Dutch Bank Flustered Over the Amount of Electricity Bitcoin Consumes

Dutch bank ING is flustered over the fact bitcoin consumes so much energy. Recently, the bank released a report saying bitcoin transactions consume as much electricity as a house does in a month. They seem to believe this is problematic, since traditional electronic payment methods do not use near as much energy, according to the bank. They went on to say fiat cash will still be how people get paid and pay taxes.

An ING senior economist, Teunis Brosens, explained why power usage is so high. “By making sure that verifying transactions is a costly business, the integrity of the network can be preserved as long as benevolent nodes control a majority of computing power.”

The economist then went on to compare bitcoin energy consumption to his household appliances. A Business Insider article captured his thoughts:

This number needs some context. 200 kWh is enough to run over 200 washing cycles. In fact, it’s enough to run my entire home over four weeks, which consumes about 45 kWh per week costing €39 of electricity (at current Dutch consumer prices).

Trusted Third Parties Equals Less Energy Consumption

The ING banker went on to mention that bitcoin’s energy usage model stands in “stark contrast” with legacy financial systems’ energy consumption. He said bitcoin consumes an “exponentially larger” amount of energy. The banker made it seem as if Bitcoin were going to drain all the world of electricity if people do not continue to use the old, “trusted” payment gateways.

The Business Insider article provided the banker’s quote: “Bitcoin’s energy costs stand in stark contrast to payment systems that have the luxury of working with, trusted counterparties. E.g. Visa takes about 0.01kWh (10Wh) per transaction which is 20,000 times less energy.”

Fiat Money is Here to Stay, Say the Bankers

The ING banker concluded by saying that fiat money is here to stay. People will still continue getting their salaries paid in fiat, and they will continue paying tax in fiat. The banker seemed to imply that innovation was unnecessary and legacy financial systems were here to stay, because government and central banks said so. It will be interesting to see what people think about the energy consumption of bitcoin compared to legacy system electricity usage.

Do you agree with the bankers? Does bitcoin power consumption cause a problem? Should people rely on centralized, trusted third parties since energy consumption is so high? Let us know in the comments section below.

At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.

Source : News Bitcoin

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Bank of America Report: Bitcoin's True Value 'Impossible to Assess'

A potential move by global brokerages to offer products around cryptocurrencies could have a big impact on the wider market, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote.

In an Oct. 16 research note entitled "Introducing cryptocurrencies – what are they good for?", the analysts tackle bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum and XRP. The note both covers the basics of the market and dives more specifically into the growing galaxy of open blockchain networks in operation today.

Notably, the report touches on the possible factors that could shape the cryptocurrency market's future progression – including financial products based on the tech.

On this point, the bank's analysts suggest that a move by brokerages to begin offering such services to their clients could affect both the overall liquidity of the market as well as the market capitalization for the relevant cryptocurrencies.

 "The coin universe is dynamic and innovative and volatile; while a true value for cryptocurrencies may be impossible to assess, one factor which we believe could affect their liquidity and market capitalisation would be if one or more global broker/dealers decided to offer institutional-like products," they wrote.

The past year has seen a number of high-profile efforts to build cryptocurrency-tied investment products, and firms like CBOE have described plans to take part in what is still a nascent ecosystem. Even so, regulators in the U.S. have reacted coolly to such proposals thus far.

And according to the Bank of America analysts, it remains far from certain how the market will develop in the months to come.

"At present, these impacts are too far off, and too unpredictable, to form part of an estimate or an investment recommendation," they wrote.

Source : Coindesk

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Crypto Mining Makes Millions for Gold Mining Maverick

Frank Giustra, a well regarded Canadian mining magnate who created one of the world’s most successful mining companies is now moving his operation digitally to mine Cryptocurrency.

Giustra has backed a Blockchain technology company called Hive Blockchain Technologies, which is among the first publicly traded stocks to provide exposure to crypto mining, and for Giustra, he is seeing huge returns.

Six fold returns

The mining mogul has seen rapid growth since entering the Bitcoin market, backing Hive which was previously known as Leeta Gold Corp.

The decision to dig for data servers has paid off as Hive’s shares have soared about 633 percent, giving it a market value of $443 mln since it took over the listing.

Giustra’s foray into the crypto space has been a successful one as he has help drive Hive to be one of the pioneers in terms of a listed crypto mining company.

Hive paid Hong Kong-based Genesis Mining, builder of the world’s largest Ether mining facility, $9 mln and gave it a 30 percent stake to acquire a new data center in Reykjanes, Iceland.

Major mining operation

Hive’s mandate is to expand into other colder countries, such as Iceland and Sweden, in order to mine different coins and amass an inventory which they hope will appreciate. It is with the help of Giustra that they hope to achieve this.

