Too many people ask me about technical and business insights to give them all a decent, in-depth answer: this way I can refer them here for a lot of that, giving them at least a start on the topic (and as a freebie). I do not offer these posts as e-Mail subscriptions. Of course, all sources are clearly marked and mentioned.
The rise of major Bitcoin mining institutions is inevitable-- 15 Nov marks a new era for mining institutionalization, bringing with it both benefits and challenges. There are very few investments that can deliver an infrastructure-style downside case with a venture-capital-style upside. The combination of energy arbitrage with accumulating a balance sheet of Bitcoin (BTC) can deliver this. That is why… Read More
Central bank digital currencies are dead in the water-- 15 Nov CBDCs won’t fundamentally be changing anything — central banks still want to control your wealth and your money. By Mark Binns Mark my words: Governments and central banks will never care about your wealth and your privacy as much as you do. That reality is exactly why central bank digital… Read More
‘Slippery slope’ as new Bitcoin mining pool censors transactions-- 12 Nov The launch of a new 'censored' mining pool has some Bitcoiners worried its a harbinger of things to come. Blockchain analytics platform BlockSeer has launched the private beta version of a new Bitcoin (BTC) mining pool (Blockseer Mining Pool) that censors transactions from blacklisted wallets. The pool will use BlockSeer… Read More
The SEC collected $ billion from unregistered ICOs in 12 Nov In a record-breaking year, the SEC seized $ billion — more than a quarter of which came from cryptocurrency-related firms. The Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has collected more than $ billion in illegal income and fines this year so far — with more than one… Read More
Why we need the universal Blockchain engine. One example 20 Aug By Thomas J Ackermann - Serial Entrepreneur, CyberDefense & Blockchain Architect In the current edition of CAPITAL magazine Germany is a short article on "Digitalization" in Germany (above) - it uses a "blockchain driven" company to show governments how to use technology to make paperwork-based processes faster and more convenient… Read More
Zahl der deutschen Bankfilialen auf dem Niveau der 50er Jahre-- 18 Aug Deutschlands Bankenbranche ist im Umbruch - das zeigt sich unter anderem an der sinkenden Zahl der Bankfilialen. Das zeigt die Statista-Grafik auf Basis von Daten der Deutschen Bundesbank. So gab es im Jahr noch über so genannte Bankstellen (Kopfstellen plus Zweigstellen). Heute sind es mit etwa Bankstellen… Read More
&#;Easy Steal&#;: A Tor Vulnerability May Have Enabled Dark Web Bitcoin Theft-- 13 Aug Confirmed malicious Tor exit capacity controlled by a malicious player. Stealing Bitcoin from Tor users is easy. According to recently published research, an attacker has found vulnerabilities in the Tor browser network that might have allowed them to steal Bitcoin (BTC) from users. Tor was developed by the U.S. government… Read More
Berlin &#; Investitionshauptstadt / German Investment Capital-- 16 Jul ,2 Milliarden Euro Risikokapital wurden laut der Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft EY in deutsche Start-Ups investiert, das entspricht einem Plus von rund 36 Prozent gegenüber dem Vorjahr. Davon gingen etwa 3,7 Milliarden Euro an Berliner Unternehmen. Damit ist die Bundeshauptstadt gleichsam auch Investitionshauptstadt. Mehr als die Hälfte (59 Prozent), der hierzulande in… Read More
Researchers Say New Lightning Network Attack Could Create ‘Chaos’-- 01 Jul The Lightning Network is susceptible to attacks that could drain Bitcoin wallets by flooding the blockchain. A study published on June 29 revealed a way to drain Bitcoin (BTC) wallets’ funds on the Lightning Network by exploiting a bottleneck in the system. According to the “Flood & Loot: A Systemic… Read More
Cybercriminals Use the Blockchain to Relay Secret Messages-- 26 Jun SophosLabs published a study that revealed hackers use the blockchain network to share secret messages. A group of researchers from SophosLabs state that hackers operating the cryptojacking malware, Glupteba, have been using the Bitcoin blockchain network to communicate in secret. According to the report published on June 24, cybercriminals rely… Read More
Ökonomie-Urvater Adam Smith &#; Zitat-- 09 Mar Ein Satz des Ökonomie-Urvaters Adam Smith: „Die Verachtung der Gefahr und die dreiste Hoffnung des Gelingens sind in keinem Teil des Lebens wirksamer als zu der Zeit, da junge Leute sich ihre Berufsarten wählen.“ Read More
Investitionsstau in Deutschland-- 23 Jan In Deutschland wird derzeit diskutiert, ob der Staat genug in Infrastruktur und Bildung investiert. Wie die Statista-Grafik auf Basis einer Auswertung des Handelsblatts zeigt, ist das Volumen nicht abgerufener Fördergelder beträchtlich. So sind die Gelder der beiden Fonds, mit denen besonders finanzschwache Kommunen gefördert werden sollen, bis Ende letzten Jahres… Read More
Bitcoin &#; The Only Cryptocurrency Proven So Far: Decision To Delist All Crypto But Bitcoin-- 27 Dec Coinfloor’s CEO Explains Decision to Delist All Crypto but Bitcoin London-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinfloor will delist all cryptocurrencies but Bitcoin (BTC) to focus on Bitcoin only services in January. The United Kingdom’s oldest crypto exchange will delist all cryptos including the second-biggest altcoin Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in… Read More
&#;Cryptocurrency Is Most Useful for Breaking Laws and Social Constructs&#;-- 11 Dec Jill Carson, co-founder of Open Money Initiative Opinion Piece - an interesting read: Jill Carson is co-founder of the Open Money Initiative, a non-profit research organization working to guarantee the right to a free and open financial system, and co-host of the What Grinds My Gears podcast. She also works… Read More
Ethereum Istanbul — Faster, But Still Not the World Computer — and now PoS :(-- 10 Dec Vitalik Buterin has claimed that Ethereum will support 3, transactions per second after the upcoming Istanbul fork. By Miko Matsumura Will this unleash a new wave of Ethereum creativity? Might we expect a surge in traffic on the Ethereum network? Could its increase influence the price of ETH? Ethereum is… Read More
