Author: Anna Galvez

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Crypto News

Bitmain, Bitcoin (BTC) Mining Rigs Manufacturer, Reported Losses In Q2 2018

The Chinese Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain introduced an Initial Public Offering (IPO) application on the Hong Kong stock exchange, in which it confirms losses of $395 million in the second quarter of 2018, after almost surpassing its net profit for the whole of 2017 in Q1.

In the application for the IPO, Bitmain reveals its business figures until the second quarter of 2018

After doubling its sales in 2016 compared with 2015, and almost multiplying them by 10 in 2017, the Chinese manufacturer obtained more revenue in the first half of 2018 than in the whole of 2017, as shown.

The losses are attributed to the drop in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) in 2018, about 67%, from its January 2018 peak of $19,608, to its current value of around $6,500. This notorious decrease affects the profitability of Bitcoin (BTC) mining, although it is known that miners, in general, do not stop investing in better equipment.

Bitmain was already preparing its IPO, with some incidents such as leaked documents about its assets in cryptocurrencies, or support publications from other companies that were later rejected, although it finally formalized the IPO request this Wednesday.

The drop in Bitcoin (BTC) price affected Bitmain revenues in Q2 2018

The sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) in 2017, which led to an increase in Bitmain sales at the beginning of this year, also led to the rise in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment as demand exceeded supply. In the second quarter of 2018, that dynamic is reversed, as Bitmain had acquired a large inventory of ASIC chips and components to increase production and much of the equipment was not sold.

Bitmain confirms the decline in prices in 2018, comparing the average price of its equipment sold in the first half of 2017 with the average price in 2018, from $1,191 to $972. The cause of the decline, Bitmain says, is the decline in the expected return per unit of one mined Bitcoin (BTC).

As for its cryptocurrencies holdings, the Bitmain IPO filing does not specify the amounts for cryptos the Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment manufacturer has, but it points out that it fell from $1.172.4 million in T1 to $886.9 million in T2, possibly linked to the decline in the price of BCH in that period.

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Crypto News

90 Percent Of The Bitcoin Network Nodes are Not Updated To The New Bug-Free Bitcoin Core Client

A detailed version of the report on a highly significant bug in the Bitcoin Core client code was released on September 20. The flaw in question would have allowed for a Denial of Service (DoS). The developers of the protocol created a new version of the Bitcoin Core client, patching the bug and urging network node operators to update their software to the secure version. However, only a few of the Bitcoin network’s nodes updated, making the blockchain vulnerable.

Although there is no concrete number of updated nodes, some, such as developer Luke Dashjr, pointed out that approximately 93% of Bitcoin blockchain nodes are still vulnerable. Others, like Cobra Bitcoin, co-owner of Bitcoin.org, claimed that the number of non-updated nodes is above 80%.

For his part, the researcher and specialist in computer science, Emin Gun Sirer said that the number of nodes not updated is due to their low economic value.

“The percentage of the network not updated after a significant patch corresponds to economically useless nodes. If they did or affected something useful, someone would have bothered to update them,” Gun Sirer explained on Twitter. Sirer himself stated that it would take about 80,000 dollars to carry out an attack taking advantage of these vulnerable Bitcoin blockchain nodes.

The economically essential nodes on the Bitcoin network are now updated

According to Gun Sirer, the more economically important nodes within the Bitcoin network are updated, ensuring a higher security level in the blockchain. Thus, the more large miners and significant commercial and exchange actors participate in the upgrade, the less likely it is that the network will be compromised even though the percentage of non-updated nodes may not be as high.

In fact, when examining the process followed by Bitcoin Core for failure resolution and node update, the team contacted the Slush mining pool to ensure that the new client went into effect. In that case, after the patch was created, Corallo, developer of Bitcoin Core, contacted the Slush executives to make sure the company updated its nodes.

Although it has not been reported that the error was exploited on the Bitcoin network, it did indicate the creation of Bitcoin (BTC) from nothing on the test network. However, being a test network, with a low hashrate level, the operation was denied.

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Crypto News

Stratis (STRAT) Updated Its Roadmap With Smart Contracts and Sidechains, Among Others

On September 26th, the Stratis team published the roadmap for its fourth stage of development, in which complete nodes, smart contracts, sidechains, and other products will be launched by the end of 2018.

According to the announcement, they have contemplated the launch of complete nodes, customized sidechains for companies, and smart contracts in the C programming language. They have also planned the integration of new features in version 2.0 of the platform for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), the cold storage of the Stratis (STRAT) crypto token in the staking wallet, the Breeze privacy protocol for STRAT, the update of the Breeze portfolio, and enhancements for Stratis DLT, Stratis Core, and Stratis Academy.