Giustra helped build the company that would become Goldcorp Inc., then founded film studio Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. He counts Bill Clinton and George Soros among his close connections. Those connections may position him to grasp a nascent corner of finance and navigate Bitcoin’s uncertain regulatory waters.

Still a niche market

Despite the visible success seen from Giustra, companies like Hive are still very much in the minority, and while their pioneering moves are believed to make the market more open and available, there are still those who believed it is niche.

“I suspect the vast majority of accounts aren’t contemplating an investment in virtual currencies right now,” said Jeff Klingelhofer, managing director of Thornburg InvestmentManagement Inc.

Source : Cointelegraph

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Bitcoin SegWit2x Hard Fork Benefits Not Visible: Bruce Fenton

Bitcoin Foundation executive director Bruce Fenton has become the latest high-profile Bitcoin personality to criticize SegWit2x.

In comments on Twitter Sunday, Fenton triggered responses from other well-known Bitcoin industry and community figures after he wrote that he “didn’t see the benefit” of the hard fork.

“What's the end goal? Switching dev teams alone?” he asked. “What makes it worth it? ROI?”

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Bruce Fenton @brucefenton

I don't see the benefit of NYA / 2x at this stage.
What's the end goal? Switching dev teams alone?
What makes it worth it? ROI?
Explain.

11:19 AM - Oct 15, 2017

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SegWit2x’s imminent activation has led to increasingly hostile rhetoric from supporters of Bitcoin Core, who frequently suggest the fork is an attempt to unseat its developers as a “hostile takeover.”

Fenton stopped short of stating outright SegWit2x would be hostile to Bitcoin, instead appearing to reinforce the futility of the operation.

“If the goal is to simply to honor agreements then people shouldn't have made those agreements to begin with,” he added in a further tweet.

Reacting, others could not agree on whether the goal of November’s fork was to switch development teams.

“I don't think goal is to switch, but to coerce Core to adopt block size increase,” BitGo engineer Jameson Lopp wrote, while entrepreneur Tuur Demeester conversely stated his opinion to the contrary.

Despite the supposed threat posed to Bitcoin network stability, prices have increased in the run-up to the fork’s November 18 deadline.

Meanwhile, the fifth hard fork of Ethereum occurred problem-free over the weekend, with prices rising towards $350.

Source : Cointelegraph

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World Bank President: Everyone Is Excited About Blockchain, Not Bitcoin

The president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, was bullish about Blockchaintechnology when he spoke with CNBC during an interview. However, while expressing his positive views of the technology, he was quick to point out that there are risks when it comes to Blockchain technology derivatives like Bitcoin. When asked if the Blockchain based currencies were viable, he said:

"Blockchain technology is something that everyone is excited about, but we have to remember that Bitcoin is one of the very few instances [of Blockchain’s use in currency]. And the other times when Blockchain was used they were basically Ponzi schemes, so it’s very important that if we go forward with it, we're sure that it’s not going to be used to exploit.”

The World Bank functions as a lending house for national governments in order to provide needed capital. The institution has already been considering Blockchain technology solutions for some time, particularly in areas of financial transparency.

As the interview progressed, Kim’s views on Bitcoin became more clear, as he compared it with Chinese giant Alibaba, in terms of the speed and accuracy of transactions. He commented that with Alibaba, a transaction of $160,000 takes just ‘three seconds’ and that the company was able to assess the creditworthiness of the transaction in that amount of time. The implication being that Bitcoin is unnecessary when legacy models can do similar things.

Source: Cointelegraph

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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: Bitcoin For Money Launderers Only

BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink, has recently adjusted his perspective on Bitcoin, stating that the cryptocurrency is just a money laundering scheme. Fink had previously made some relatively positive comments about Bitcoin, but has shifted his position.

The head man at the largest asset management firm in the world spoke out against Bitcoin during the same Institute of International Finance panel discussion in which Jamie Dimon called Bitcoin buyers ‘stupid.’ Fink said:

"Bitcoin just shows you how much demand for money laundering there is in the world. That’s all it is. It’s an index of money laundering.”

The comments were met with chuckles from the crowd, even as Fink looked at Dimon as he spoke.

These recent comments indicate the substantial divide there is in Wall Street between industry leaders like Tommy Lee at Fundstrat and others, who have supported Bitcoin as an asset, and Dimon and others who have denigrated it.

Source: Cointelegraph

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Dimon Breaks Vow : "Bitcoin Buyers Will Pay the Price"

Jamie Dimon is back on the bitcoin commentary bandwagon.

