Author: Anna Galvez

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Crypto

Mining Bitcoin (BTC) Will Equal Power Consumption Of Austria By The End Of 2018

The use of electricity in mining Bitcoin (BTC) data centers will reach 7.7 gigawatts by the end 2018, an amount equal to the electricity consumption of Austria, for example, a country with almost 9 million inhabitants, according to a study published today in the specialized magazine Cell Press.

This means that cryptocurrency will consume 0.5% of global electricity production, a shocking figure, according to the study’s lead author, Alex de Vries, a financial economist from the Netherlands.

“It’s an extreme difference compared to the regular financial system, and this growing demand for electricity will definitely not help us reach our climate targets,” said de Vries, a cryptocurrency expert.

Mining Bitcoin (BTC) is consuming lots of power

The Bitcoin (BTC) depends on the computers that carry out the transactions in a continuous chain to avoid duplication of coin expenditure.

To perform this function, it is necessary to maintain a large number of computers connected almost uninterruptedly, which requires a high power consumption. Its economy-driven estimates put the current minimum current use of the bitcoin network at 2.55 gigawatts, which means it uses almost as much electricity as Ireland.

In fact, during a single transaction of a cryptocurrency uses as much electricity as an average household in the Netherlands in a month.

“If the price of bitcoin continues to rise in the way some experts have predicted, the grid could one day consume 5% of the world’s electricity,” the Dutch researcher said.

The technology that supports cryptocurrency works through nodes that form the decentralized network

In any traditional monetary system, governments print more money when they need it, but in the case of mining Bitcoin (BTC), it is not created but discovered.

Hundreds of thousands of computers from all over the world compete with each other in mining Bitcoin (BTC), that is, to generate this cryptocurrency.

Unlike other currencies, the BTC is a currency whose value does not depend on the interest rate fixed by a Central Bank or on its reserves in commercial banks. It is a currency that is subject to the laws of supply and demand through the net, increasing or decreasing its value on the basis of whether or not it is available on the market.

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Crypto

Blockchain Technology Development Center Will Be Implemented In New York

The New York Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced the launch of several initiatives that will utilize blockchain technology applications in the city at the 4th annual blockchain technology summit, Consensus 2018, May 14-16.

In this regard, the president and CEO of NYCEDC, James Patchett, said that the Blockchain Center will operate as a physical space for industry and will aim to educate and connect entrepreneurs interested in blockchain technology, through tutoring, business support, and advice for new ventures in DLT.

As for the public competition for blockchain, called The BigApps Blockchain, Patchett explained that the goal is to develop applications, from the blockchain, that helps improve public sector services and processes. He added that he aspires to hold the competition at the end of 2018 and that on May 14 a bidding process has already been opened to choose the company that will be in charge of its organization.

Within the framework of Consensus 2018, Blockchain Week in New York City will showcase employment opportunities in the city through a first free job fair in the blockchain, open to the public, with the participation of companies such as IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, ConsenSys, Ripple, KPMG, and Ledger.

Blockchain technology boom in New York

All the initiatives announced by NYCEDC were supported by many of the participants in Consensus 2018, representing companies and organizations such as the Economic Development Commission, the New York State Assembly, the Technology Committee, OGroup, and Tech: NYC, among others.

They all agreed on the significance of the fact and the advantages that these projects will bring to New York City, making it a great focus of innovation and development for the emerging ecosystem of blockchain technology.

In this regard, new cases of use and applications of technology in large New York business sectors, such as finance, media, insurance, healthcare and real estate, are highlighted.

All this growth of the blockchain technology among New Yorkers may have been the cause of the recent introduction by state legislators of four bills that seek to include this technology within the legal framework, recognizing the possibilities its use brings.

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Crypto

Bing Will Remove Cryptocurrency Ads, According To A Microsoft Statement

Bing, the well-known search engine run by Microsoft, joined other Internet giants in releasing a statement saying it will ban cryptocurrency-related ads on its network since July 2018, according to an official blog post on May 15th.

According to the official declaration, the main reason for the company’s decision to ban “cryptocurrency advertising” and “related products” is the current unregulated state of cryptos, which allegedly increases the risk for Bing users.

Because cryptocurrencies and related products are not regulated, we have found that they present a potentially high risk to our users, favoring the ground for unscrupulous people to engage in predatory behavior, or otherwise defraud consumers.

Bing team

Bing will cut off cryptocurrency ads this summer, between June and July

As the report says, the Bing Ads tool plans to fully implement the ban worldwide between June and early July.

