bank in the lead in the Gulf region.

“This initiative is part of BankDhofar’s continuous transformation plan, which is putting digital technology and innovation at the core of its strategy to improve the experience of its customers,” the release concluded.

Omani Riyals image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Ripple

[cryptobully-blog]

Coinbase Competitor Circle Adds Zcash to Crypto Investment App

https://cryptobully.com/coinbase-competitor-circle-adds-zcash-to-crypto-investment-app/

Coinbase Competitor Circle Adds Zcash to Crypto Investment App

Osato Avan-Nomayo · May 1, 2018 · 7:00 am

Circle Invest is set to add Zcash to its cryptocurrency trading portfolio. Circle, the payments startup firm announced this in a blog post on April 30. Zcash becomes the sixth cryptocurrency in the Circle Invest trading catalog.

Zcash Support

The addition of Zcash is the first of many announcements scheduled for the next three weeks.

Hello, Zcash 👋. A new coin just joined the Circle Invest family, and it’s available for you to buy right now. Learn more here: https://t.co/pR0y6T1H2K

— Circle Invest (@circleinvest) April 30, 2018

Circle invest traders can instantly purchase and trade of Zcash on the platform for as little as $1. There are no fees attached to the service, but spreads are about one percent.

Commenting on the launch, Rachel Mayer, a senior product manager at the firm said that:

Our mission for Circle Invest is to democratize access to investing in crypto assets for every consumer. Making the wider breadth of assets available on Circle Invest will continue to be a part of this mission, and of course doing our best to ensure that we bring the crypto without the cryptic to everyone, anywhere.

Circle Invest

Circle Invest is a cryptocurrency trading app developed by Circle, the Goldman Sachs-backed payments startup. The app is part of the business catalog of the Circle Internet Financial Ltd. Enterprise. The platform allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies as well make fiat deposits and withdrawals. Circle Invest offers zero-commission trading which sets it apart from Coinbase, one of its main competitors.

Upon its launch in March 2018, Circle Invest was available in all but four states in the U.S. The platform recently got approval to operate in New York. Wyoming, Minnesota, and Hawaii remain the only U.S. states where the platform remains unavailable. The other five supported cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum Classic.

A Little Bit About Zcash

The latest addition to the Circle Invest crypto offering is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency. Zcash transactions are completely anonymous on the blockchain making it a perfect alternative to bitcoin according to NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden.

In January 2018, Grayscale predicted that the crypto could moon to over $60,000 by 2025. The bitcoin asset management company believes that Zcash has the potential to become a global offshore investment opportunity. In Japan, the FSA is putting pressure on crypto exchanges to drop privacy-focused cryptos like from their catalog. Coincheck, the victim of the $530 million NEM hack in January 2018 has removed support for Zcash, Monero, and Dash.

Are you excited by the latest addition to the Circle Invest portfolio? Which coins do you think the platform should add next? Please share your views in the comment section below.

Image courtesy of Zcash, Shutterstock, Twitter

Circlecrypto exchangecryptocurrency tradingZCashZCash Hype Show comments

Coinbase

[cryptobully-blog]

Crypto wallet Abra adds support for Monero, NEM, NEO, Lisk, and Verge

http://cryptobully.com/crypto-wallet-abra-adds-support-for-monero-nem-neo-lisk-and-verge/

Crypto wallet Abra adds support for Monero, NEM, NEO, Lisk, and Verge

Crypto wallet Abra adds support for Monero, NEM, NEO, Lisk, and Verge

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