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.
Users can interact and send money to each other in the new Bitwala messenger.
The Department of Economic Development of the Isle of Man has teamed up with Credits startup to test how the technology behind bitcoin can improve the safety of IoT objects.
The Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange, which was hacked by anonymous criminals last week, said its clients will lose 36% of their bitcoin deposits.
The leading bitcoin exchange is not planning to support ETC trading so far.
Bitfinex announced that all trading, deposits, and withdrawals will be temporarily disabled.
The San Francisco-based browser startup has attracted $4.5 million investment from Propel Venture Partners, Pantera Capital and other prominent investors.
Bitfinex has confirmed that the hacker attack resulted in the loss of approximately 120,000 of bitcoins.
IBM Global Financing is going to employ the blockchain to free up capital tied in customer disputes.
One of the leading bitcoin exchanges has expanded its bitcoin buying feature to Canada and Singapore, following the launch of the service in Australia.
The acquisition took place after long joint work and will enables the companies to remain at the forefront of innovation.
The globe’s major organizations, including Nasdaq, IBM, Microsoft and American Express, are expected to take part in the upcoming blockchain event in New York.
The cooperation with Visa will allow SatoshiPay to enhance its micro-payment technology.
The judge threw out the charges against website designer who had been accused of unlawful transfer and laundering of bitcoins.
Ethereum Classic now takes the sixth position in the list of cryptocurrencies with the largest market capitalization.
Ernst and Young explains that financial industry is far from being the only one that can benefit from the blockchain technology.