Bitcoin Cash enthusiasts were quite pleased when Coinbase and GDAX announced support for BCH a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the good feelings didn’t last all that long, mainly because the trading of BCH was halted pretty quickly afterward. It seems there is also an investigation ongoing into how some people managed to manipulate orders across GDAX. Thankfully, the trading of Bitcoin Cash will be resumed on this platform on January 17 at 9 a.m. PST.

GDAX Will Finally Resume BCH Trading

It is always interesting to see how things unfold when major exchanges enable support for additional cryptocurrencies. There are quite a few top cryptocurrencies which are not supported by any major exchange right now. Especially when it comes to fiat currency gateways, there is still a lot of work to be done for most coins. Coinbase is the go-to exchange for most people looking to buy cryptocurrency with their euros and US dollars.

A few weeks ago, GDAX announced it would launch trading of Bitcoin Cash. A lot of people were quite excited about this development, especially because it would allow more people to invest in BCH without any major problems. As was to be expected, however, this sudden interest in BCH would result in some very unusual market action. Some people will always look to take advantage of new currencies being added to this platform.

Although this behavior did not go unnoticed, it didn’t impact the Bitcoin Cash price all that much. The one downside, however, was that Coinbase was forced to halt the order book and trading on GDAX, which was a very worrisome development. Companies want to protect users first and foremost, but doing so comes at the risk of annoying said users and missing out on a lot of money at the same time. People have been rather patient when it comes to the relaunch of BCH trading on GDAX, and it seems their patience will be rewarded after all.

More specifically, the GDAX Twitter account has shared that trading of Bitcoin Cash will resume come January 17 at 9 a.m. PST. This means we might see some interesting market action for Bitcoin Cash in the next few days. A lot of people are still waiting to see if the GDAX listing will affect the price in the coming weeks and months. With more fiat currency gateways at users’ disposal, things will undoubtedly get very interesting moving forward.

The first question that comes to mind is whether or not we will see another attempt to manipulate the BCH price. It remains unclear who was responsible for the first attempt at doing so weeks ago, but it was evident this was a well-coordinated event, all things considered. At one point, people were trying to buy Bitcoin Cash for US$8,000 and more, which was and is well above the current market value. Although this shows a clear interest in BCH on the part of investors, it is also somewhat problematic when it comes to properly assessing the value of this altcoin right now.

Some Bitcoin enthusiasts are already calling for a major BCH dump when GDAX resumes trading. Whether that is wishful thinking or an indication of future price manipulation is very difficult to determine right now. It is evident there is some animosity between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash supporters, and some people would gladly wish harm upon the other community’s fortunes. That in itself is pretty bothersome, but it is highly unlikely that situation will change anytime soon. This doesn’t mean there will be an actual Bitcoin Cash dump to speak of, though, but you never know how things will play out.

Read the article from the original source here

The post GDAX Will Resume Bitcoin Cash Trading on January 17 – The Merkle appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

The younger brother of Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, seems to have been somewhat neglected over the past 4 months as most people have been focused on the main Ethereum network and there were not many reasons to look for alternatives. As a result, the price of Ethereum Classic (ETC) on Bitcoin markets has been decreasing continuously and currently sits at around 0.002 BTC, which is the lowest value since April 2017. It is true that ETC appreciated more than 20-fold against USD in the last year, but honestly, which cryptos did not appreciate against fiat money?

At first look, ETC’s situation does not seem to be very promising. However, further analysis might bring us to an opposite conclusion. First of all, let’s take a look at Ethereum (ETH), which is starting to have difficulties to process the ever-growing number of transactions. An interesting occurrence came after the game CryptoKitties, which runs on the Ethereum network and allows users to trade their kitties for Ether, became popular. A recent article on the BBC stated:

“According to ETH Gas Station, the CryptoKitties game accounts for over 10% of network traffic on Ethereum. As traffic increases, transactions become more expensive to execute quickly. “The real big issue is other major players looking for alternatives to Ethereum and moving to different systems.� Mr. Hileman says�

Since there are many similar games in development, we can expect Ethereum to get flooded with transactions soon, not even counting the increasing number of business users. This being said, the search for reasonable alternatives seems inevitable. What is the alternative going to be? Well, you probably guessed. Ethereum Classic has near enough the same functionality as Ethereum, so it is obviously the first candidate. If businesses and users start leaving Ethereum for Ethereum Classic, an according part of their funds will go with them. And since ETC now reaches only 3% of the value of ETH, even if only 10% of the funds are transferred, it will be a huge boost for ETC.