Just a day after declaring on a third-quarter earnings call that he would refrain commenting on the cryptocurrency, the JPMorgan Chase CEO offered a critical take on those investing in bitcoin.

"If you're stupid enough to buy it, you'll pay the price for it one day," he said today at an event hosted by the Institute of International Finance, according to a report from CNBC. During the event, he reportedly voiced support for the cryptocurrency's underlying technology – an area in which the WallStreet bank has undertaken a number of notable efforts, including the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.

Per CNBC, Dimon also reportedly said that he "could care less about what [price] bitcoin trades at."

A report from Bloomberg includes additional details about Dimon's latest comments. He reportedly said that bitcoin is "great" for criminals, and that – in a refrain from yesterday – that it would be the last time he would comment on the subject.

"Who cares about bitcoin?" he was quoted as saying.

The remarks are the latest from Dimon, whose now-infamous comment in September that bitcoin is a "fraud" sparked a wave of commentary about bitcoin itself as well as the wider cryptocurrency market. Other Wall Street figures, including Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and ex-Fortress billionaire Mike Novogratz, have also weighed in on the topic.

His comments also come on the day that bitcoin's price rose above $5,800 to hit anew all-time high. At press time, the price of bitcoin is trading at about $5,689, according to the Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).

Source : CoinDesk

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Why Banks are so Nervous About Bitcoin

There was a time where Bitcoin was not even on the radar, it was a novel idea that was primarily used by thieves and drug dealers on the dark web. Nothing to be afraid of in terms of holding a monopoly on money.

However, that same little upstart is now disrupting the system of things; from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, ICOs and the ever impressive Blockchain technology. This is now a legitimate threat on traditional banks.

"Bitcoin’s skyrocketing run in value, as well as adoption and mainstream acceptance, has led to banks - and regulators, getting very nervous and instigating a few knee jerk reactions. These reactions are, however, simply asserting the fact that Bitcoin is a legitimate disruptive threat."

• Bitcoin taking on the banks

Regulators are trying to play catch up with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, realising now that it’s not going away. In fact, it is challenging their monetary system which is intrinsically linked to banks, and especially central, government-backed, banks.

China, especially, Russia, recently, Japan and the US have played their hands in varying degrees of harshness in efforts to try and control the decentralized monetary idea.

In fact, traditional centralised, powerful organisations like banks, governments, regulators and technology behemoths are all spending billions in figuring out how to use and control distributed trust technologies.

• A powershift

Banks have existed unchallenged for hundreds of years, and that is the key issue here; Bitcoin, backed by a solid platform such as Blockchain technology, is a ghost that is incredibly hard to control due to its decentralized nature.

"John McAfee has been brazen about regulators’ power plays to try and control Bitcoin, saying that they will never be able to ban it."

The power and control of money is being ripped away from traditional institutions, which can also be seen on Wall Street. Some of these traditional investors are siding with what could be the future, while others vehemently denounce it.

Individuals can now enter into direct peer-to-peer trusted exchanges with strangers. They no longer need a central institution to vouch for the other party.

Just like the fax machine, the library, even metered taxis, new technologies have come along and made others obsolete. Banks are now in the sights of Bitcoin and are in their death throws, as they lash out with the power of states behind them.

However, there’s no stopping progress, and even with state-backed regulations trying to wrestle the money of the people under control, banks have every reason to be nervous.

Source : Cointekegraph

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Coinbase Rolls Out Instant US Bitcoin Buys

Coinbasehas removed a major hurdle for US customers purchasing Bitcoin via bank transfer, cutting the waiting period from 3-5 days to “instantly.”

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Coinbase 

✔@coinbase

Excited to announce instant digital currency purchases using a US bank accounthttps://blog.coinbase.com/announcing-instant-bitcoin-ethereum-and-litecoin-purchases-on-coinbase-c29d8a94e152 …

4:00 PM - Oct 12, 2017

Announcing instant bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin purchases on CoinbaseWe are excited to announce the ability for customers to instantly purchase digital currency using a US bank account. Previously, customers…blog.coinbase.com

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“Previously, customers who purchased using a bank account had to wait several days before receiving their digital currency,” the post clarifies.

“Customers can now buy up to $25,000[...] and receive access to their digital currency immediately.”

Under the previous setup, customers would agree an exchange rate and take the risk associated with fluctuating prices in the five-day period prior to receiving their coins. On social media, users frequently reported waiting up to double the time stated by Coinbase itself.

The stakes are now higher for Coinbase’s coffers, the company is also taking on exposure from coins cleared off its books prior to the equivalent fiat payment reaching its account.