Canada-Based Crypto Mining Firm Great North Data Files for Bankruptcy-- 06 Dec Canada-based cryptocurrency mining company Great North Data has submitted a bankruptcy filing, purportedly due to insolvency. As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Dec. 4, Great North Data — which operated crypto mining facilities in Labrador City and Happy Valley-Goose Bay — filed bankruptcy documents in late November, listing CA$… Read More
BRICS Nations Discuss Shared Crypto to Break Away From USD and SWIFT-- 05 Dec BRICS is the acronym coined for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or the BRICS economic bloc, are engaging in discussions to issue cross-national digital money in order to reduce the dependence of their… Read More
Ripple Finalizes $50 Million Investment To Make MoneyGram Use Its xRapid Product-- 05 Dec Payments startup Ripple has completed the acquisition of its $50 million stake in remittance platform MoneyGram, the companies announced Monday. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple, in its final payment, bought $20 million of MoneyGram equity at a price of $ per share,… Read More
Cisco Patent Would Secure 5G Networks With a Blockchain-- 05 Dec Network tech giant Cisco has won a patent detailing how it could leverage blockchain to secure the data in 5G telecommunication networks. The San Jose, Calif.-based company submitted a patent application in June for a blockchain platform that can be natively integrated in wireless networks, according to a Nov.… Read More
France to Test Its Central Bank Digital Euro Currency in Q1/ 05 Dec The central bank of France plans to pilot a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for financial institutions in François Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Bank of France, announced that the bank will start testing the digital euro project by the end of the first quarter , French… Read More
German Airline Company Hahn Air Issues Tickets on Blockchain-- 03 Dec German airline Hahn Air claims to be the first airline company to issue tickets on a blockchain, the firm announced in a press release on Nov. The ticket sale using blockchain technology was made possible through Hahn Air’s collaboration with a decentralized platform for the travel industry, Winding Tree.… Read More
Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Explained-- 03 Dec What is a zero-knowledge proof? A zero-knowledge proof is a digital protocol that allows for data to be shared between two parties without the use of a password or any other information associated with the transaction. In its most basic sense, a zero-knowledge proof (also commonly referred to as ZKP)… Read More
Opera-Backed Fintech OPay Seals $M Investment to Grow Across Africa-- 03 Dec Lagos-headquartered fintech Opay has sealed $ million in a series B financing round from a host of high-profile Chinese investors. Founded in by web browser developer Opera, OPay — which focuses on developing digital payments solutions to promote financial inclusion — had previously raised $50 million in June of… Read More
New Bitcoin Core Software Update Uses Bech32 Addresses by Default-- 25 Nov The Bitcoin Core development team released the latest update on Nov. 24 to Bitcoin (BTC)’s original software client — the nineteenth in the coin’s eleven-year history. Releasing Bitcoin Core (eventually in the available download version, following the discovery of a last-minute issue) was overseen by lead maintainer Wladimir… Read More
Beyond 3nm: The END of Silicon &#; The Future of Computing-- 22 Nov We are finally getting to the end of progression in silicon technology. What will replace silicon? This video covers some of the potentials of future computing architecture. Liquid Transistor (Gallium & Iridium) Nanomagenetics (Vortex Domain Wall Structures) Light (Optical) Computing - Surface Plamons Quantum Computing (Superposition Calculations) Alternative Materials to… Read More
Informatiker dringend gesucht-- 21 Nov von Frauke Suhr - 20 NOV Der deutschen Wirtschaft fehlen weiterhin qualifizierte Fachkräfte. Im Oktober waren laut einer aktuellen Auswertung des IW Köln bundesweit rund Stellen im MINT-Bereich unbesetzt. Seit hat sich diese Zahl fast verdoppelt, wie die Statista-Grafik zeigt. Vor allem gut ausgebildete Informatiker werden… Read More
China’s Zhejiang Processes $6B via Blockchain Medical Billing Platform-- 20 Nov China’s Zhejiang province has processed nearly $6 billion via a blockchain medical billing platform using Ant Financial’s blockchain technology, Chinese publication QNSB reports on Nov. Successfully piloted in , the blockchain-enabled platform allows citizens to make doctor’s appointments, get prescriptions as well as pay, record and store their medical… Read More
eCommerce &#;Pipka&#; Card Skimmer Removes Itself After Infecting Sites-- 19 Nov [a Blockchain-based payment solution does not have those kind of hacking issues TJACK] The web skimmer has been spotted on at least 17 popular eCommerce websites, a new Visa alert warns. A new JavaScript payment card skimmer, dubbed Pipka, has been identified on at least seventeen merchant websites attempting… Read More
Proof-of-Authority Algorithm Use Cases Grow: From Pharma to Games-- 17 Nov Blockchain it is not: the Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus algorithm does not require miners to be involved at all and obviously forsakes on the year proven test case against hacking and compromise of the PoW Blockchain. - TJACK While the proof-of-authority consensus algorithm is turning into perhaps one of the… Read More
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Sees Biggest Drop as Hash Rate Spikes-- 11 Nov Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty adjusted downwards more than at any time since its price low on Nov. 8, data shows. As noted by entrepreneur and cryptocurrency commentator Alistair Milne on Monday, difficulty fell by around 7% after the network’s latest readjustment. Difficulty reveals Bitcoin network maneuvering Mining difficulty refers… Read More
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