Bing’s ban on cryptocurrencies ads is the latest move in a search engine and social media boycott, initiated by Facebook in late January this year. Google announced a lifting of the ban on similar cryptos ads in mid-March, while Twitter confirmed its own ban shortly afterward.

On the other hand, last week, several media reported that Facebook would be taking into account the power of launching its own cryptocurrencies.

It should be noted that, during an interview held in early April, the co-founder of the social network LinkedIn told Cointelegraph that the recent bans on encrypted advertising are, in his opinion, most likely “temporary”, due to the current lack of clear and precise regulations on the kryptonite market.

Therefore, the Bing ban on cryptocurrency ads could be temporary, until more clear cryptocurrency regulations will be adopted.

In conclusion, Bing adopts the same direction as Google, Facebook, and Twitter in banning crypto ads, a fact that would possibly influence some cryptocurrency businesses.

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Crypto

Coinbase Prime Launched To Bring Institutional Investors Into The Cryptocurrencies Market

Just recently, Coinbase announced the launch of some of its new services, namely, Conibase Custody and Coinbase Prime, the latter being a new platform specially created to offer a great series of instruments destinated for institutional investors who want to join cryptocurrency trading. After the news has been released, many speculations emerged, some crypto enthusiasts voicing that this action will push the market faster toward a market cap of $1 trillion.

Trying to become the ultimate champion of the cryptocurrencies market, Coinbase considered attracting the attention of institutional investors which could bring big money to the market booting the cryptocurrency market capitalization.

In its most recent statement, the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange operator released its Coinbase Prime which is, as they describe it, “a new platform specifically designed to provide a set of tools and services that institutional investors rely on when trading with cryptocurrency.”

Coinbase Prime aims to attract institutional investors into the cryptocurrencies market

The goal of the program is to overcome the shortcomings in infrastructure that the institutions demand by providing “loan and margin financing products to qualified clients.”

“We are delighted to help institutions around the world participate in this emerging asset class,” stated the Coinbase team.

The main reason why institutional investors avoid trading on the cryptocurrencies market is the lack of some clear crypto regulations and the needed instrument for a secure and reliable trading.

The Coinbase platform will supply a decentralized liquidity reservoir for all Coinbase instruments. Over the year, it will “introduce new features such as low latency performance, local data center colocation services, institutional connectivity and access, and clearing and settlement services”.

Furthermore, financial institutions lack the right resources and instruments to be able to operate in the cryptocurrencies market. By supplying all the utilities and facilities to these institutional investors, Coinbase Prime will allow these investors to embark on an easy journey into the cryptocurrency universe.

The final outcome for the cryptocurrencies market, according to some crypto enthusiasts, will be the $1 trillion crypto market cap milestone.

Categories
Crypto

Bitbond To Use Bitcoin (BTC) Blockchain For International Cryptocurrency Loans

The German digital bank Bitbond, whose services offers cryptocurrency loans to medium-sized companies and self-employed people, has recently announced that it will now support international loans via the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain network. This project is implemented to avoid the use of the regular international financial communications network SWIFT.

Bitbond thought to use the market’s biggest cryptocurrency, the BTC, only to transfer credit funds faster because BTC will not be the crypto in which the loans will be offered not to alter the fiat currency value of the loan due to the volatility of the BTC.

Bitbond is still a medium-sized financial institution which managed only about 100 clients, who are mainly small firms and self-employed workers, which, typically, do not exceed revenues of $50,000 per year.

Bitbond’s idea not only includes cryptocurrency but also artificial intelligence to qualify borrowers. The “patented automatic learning algorithm” uses “alternative data” to give an eligibility score to the applicant, which may be based on his/her online transactions and/or sales on eBay, Amazon, money received/sent on Paypal, and further on.

Bitbond decided to offer international loans via the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain

Cryptocurrency loans services are developing their space within the digital coin ecosystem. In fact, they are not only found in the Bitcoin (BTC) market, as initiatives such as ETHLend have emerged, dedicated to lending ETH, as well as fiat currency, through the Ethereum blockchain platform.

However, this method of financing for microentrepreneurs is still not well known, mainly because of the state of adoption of cryptocurrencies, along with the lack of clarity about the tax conditions for the lender involved in making loans in digital currencies.

Processing and receiving credit at a traditional banking institution is a process that can take weeks, a process that Radoslav Albrecht, the CEO and the founder of Bitbond, decided to leave behind by creating, a couple of years ago, a banking platform that would allow small and medium-size companies to receive cryptocurrency loans quickly and at low cost. Now, Bitbond is betting on carrying it out with international loans via the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain network.

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