Regarding the sidechains, Stratis Sidechains indicated that they would be implemented in the primary network to favor the interoperability between blockchains that use only one crypto. Regarding the smart contracts, they announced that they would be launched before the end of 2018.

For version 2.0 of their platform for ICO, they explained that it would not only include the improvements programmed by the team of developers but will also take into account the comments received from organizations that have used the current version of the platform.

Stratis (STRAT) updated its roadmap

The Stratis (STRAT) team has plans to update the Breeze wallet, a version that will include new options (of which they did not give further details) and that will also depend on the technology of the complete nodes.

As for the Breeze security protocol, which was implemented to be compatible with Bitcoin (BTC) main network, and to boost the exchange between companies, they said that it would also be available for Stratis (STRAT).

Regarding Stratis Core, they indicated that it would be updated to be compatible with the complete nodes, and they also stated that it would replace the existing StratisX (QT) purse. As far as Stratis Academy is concerned, they said that it would have an improved user interface, thinking about creating more content for the network.

The project is currently backed by just over $157 million, with more than $99 million of Stratis (STRAT) in circulation, while STRAT trades at approximately $1.61.

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Tech

Apple iPhone XS Max Vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – Which Is Faster?

The YouTube channel PhoneBuff compared the most recent flagships of Apple and Samsung, namely, the new iPhone XS Max and the new Galaxy Note 9. Now, which one is faster? The technical specs of the two new smartphones look extraordinary, with the iPhone XS Max boasting the new Apple A12 Bionic chip and 4 GB of RAM, while Samsung Galaxy Note 9 packs a Snapdragon 845 chipset backed up by 8 GB of RAM.

In order to compare these smartphones in a quantified and standardized way, benchmark tests are most often used to test the processors and graphics chipsets of phones. A score is then displayed and allows the testers to rank the smartphones in relation to each other. But these figures are still not very useful or meaningful for regular users.

That’s why PhoneBuff tested the iPhone Xs Max and Galaxy Note 9 in real-life conditions by running 16 applications, opened in a row using a robotic arm to prevent human error. So, between Apple iPhone XS Max and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 which one is faster?

Apple iPhone vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – Which one is faster?

Usually, the most recently released device is faster and more performant, in general, than an older gadget. That seems to prove accurate for the comparison between iPhone XS Max and Galaxy Note 9, too, even though Apple’s device came out only one month after Note 9.

iPhone XS Max opened all those 16 applications in just 2 minutes and 33 seconds while Galaxy Note 9 finished the same task in only 2 minutes and 47 seconds. This 14-second difference is explained by the power of the latest chip produced by Apple, A12 Bionic chip, which, as Apple stated before launch, it can open apps by up to 30% faster than the previous generation of chipsets, backed up, of course, but the fluidity of iOS 12.

It will be interesting to see if the A12 Bionic will maintain its lead after Huawei’s Kirin 980s and Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, both 7-nm SoCs, are released on the market.

Categories
Games News

Fallout 76 BETA Release Date Presented By Bethesda, Along With A New Trailer

The last thing we heard about Fallout 76 is that it won’t benefit from the cross-platform play that Sony is just starting to offer for some titles. Also, some time ago, Bethesda has come out and explained that, at this time, its primary goal is to finish polishing the game, correct the errors that appeared, and prepare the Beta version release. Well, now, they revealed the Fallout 76 BETA release date.

Fallout 76 BETA release date officially announced by Bethesda

According to the latest news coming directly from Bethesda, Fallout 76 BETA release date is set on October 23rd, 2018, for the Microsoft’s Xbox One, while on PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows, the Beta version would come out on October 30th.

Taking advantage of the considerable buzz surrounding the upcoming Fallout 76 and the announcement of the Fallout 76 BETA release date, Bethesda also published a new trailer video, which presents what new features and improvements the upcoming title of the famous franchise would bring.

The video briefly tells the story of how the world has ended up becoming nothing more than nuclear waste and introduces the new Vault 76 missions, around which the new game’s theme revolves.

Fallout 76 BETA would help Bethesda test the stability of the connections

According to Bethesda, the upcoming Fallout 76 BETA servers during the before mentioned periods will not be active 24 hours. Bethesda wants to set specific time frames to gather as many players as possible and thus test the stability of the connections.

The servers would probably be available for between 4 and 8 hours on those days (October 23rd for Xbox and October 30th for PS4 and PC).

Remember that Fallout 76 full version will roll out on November 14th for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. This Fallout 76 BETA is the final checkpoint before the release of the full version, for Bethesda to fix any connectivity problems that may arise to avoid crashes at launch.

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