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.
Bitcoin scalability gets a push as Lightning Network, a promising solution which debuted on the Bitcoin mainnet, gains momentum.
Aitheon, a startup specializing on Artificial Intelligence, is launching a new platform, which represents symbiosis of humans, robots and AI with blockchain technology. Andrew Archer, Aitheon’s founder and CEO, was interviewed by Coinspeaker.
Velix ID, a blockchain-based ID security company, is to solve the problems of global identity verification crisis by developing its new ID verification platform. The token sale begins on January 27 and will last until February 26.
OKCoin is speeding up the launch process and already holds a Korean website accepting pre-orders for different cryptocurrencies.
A dedicated mobile application for players’ communication and collaboration Plink has collaborated with CRYCASH, a decentralized ecosystem of custom-tailored products for gamers, to allow its users an opportunity of monetizing their gaming time.
The biggest ICO ever becomes a great bait: scammers managed to make millions of dollars with the help of fake websites.
Bitcoin’s expert Tom Lee joins cryptocurrency enthusiasts, betting on the king of altcoins to skyrocket in upcoming year. Despite all misfortunes that altcoin has come through from the start of the year, he has forecasted Bitcoin to hit $125,000 benchmark by 2022.
The bank joins its rival Goldman Sachs and becomes the second major Wall Street firm to launch clearing crypto contracts.
By bringing mature financial technologies to cryptocurrency markets, Blockchain-based startup XTRADE.IO wants to create a platform that will serve as an onramp for institutional investors.
TriForece Tokens added David Drake, a famous angel investor, to its advisory board in order to improve the company’s position before the official start of another ICO.
Being a decentralized exchange built on BitShares technology, OpenLedger offers its users unique trading and investing opportunities.
The blockchain-based service makes a promising start: the alpha release provides integration with over 600 bookable properties that are about 18% cheaper than the same offers of LockChain’s leading competitor.
Decentralized exchange Radar Relay is to support Ledger hardware wallets providing its users with new wallet to wallet trading opportunities.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is launching a new cryptocurrency-based data feed together with blockchain startup Blockstream.
A new project will allow gamers to keep the rewards they’ve earned and move them seamlessly between games.