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Crypto Markets News

Bitcoin (BTC) Involved In A Money Laundering Scandal In India

India’s National Congress Party, chaired by Rahul Gandhi, asked the Supreme Court to investigate the leadership of the Indian People’s Party (Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP) for the alleged involvement of the opposition party in a nearly $1 billion “mega scam,” covered with Bitcoin (BTC).

According to the Indian daily HindustanTimes, the National Congress Party’s (INC) accusation against the BJP is to use the bank accounts of various party members to launder money through the use of Bitcoin (BTC). INC spokesman Shaktinh Gohil said the Bitcoins were used to clean up 5,000 crores, a unit equivalent to ten million rupees.

That’s approximately $727 million. However, other members of the party came up with figures reaching 88,000 crores.

Gohil established that the illegal activities involving Bitcoin (BTC) occurred in the western state of Gujurat

He added that “the leadership of BPJ” participated in the conversion of “black money” using an account at the Ahmedabad District Banking Cooperative, headed by BJP chief Amit Shah. The bank office would’ve received an initial share of the money, which then was diverted to 11 accounts belonging to party leaders as well.

It is not clear from Gohil’s statements how they obtained the alleged funds from the alleged scam. However, he clarifies that the Bitcoin (BTC) was the mechanism they implemented to clean up their dirty funds and turn them into legal assets. He also argued that India’s largest party, the INC, is appealing to public justice to make “the truth come out.”

In this regard, India’s People’s Party denied the accusations, claiming that they are “dirty tricks” of the Congress Party, which are trying to spread confusion among the citizens of India.

India’s crypto regulatory bodies conflict with cryptocurrencies market and cryptocurrency exchanges

This accusation comes after a period of tensions between the cryptocurrencies market and the crypto regulatory authorities in India, which have had conflicting positions with cryptocurrency exchanges crypto-related businesses.

It should be recalled that since last April, the Indian Banking Authority, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) explicitly prohibited all companies regulated under banking and financial standards from providing services to the cryptocurrencies market. A decision that came after multiple warnings to citizens by the authorities, as well as cases of fraud linked to cryptocurrency.

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Crypto News

Western Union, Volkswagen, And AT&T Filed The Patents For Apps Based On Blockchain Technology

As a sign of the current exploration of the blockchain technology benefits for big companies, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) publicized, on July 5th, some patent applications based on this technology filed by Volkswagen, Western Union, and AT&T.

Volkswagen adopts blockchain technology for vehicle-to-vehicle communication

Volkswagen’s patent, the Method application, is a digital storage medium for vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The system is an exchange of messages between vehicles, in which every message is connected to the previous one and cryptographically encrypted

In this system, which employs the immutability and encryption of the blockchain technology, no party can modify the previously released data, presenting a complete negotiation.

Western Union patented its own blockchain technology app

Western Union filed a patent application for a system of notifications of recurrent secure transfers and payments. This app, based on blockchain technology, would permit receiving and processing transactions and data transfer in various domains within electronic networks.

The unprecedented thing with this patent application, however, is that Western Union included cryptocurrencies among the assets that can be transferred on its system’s blockchain.

AT&T to introduce a token as a mean of exchange

AT&T launched the “System and Method for Generating a Secure Token from a Service Provider” which debates the generation of a token by an online service provider based on user account information. This token would be employed as a means of exchange between AT&T and the user for upcoming apps and systems which could be related to an online gaming platform.

The document from AT&T refers to the generation of a secure token and suggests other data that the provider will manage, including the user’s account data. Before, the telecommunication company had already obtained the acceptance of another patent. Namely, in June 2017 AT&T got the green light to implement blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in the collection of its domestic services.

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Crypto News

Blockchain Technology Attracts 75% Of Large Corporations, According To A Deloitte Study

According to a Deloitte study conducted on more than 1,000 executives in seven countries, the consulting firm found that three-quarters of companies see blockchain as an “irresistible business case. Even if it’s not in its prime, blockchain is close to its tipping point,” as reported.

Deloitte’s units dedicated to global practices of blockchain technology, conducted the study between March 26th and April 5th, as “an investigation to obtain more visibility on attitudes and investments in blockchain as a technology.” Online interviews were conducted with 1,053 executives in management positions in companies with annual revenues of $500 million or more. The study was conducted in 7 countries, such as Canada, the United States, Mexico, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and China.

Interest in blockchain technology is undergoing a transition from a focus on education and exploring the potential of technology to the identification and development of practical business applications, says Deloitte. Executives with more knowledge about blockchain technology, the study says, have more pragmatic positions and are interested in investing in a wide range of cases over the next 12 months.