Another good sign can be seen from the ETC/BTC price chart, from which it is clear that the bearish trend lost its power and the price saturated at the current level of about 0.002 BTC, where it probably found its bottom. This is also relatively close to the all-time low of about 0.001 BTC, so it is reaching a very strong support level as very few people are willing to sell this low. Will we see a reversal of the trend?

As always, it is difficult to make any predictions. However, it seems quite likely that Ethereum Classic will profit significantly from the upcoming problems of its big brother.

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=565369226957592”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

Read the article from the original source here

The post The Future of Ethereum Classic – The Merkle appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

IPwe’s research on the ownership side of patent records shows it to be no better at being accurate. As much as 30 to 40 percent of patent ownership records are currently not identifiable or misidentified. Putting licensing and acquisition transactions into a private blockchain registry — an effort that Spangenberg said will require chief financial officers to see the value in sharing deals details and as a result may take time to be embraced — will ultimately provide all buyers and sellers in the IP market with a better infrastructure for dealmaking.

There are multiple blockchain-based efforts to manage intellectual property rights, including a surprise announcement this week from Kodak about a blockchain system for photography.

“Right now patent transactions are primarily bilateral, and that almost certainly is high cost and non-transparent,” Schankerman said. “There might be other buyers out there who haven’t been contacted. It’s not a competitive market with transparent prices.”

“Transaction history is an important signal,” Karypis said. “You have an intelligent party making a rational decision to do something.”

Once the registry is complete, IPwe will consider giving it away to governments, among others, to get economies of scale. “Someone will want it, some consortium. Our model is that as more transactions occur in the space, we will grab a piece of the transaction value. We have to take the $180 billion occurring today and get it up significantly.”

IPwe plans to launch its platform on February 1.

How long it will take, if efforts like IPwe are successful, is a forecast few experts want to make, especially with slow-moving governments reluctant to make major changes. But Spangenberg seems to be in it for the long haul.

“I am sure ’20 years’ is what ‘patent people’ say. Patent people tend to be conservative and linear in their thinking. Those are extremely valuable attributes for some applications, but not for unlocking the value of an asset class that has been poorly managed for over 100 years,” he said.

“Maybe he is getting more mellow,” said Schankerman, who has has spent a lot of time discussing his research on reforms needed in the patent system with Spangenberg. “He obviously still wants to make money and is good at it, but he wants to improve the system. I think he does care about that.”

The London School of Economics professor said true reform in the patent world won’t come from technology alone. It will also require policy changes to lower the cost of litigation. He said the most effective way to blunt trolling is to make it less costly to see patent litigation through to court so companies will not feel pressed to settle claims quickly. In addition, there needs to be a way to make it more costly for those who file weak patents to maintain them without incurring costs. “He is not pushing that yet, the front end policies, and we need to push on two fronts,” Schankerman said.

Schankerman said that Spangenberg is asking the right questions: What is happening with all of these patents, and is the patent system generating bang for its buck? IPwe and other efforts to apply technology to patents may be able to democratize the patent trade. “Right now it’s hard because we don’t have the information.”

“It’s not that I’m getting more mellow,” Spangenberg said. “My mind is expanding. This is a much bigger opportunity than being a patent troll.”

“As opposed to bitching, I wanted to do something. We can come come up with a better system. There’s a fortune in the fortress of patents, and every now and then someone jumps in and makes money. I want to be able to talk to any asset manager and say, ‘If you understand the patent asset class better, would you deploy capital?’ We can make it possible for a normal human being to understand what patents are doing.”

Read the article from the original source here

The post Buying bitcoin led patent millionaire to even bigger investing idea appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

Bitcoin has fallen double digits over the last week amid a slew of bad news, and one strategist said this loss of momentum could prove negative for the cryptocurrency in the near term.

Boris Schlossberg, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” that bitcoin’s decline over the last week (a loss of a little over 16 percent, according to Coinbase) may spook investors or appear as a dip to buy. But at this juncture, $10,000 per coin is the level to watch. Here are his reasons.

• Bitcoin hasn’t risen above $15,000 since Tuesday, and this apparent loss of momentum may lead to a decline in sentiment.

• The $10,000 mark, at which bitcoin has not traded since November, would be a psychologically important level for the cryptocurrency, which was trading a little over $13,700 per coin on Friday afternoon.

• If bitcoin were to breach that level once again, the critical question would become whether investors would step in to buy the dip or it would lead to further liquidation.

• Earlier this week, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO, said cryptocurrencies would likely “come to a bad ending.” Bitcoin’s price fluctuated wildly this week, too, as South Korea was said to consider a ban on cryptocurrency trading.

