For the average millennial or at least anyone that pays attention to the business world, the term “cryptocurrency” would not seem like such a strange word. If that is, then the terms Bitcoin, Ethereum or at least Blockchain should ring a bell. One might wonder, why are these terms suddenly so prevalent, especially cryptocurrency news? Computing is getting rather pervasive and the society is leaning towards digital services. The finance world too isn’t spared as the disruption of technology into this sector has fostered the birth and development of Fintech organizations.
These Fintech organizations look to digitize payments and transactions, offering the same services that are currently in existence but in a better, efficient and more effective way.
Blockchain is the network upon which most of these cryptocurrencies operate on. The history of blockchain and bitcoin, in particular, does not have a definite story. In 2009, an individual or group of individuals known to be “Satoshi Nakomoto” developed and published the technology to allow people make digital payments between themselves anonymously without having an external party to verify or authorize the transfer of the currency being exchanged.
Although technologies like this might seem rather complex, understanding how Blockchain works is quite easy, given that one has a basic idea of how networks work. Blockchain is simply a database shared between several users, containing confirmed and secured entries. It is a network, where each entry has a connection to its previous entry.
This technology affords a very secure model whereby every record in the database cannot be tampered with. Apart from the stellar security that this network offers, the transparency and speed at which the network operates give it an edge over the conventional way of conducting transactions.
In simple terms, cryptocurrencies are just monies in digital form, transacted via digital means and over a digital network. The transfer of these currencies is utilized with cryptography and the aforementioned blockchain network. Up until the 2010s, cryptocurrencies were not really known until Bitcoin made its breakout and this gave rise to the birth of new cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies have had their fair share of bullish and bearish trends, going to show how unstable they can be. The latest cryptocurrency news reports lots of people predicting prices for various cryptocurrencies in the years to come but no-one can say for sure.
Blockchain, on the other hand, is making its way into pervasive computing, especially IoT, giving way for the development of new solutions that embrace data security and transparency.
DataBroker DAO, marketplace for selling and buying sensor data, announced when and where it will present its solution welcoming like-minded individuals and forward-thinking organizations.
Keunde, already well established social media company, plans to integrate blockchain tech into the platform, promising social media that promotes real-world gamified challenges to create meaningful connections.
ANZ says that the use of blockchain in the insurance sectors will help to remove uncertainty with more faster and transparent execution of services.
AI-based platform Cryptics is launching its minimum viable product (MVP) with the aim to allow platform participants to purchase forecasts, build fund infrastructures and receive more advanced features available on the platform. The product will become available on April, 30.
Revolut allows its users to spend, store, send, and receive payments from both – cryptocurrency accounts and bank accounts.
More and more merchants are accepting digital currency for transactions. However, the number of websites and physical locations taking them is still somewhat limited.
The bulls of Wall Street are charging hard on the gates of the crypto world, but are the plans of institutional investors to trade cryptocurrencies this year realistic?
Council of State of France has changed the tax rate on cryptocurrency sales from 45 to 19 percent, which is the result of a new classification of Bitcoin. The move came after citizens appealed to France’s highest regulatory body to change harsh regulations for crypto transactions earlier this year.
The xVia API solution will help to reduce the operational costs and high-failure rates while increasing the remittance speed at the same time.
The new platform supports community-owned financial ecosystems bringing to them all the benefits of blockchain. The scope of the Kora project is global: even the Internet is no longer needed to get access to financial services – a simple phone with SMS/USSD is enough.
Cryptocurrencies are no longer a passing fad – blockchain is changing the standards of the financial systems. Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple have initially stimulated the development of numerous start-ups, but today they experience the increasing interest on the part of traditional financial institutions.
The company is bridging the gap between the blockchain technology and its successful implementation with particular attention to the banking industry and fraud prevention.
The widespread adoption of cryptocurrency still faces numerous well-documented problems: transaction speeds, price volatility and “pump & dumps” are some of the major issues that many developers are aiming to solve.
The Bitcoin price has bounced up to $9,370 following recent a 10 percent decline marked on April 26 that reportedly was triggered by the sale of the Mt. Gox trustee funds while technical figures indicate the feasible potential for a move higher towards major resistance at $10,000.
Speculations are that Mt. Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi is selling more BTC tokens in order to compensate its creditors.