January 8, 2020

Bitcoin History Part 23: The First BTC Escrow

January 8, 2020 boss

Before the emergence of crypto exchanges and trustless multi-sig, early bitcoiners saw the need for an escrow service – a mediator to act as a go-between for strangers transacting online. Given the panoply of options now available, it is strange to think that escrow was once provided by a few early supporters, who put their reputation on the line to give buyer and seller the protection they desired. So, how did the first bitcoin escrow service come about? Also read: Bitcoin History Part 22: The New Wealthy Elite “Bitcoin Escrow?”…

Largest Bitcoin Mining Facility Finds Perfect Match in Texas

January 8, 2020 boss

SBI Holdings and GMO Internet are all geared up to launch a massive Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas. This supports a very strong narrative at play in the Bitcoin mining industry. More and more miners have moved away from Asia are migrating to the United States. Texas, in particular, has cheap energy and strong Libertarian roots, as reported by Bloomberg, January 8, 2019. Mining Capacity Not Slowing Down While the community has been breaking out into debates as to whether the Bitcoin halving is priced in or not, miners have seemingly…

Joint Coinbase-Circle Stablecoin Project USDC Listed on Competitor Kraken

January 8, 2020 boss

Crypto exchange Kraken has added stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) to its list of trading pairs. Touted as “the world’s fastest-growing stablecoin,” USDC saw listing today on crypto exchange Kraken, per a press release provided to Cointelegraph on Jan. 8. USDC developed by Circle and Coinbase Payment company Circle, alongside crypto exchange powerhouse Coinbase, founded an endeavor called the Centre Consortium, developing USDC under the Centre name. An Ethereum-based (ERC-20) token, USDC is a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar, allowing traders and investors to park their money in a stable…

Turkey’s University Center to Develop Blockchain Projects on Cornell Prof’s Ava Platform

January 8, 2020 boss

In advance of its mainnet launch, Ava Labs has partnered with BlockchainIST Center in Turkey to create blockchain-based products for daily use. BlockchainIST, Turkey’s first university blockchain center, partnered with Cornell University’s Emin Gün Sirer‘s Ava Labs to develop DeFi products on the Ava Platform. The press event took place on Jan. 6 at Bahcesehir University in İstanbul, Turkey. BlockchainIST Founder and Director Bora Erdamar told Cointelegraph that Bahçeşehir University postgraduates and Istanbul Blockchain School students needed a solid consensus architecture to develop DeFi and other blockchain-based products, and Ava…

Turkey’s University Center to Develop Blockchain Projects on Cornell Prof’s Ava Platform

January 8, 2020 boss

Crypto Trading Privacy Gets a Boost as $15M of Tether Moves to Liquid Sidechain

January 8, 2020 boss

Stronger privacy is coming to the largest stablecoin, tether, with a recent blockchain-to-blockchain swap of $15 million worth of tokens. At 11:27 UTC on Jan. 7, stablecoin issuer Tether conducted a cross-chain swap of some 15 million USDT reserves from ethereum to Blockstream’s Liquid, a federated sidechain running parallel to the bitcoin blockchain. The technical possibility of USDT’s Liquid debut was first announced in July 2019. Innocuous at first glance, the transfer has implications for both digital asset trading and the larger tether market, which saw a mass migration from…

Lenovo Using Eco-Friendly Methods to Help Run GoChain Blockchain

January 8, 2020 boss

Computer manufacturing giant Lenovo will help run the blockchain network for GoChain, a blockchain protocol startup. Lenovo will lend a hand to GoChain’s network, operating a signing node which “will be the first of its kind to be operated in a liquid immersion data center for cooling,” a Jan. 6 press release said. An eco-friendly endeavor Created by a company called Midas Green Technology, the mentioned data center cooling methods reportedly require less energy than other techniques, including air-based temperature control measures, the release noted. Employing this efficient technology, Blockchain…

China’s Nationwide Blockchain Network BSN Will Launch in April 2020

January 8, 2020 boss

China’s nationwide blockchain network, the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), will launch in April 2020, six months after it was rolled out for testing. Backed by Chinese government policy think tank the State Information Center (SIC), the ambitious project aims to provide a trusted and scalable infrastructure for supporting new blockchain projects as well as the development of smart cities and the digital economy. BSN is a joint initiative of China’s state policy think tank and state-run companies Tang Sisi, deputy head of the Smart City Development Research Center of the…

Libra Exec Boasts Project’s Benefits Over Bitcoin at CES 2020

January 8, 2020 boss

The vice-chairman of the Libra Association has been touting the benefits of the project over Bitcoin at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Dante Disparte, the vice-chairman of the non-profit organization overseeing the proposed digital currency led by Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), was speaking at the Digital Money Forum of the CES, where he emphasized Libra’s advantages over Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in the world. “Bitcoin as an asset class has proven that mathematical scarcity can support an incredibly exciting asset,” said Disparte, before adding, “It’s not a means of…

Libra Exec Boasts Project’s Benefits Over Bitcoin at CES 2020

January 8, 2020 boss