Bottom line: Bitcoin’s price has fallen considerably since its highs late last year and could see further pain from a fundamental and technical standpoint, according to a foreign exchange strategist.

Read the article from the original source here

The post After bitcoin’s rough week, currency strategist marks the next level to watch appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

CNBC’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera got a tour inside a bitcoin mine in Wenatchee, Washington.

The mine has 1,800 servers running every day with very little downtime. The operation is run by Malachi Salcido, president and CEO of The Salcido Connection.

Salcido said he produces five-to-seven bitcoin every day, but wants to expand his operation to get up to 50 bitcoin per day.

Check out the video above for more.

Read the article from the original source here

The post What it looks like inside an actual bitcoin mining operation appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

Ethereum Classic (ETC), a fork of Ethereum (ETH), has been overlooked for a long time since most eyes were focused on the main Ethereum blockchain. However, this might come to an end quite soon as the number of ETH transactions are rising sharply and the network is starting to have difficulties to process them. As a result, the transaction fees are already spiking over $1. If this trend continues, the Ethereum network might reach a critical point before �Plasma’, a new technology that should massively increase the network throughput, is implemented.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Since Ethereum Classic provides the same functionality, it is very easy to switch from ETH to ETC if such an overload happens. This would lead to a huge transfer of capital from Ethereum to Ethereum Classic. Here we can take a look at Bitcoin Cash (BCH) as an analogous example. Since Bitcoin failed to implement the SegWit2x hard fork, hundreds of thousands of unconfirmed transactions started to accumulate in the network and transaction fees jumped to tens of dollars. This made Bitcoin Cash with 8MB blocks to be seen as a viable alternative with the same functionality, but much faster and with lower fees. As a result, its price peaked in November 2017 to more than 0.4 BTC in the BTC/BCH market. At the time of writing, the BCH price is around 0.16 BTC.

Although the analogy between ETC and BCH is clear, Ethereum Classic seems to be somehow forgotten and the exchange rate on the ETC / ETH market is as low as 0.032 ETH / ETC at the time of writing. Compared to BCH vs. BTC, the ratio is about 5 times lower.

Predicting something in the crypto world is always uncertain. But if Ethereum starts having problems with the transaction capacity, which is quite likely to happen in the following weeks, there are high odds that Ethereum Classic will gain big profits out of ETH problems.

(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=565369226957592”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

Read the article from the original source here

The post Ethereum Classic – A Sleeping Giant – The Merkle appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

No one can deny that Bitcoin Cash has become very popular very quickly. Although it remains to be seen if it will overtake Bitcoin, there are a few service providers which think that will happen. Moreover, merchants and retailers can now accept BCH payments with relative ease and at an affordable rate. Below are some of the service providers which offer such functionality as of right now. Always do your own research before signing up with any of these companies, though.

Coinify

Most people will have heard the name Coinify before, but for those who haven’t, allow us to explain. The company specializes in providing merchant services related to various cryptocurrencies. Although the company initially supported Bitcoin, it quickly saw the need for other currencies as well. Over time, it added the likes of Dogecoin, NovaCoin, and most recently, Bitcoin Cash. Additionally, the company offers a Bitcoin trading platform. Coinify charges no fee to accept BCH payments, although there is a small fee for converting to specific fiat payment methods.

GoURL

In the world of cryptocurrency, GoURL has almost become a household name. Although it is not on the same level as some other companies on this list, it does offer some valuable services. The company positions itself as a cryptocurrency payment gateway, mainly for online commerce and file sharing purposes. It is the Bitcoin payment box option which will appeal to retailers looking to accept BCH payments.

More specifically, there are no monthly fees, and transaction fees start at zero. Moreover, users can easily accept Bitcoin and other altcoin payments on their websites. Integrating this service is relatively easy and requires just a few lines of code. It is a welcome addition to the list of service providers which have embraced Bitcoin Cash support in recent months. It’s always good to have multiple options at one’s disposal.

CoinPayments

When it comes to accepting cryptocurrency payments on any website, it’s hard to ignore the service provided by CoinPayments. This particular company made a name for itself by accepting over 100 different currencies as payment. Bitcoin Cash is, of course, one of the currencies supported right now. This makes this platform one of the preferred solutions for any merchant or retailer looking to venture into the world of cryptocurrency right now. All incoming payments are subject to a 0.5% fee, which is more than acceptable.