For example, 74% of respondents report that their organizations see an “irresistible business case” for using blockchain, and many of these companies are already moving with the technology. Nearly half (34%) say their companies are already advancing with technology. Additionally, about 40% of respondents reported that their organizations will invest $5 million or more in blockchain technology next year.

Deloitte Consulting

Deloitte revealed differences in the attitudes regarding blockchain technology from one country to another

When comparing the proportions of companies surveyed by country and by income level, Mexico shows the highest percentage of large organizations. For example, 61% of the Mexican companies involved in the study have an income of more than $5 billion, compared to 39% in China, and 33% in the United States.

Regarding investments in the recruitment of specialized personnel in blockchain technologies, China is the one that stands out, with 86% of the organizations that are currently investing, followed by Mexico with 56%, and Canada with 51% of current investments.

In a similar study carried out by Deloitte in 2016, which included 522 senior executives, 39% of respondents said they had little or no knowledge of blockchain technology, while in this year’s study, when asked to assess their knowledge level on this technology the percentages are very high, suggesting that blockchain technology is slowly but steadily becoming essential for businesses worldwide.

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News Tech

Apple Fans Might not be so Impressed by the iPhones Which are Waiting to be Launched this Year

This year, the most-wanted devices are the new iPhone models. Ever since their release was announced, fans have been keeping their eyes on every source that could give them more information on the matter.

So far, 2018 wasn’t marked by any notable release on the tech market. After users were disappointed by Galaxy S9 and S9+, Samsung’s sales considerably dropped. Unfortunately, the trend might remain the same even after the 9th of August when Note 9 is scheduled to appear on the market.

As a result, Samsung decided to put more effort into developing their Galaxy S10 and the foldable X scheduled for launch in 2019, so they won’t seriously compete with Apple this year. In this case, Apple has the perfect scenario for turning their latest smartphones into 2018’s most important breakthroughs.

Their launch can’t even be surpassed by Google’s new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Although the phones are getting a lot of buzz online, they remain niche mobiles and they are not widely marketed or distributed. As a result, their sales have been low so far.

This year, Apple might rule the best-selling market

With all this considered, the 2018 iPhone line will be placed on the top of the best-selling list within a few weeks from its release. This September, we will be able to get our hands on three brand new iPhone models, including the plus-sized iPhone X. However, recent leaks show that Apple might receive some bad news after the launch.

It looks like the new devices might be quite boring, because they are updated versions of previous iPhone models. The plus will be given by the fact that the next-generation mobiles from Apple will be available in colours like black – Space Grey, white – Silver and gold.

In addition, the low-cost 2018 iPhone features a similar design, but its specs are less impressive. You will notice that the available colours for this device are diverse: blue, red and orange. If we add the standard Space Grey and Silver, you can imagine that developers gave us a large choice spectrum.

To sum up, we will mention that Apple didn’t add any impressive new feature to their latest smartphones. However, they have improved speed, size and one of them even has a lower price.

Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post.  In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.

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News Tech

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro Is Ideal For Work

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro has been around for almost a year and the device replaced the 9.7-inch iPad Pro back in July 2017. Today we will take a closer look at it to see all the improvements which were brought by this special model.

Display

The 2017 iPad Pro comes with an impressive display. The refresh rate of the screen is doubled to 120hz which makes images more fluid. This is something that gamers will appreciate. The refresh rate changes based on the content that is viewed. For example, for a 24 fps video, the refresh rate will go down to 24 Hz.

Powerful model

The iPad Pro proved to be strong enough to compete with a MacBook. This was the first time an iPad Pro managed to beat a MacBook and it received better scores for various tasks. The tablet comes with 64 GB for $ 650. And the storage goes up to 512 GB. The iPad Pro also comes with 4 GB of RAM.

The battery life is very impressing as well. When tested, the iPad Pro managed to last 10 hours and 5 minutes, which is one of the best scores.

2018 iPad

The principal rival for the 2017 iPad Pro is the 2018 iPad. This device came with some improvements, including an A10 Fusion chip that replaced the previous processor. The new iPad also comes with better Apple Pencil support, which is something that wasn’t available on a non-Pro iPad until now.

September will bring plenty of improvements for iPad, as iOS 12 will be released. The new version will come with updates, including an improved Books app, Voice memos app, News app and a new Stocks app that will come with charts that are interactive. There will also be a speed increase for import speeds that use USB 3.0 SD.

Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post.  In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.

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