Zach Abrams, head of product, was quoted by TechCrunch as saying:

“Coinbase uses proprietary fraud prevention systems it has developed over the last five years, to determine how this instant purchase feature is rolled out to groups of customers, and that the customers with access to this feature have sufficient balance in their bank account with good purchase history.”

Around 15,000 account holders will receive the instant buy function initially, with a wider rollout coming later.

Source : Cointekegraph

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India Central Bank ‘In Process’ of Making Bitcoin Regulation

India has refused to comment on its progress with cryptocurrency regulation, only appearing to confirm that official plans were “in progress.”

Reports by local news outlet Economic Times quote Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor NS Vishwanathan as making comments to the press at an event in Calcutta today.

“I can’t comment on a policy that is still in the making,” he said.

Draft proposals of a recommendations on how to regulate cryptocurrency in India surfaced in August. These were the result of a government panel specifically tasked with researching the issue in April.

Cryptocurrency investment and trading have ballooned in the country ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s highly contentious cash reforms began in November 2016.

Dash Core CEO Ryan Taylor said earlier this week:

“Measures of economic freedom are strongly correlated with economic success throughout the world. In India, a great deal of friction was introduced with the immediate banning of the vast majority of the country’s circulating currency. In contrast, digital currencies are freely transferred person-to-person anywhere in the world instantly. This can have a dramatic positive impact on an economy suffering from onerous financial restrictions like India.”

Indians have overwhelmingly used cash as the basic means of exchange, and aggressive government plans to make payments digital and link transactions to participants biometrically have received considerable criticism.

Taylor added:

“I doubt digital currency will overtake the rupee anytime soon, but dysfunction certainly creates the right environment to motivate consumers and businesses to seek an alternative like digital currency to address their needs.”

Source : Cointekegraph 

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Bitcoin's Price Keeps Rising, But Can he reach $6,000 ?

Bitcoin hit a new record high of $5,856 on CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index this morning, but the question everyone will be asking is, can the rally continue?

At press time, bitcoin is trading at $5,610 levels, as per CoinMarketCap data. Bitcoin's week-on-week performance of over 28 percent (up more than $1,200,) is double S&P's year-to-date gains of 14 percent.

Further, the cryptocurrency is up 96 percent from its Sept. 15 low of $2,980, and, on a year-to-date basis, is up almost 500 percent.

Following a rally of such astonishing proportions, it would be quite logical to assume bitcoin prices will trade sideways, or witness a healthy pull-back in the short run

The price action analysis indicates that bitcoin could find a short-term top in the range of $5,800-$6,000.

A short-term consolidation around $5,800 or brief spike to $6,000 followed by a short-term pull back to $5,000-$5,300 looks more likely.

Source : CoinDesk

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PBoC Digital Currency Director Calls for Centralized State Cryptocurrency

China may not recognize bitcoin as a legal currency, but it seems to have a clear vision for a state-issued alternative.

At a meeting hosted by the International Telecommunication Union this week, Yao Qian, the Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute under the People's Bank of China, reportedly boasted about the potential of a state-owned digital currency, while suggesting that there is an inherent lack of value anchoring public cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

According to a report by Yicai, Yao also framed a state-issued digital currency as a way to stabilize domestic fiat currency, while better securing country's financial status.

Although the publication made clear Yao's comments reflected his own opinions, the remarks nonetheless reveal how the country may choose to direct the future development of digital currency.

Yao told attendees:

"The value of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin primarily comes from the market speculation. It will be a disaster to recoganize it as a real currency. And the lack of a value anchroing inherently determines that bitcoin can never be a real one."

Launched by China's central bank in June this year, the Digital Currency Research Institute focuses on R&D related to blockchain-based digital currency. Currently head of the institute, Yao also served as the deputy director of PBoC's technology department.

Pointed barbs

Elsewhere, Qian had more criticism for public cryptocurrencies.

In yet another statement, he was quoted as saying that the deflationary nature of economic systems utilizing the technology could be a hinderance to their success. "A total cap of 21 million like bitcoin whose current supply also halves every four years is actually driving backward along the currency evolution," he said.

Yao went on to argue that a state-owned digital currency, however, creates tangible economic values and helps stabilize the market position of fiat currencies.

"The nature of a state-owned digital currency is a government liability issued to the public," he said. "And it's backed by the sovereign credibility."

Yet, Yao takes a different approach from current trials of other central banks' cryptocurrency projects that focus on the distributed ledger technology.

Citing the RSCoin design concept by the Bank of England as a promising example, Yao argued that such state-owned digital currency should not be confined by the ideology of the blockchain and DLT.

"RSCoin pictures a system that is controlled by the central bank," he said. "The role of central banks may not just be deciding how much to supply but also designing the rule of the supplying algorithm."

Source : CoinDesk

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