Rocketr

It seems few people have heard about the services provided by Rocketr, even though the company provides a more than valuable service to the masses right now. Especially when it comes to accepting cryptocurrency payments, Rocketr is quickly making headway. It offers multiple payment options which encompass everything from cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies and even credit cards through Stripe. It is a complete solution for anyone accepting payments online, and it’s good to see them accept Bitcoin Cash as well. There is so much more to cryptocurrency than just Bitcoin these days.

Read the article from the original source here

The post Here Are Four Bitcoin Cash Payment Processors Worth Checking Out appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

Most cryptocurrency enthusiasts were surprised to see Stellar in the cryptocurrency top 10 ranked by market cap at the end of 2017. A lot of people ignore currencies which won’t net them quick profits or don’t serve their specific cause. Even so, the Stellar price has successfully surpassed $0.50 last year. Fast forward to today, and the Stellar price surpassed $0.65 again. An interesting bounce back after a very difficult week.

Stellar Price Seems to Follow XRP’s Momentum

If there are two digital assets unlike any cryptocurrency existence today, it has to be XRP and XLM. The latter is also known as Stellar Lumens, another asset designed to transform the financial sector into a more modern version. Cryptocurrency speculators have kept a close eye on the Stellar price ever since the value hit $0.10. Over the past few weeks, that value has risen gradually, despite some major market opposition due to Bitcoin’s struggles.

At its peak, the Stellar price went as high as $0.91. Quite a steep value for an asset which was worth less than $0.20 in early December of 2017. The entire ecosystem has seen multiple currencies and assets explode in value over the past few months. Unfortunately, the Stellar price also hinges son how Bitcoin evolves in the price department. Given the world’s leading cryptocurrency’s struggles, it is not surprising to see Stellar drop to $0.44 earlier this week.

Ever since that time, we have seen the Stellar price mount a somewhat strong comeback. Although it has been a bumpy ride these past few days, we now have a Stellar price of $0.65 once again. It is still too early to speak of reaching a new all-time high in the near future, but anything is possible at this stage. It is uncanny how both the Stellar price and XRP price tend to go up at the same time, even though they are two separate projects which share a similar goal.

With just $439.82m in 24-hour trading volume, things are not looking overly impressive for Stellar right now. In fact, this digital asset has noted a volume of over $1bn per day not that long ago. Then again, the cryptocurrency and digital asset markets are still reeling, as a lot of damage has been caused by the media spreading fake information regarding South Korean exchanges. For now, things are slowly heading back in the right direction, but we are not out of the woods just yet.

Binance is the leading trading platform for Stellar volume as of right now. They are nearly $30m ahead of Bittrex, and $54m ahead of Poloniex. It is evident there is no fiat currency market for Stellar in the entire top five right now. The first platform which fiat currency support is Bitcoin Indonesia in sixth place. Considering how Kraken is still down for maintenance, it is only normal Bitcoin becomes Stellar’s main trading pair for now.

Stellar price speculation serves no real purpose with the market sin their current state. All of the gains noted overnight can easily be wiped out in an hour or two. We can only hope to cryptocurrency and digital asset market is finally returning to normal and things stay stable for longer than a few hours. If that is the case, the Stellar price may very well hit $0.75 before the week is over. For now, trading with caution is the best advice anyone can give you.

(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=565369226957592”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

Read the article from the original source here

The post Stellar Price Retakes $0.65 as all Markets Show Signs of Recovery – The Merkle appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

Ripple Labs Inc. may have finally found someone to use its cryptocurrency for real-world transfers.

The company today said it has signed a deal with MoneyGram International Inc. to try out XRP as a way to facilitate international transfers. Under the trial, MoneyGram will access and use Ripple’s XRP.

The transfers will be processed on xRapid, Ripple’s on-demand liquidity service designed for payment providers and other financial institutions that want to minimize costs while improving their customer experience. What that means is that the transfer platform allows for real-time foreign exchange settlements using XRP, in theory saving time and costs.

“The payments problem doesn’t just affect banks, it also affects companies like MoneyGram, which help people get money to the ones they care about,� Ripple Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement. “By using a digital asset like XRP that settles in three seconds or less, our clients can move money as quickly as information.�

Although it’s just a trial to begin with, it’s still good news for Ripple at a time the six-year-old company has gained unprecedented attention as the price of XRP surged to hold the position of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization for a brief time.

From its start, Ripple has been promising to design a platform and supporting cryptocurrency that would facilitate international financial transfers between banks and other financial institutions. Over the years, Ripple has signed trials with about 15 of the top 50 global banks on internal blockchain transfer systems, including founding the Global Payments Steering Group in 2016. But despite the promise, the company has struggled to deliver on its vision.

