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.
The price of bitcoin seems to be entering a downward trend as investors are getting concerned about the near-time future of the digital currency.
Brave announces a new blockchain-based digital advertising platform using the Basic Attention Token to offer a more efficient marketplace.
Canada-based professional services provider drives blockchain adoption with the integration of bitcoin payments at its Toronto office’s restaurant.
With the new blockchain-powered platform, MetaX promises to solve the main issues and inefficiencies existing in the online advertising industry.
UK-based Bitcoin service SpectroCoin’s prepaid debit cards now support 41 cryptocurrencies.
The Qtum Foundation has conducted one of the most successful crowdsale campaigns having sold $10 million of its tokens in the first 90 minutes.
One of the largest bitcoin exchanges has released a first mobile app that will enable transfers in more than a hundred different currencies, including gold and silver.
GDAX celebrates the launch as a huge step towards a more transparent and fair market and sets no fees for margin trading.
IBM collaborates with SecureKey Technologies to create a network based on IBM Blockchain that will facilitate consumers’ verification.
The blockchain startup has already reached over 78% of its crowdsale goal, what demonstrates the rising demand for the project.
A blockchain technology startup has made two announcements that are part of the company’s strategy to facilitate the adoption of distributed ledger applications.
Several hundred Bitcoin Unlimited nodes were shut down due to a vulnerability in client’s code while the warning post was immediately censored on Reddit.
The creation of NYIAX, world’s first guaranteed advertising contract exchange, is believed to revolutionize the advertising sphere.
The bank will buy the technology, developed by Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), to drive the expansion of its smartphone payment application Chase Pay.
The UCITS fund will be the first-ever fund in Europe with the primary focus on fintech companies.