The MoneyGram deal may be a sign that Ripple will deliver in 2018 and the company has already said that it won’t be the first deal it will announce this year. In a tweet Jan. 5, it said it expects three of the top five global money transfer companies to start using its services, which implies two more deals are coming.

After being hammered along with other cryptocurrencies after South Korea’s announcement that it was moving to ban cryptocurrency trading, XRP turned the corner on the release of the MoneyGram deal. Its price rose as much as 25 percent at one point before settling back to trade at $1.99 as of 8:45 p.m. EST, up from its low of $1.68 yesterday.

Photo: jeepersmedia/Flickr

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Read the article from the original source here

The post Ripple and Moneygram sign deal to test XRP cryptocurrency for international transfers appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.

Amid the cryptocurrency mania, several companies have launched initiatives to take advantage of the burgeoning assets, from retailer Overstock.com to photo group Kodak. Some much smaller firms have rebranded themselves completely, adding “bitcoin� or “blockchain� directly to their name. In some cases, the companies’ share prices soared in the US, Germany, and Hong Kong after this crypto-tweak.

For example, Bitcoin Services, formerly known as Tulip BioMed, saw its stock increase by as much as 42,500% last year.

Companies have been changing their names to chase the latest craze for years. In the 1990s, adding “.com� to company names was a popular gambit (pdf). More recently, the US Securities and Exchange Commission warned investors about marijuana-themed investments.

As for Bitcoin Services, the company has in fact gone through several names over the years: Before it was Tulip Biomed, it was Cell Bio-Systems, Direct Music Group, BMX Holdings, and JLL Miami Enterprises. It stands out from the other recently rebranded companies because it changed its name to Bitcoin Services all the way back in 2016, according to OTC Markets, yet its shares didn’t catch fire until last year.

The stock’s ascent started around November, when the bitcoin boom was in full force. However, Bitcoin Services’s financial filings from around that time offer few clues that the company was doing anything specific to justify the hysteria. The same can be said of its website, which generally lacks press releases and other investor information, apart from contact information.

The gains don’t always last. Hong Kong-based UBI Blockchain Internet—previously known as JA Energy—soared more than 20,000% before regulators halted buying and selling. Trading was temporarily suspended on Jan. 5 by the SEC (pdf), which said it had questions about the accuracy of the company’s regulatory filings and “unusual� market activity. The shares were quoted on OTC Markets, home to many so-called “penny stocks,� which typically has lower disclosure requirements than larger platforms like the New York Stock Exchange.

Last year, at least a dozen companies saw their stocks trade in ranges spanning 300% or more, as measured by intraday highs and lows, after changing their names to something that evokes cryptocurrencies or blockchain:

// DFP
(function() {
var gads = document.createElement(“script”);
gads.async = true;
gads.type = “text/javascript”;
gads.src = “https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js”;
var node =document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node);
})();

// Chartbeat
var _sf_async_config = {
uid: 55570
};
(function(){
function loadChartbeat() {
window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime();
var e = document.createElement(‘script’);
e.setAttribute(‘src’, ‘https://a248.e.akamai.net/chartbeat.download.akamai.com/102508/js/chartbeat.js’);
document.body.appendChild(e);
}
var oldonload = window.onload;
window.onload = (typeof window.onload != ‘function’) ?
loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); };
})();

// Bizo
var _bizo_data_partner_id = “1016”;
(function(){
var b,a,u;a=document.createElement(“script”);
a.type=”text/javascript”; a.async=true;
u=”https://sjs.bizographics.com/insight.min.js”;
a.src=u; b=document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
return b.parentNode.insertBefore(a,b);
})();

// Comscore
var _comscore = _comscore || [];
_comscore.push({ c1: “2”, c2: “6463921” });
(function() {
var s = document.createElement(“script”), el = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
s.async = true;
s.src = “https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js”;
el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);
})();

// Facebook
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){
if(f.fbq) return;
n=f.fbq=function(){
n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)
};
if(!f._fbq) f._fbq=n;
n.push=n; n.loaded=!0;
n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];
t=b.createElement(e); t.async=!0;
t.src=v; s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)
}(window, document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);

fbq(‘init’, ‘1416115438681460’);
fbq(‘trackCustom’, ‘PixelInitialized’, {});

Read the article from the original source here

The post Putting “bitcoin” or “blockchain” in a company name is sometimes enough for a pop on the stock market — Quartz appeared first on Meanwhile Crypto.