News Archives - The Crypto Machine

Two Pillars Beginners need to mull over for better Cryptocurrency Security

December 1, 2017

It was not so long ago when the word Bitcoin came to attention. At first it was just shrugged off as a tech concept made up by some crazy dude from Japan. Fast forward a few years, Bitcoin managed to transform into one of the hottest commodity you can buy. In fact, countries are beginning to recognize it as currency like the nation of Japan.

If you want to keep yourself safe from attacks and would-be thieves if you own a Bitcoin or two then there are a lot of guidelines you can follow that will help you achieve such a feat.

However, this can be easily be summed up with just a few words which is “be paranoid”. Yes you have read that right, mimicking the symptoms of a paranoid person in order to protect your holdings just might work.

Begin the Journey the right way

This refers to the process of choosing your Bitcoin wallet. If right from the start you get this wrong, your money will surely go down the drain and there is nothing you can do about it. There are two types of strong Bitcoins, the first is you possessing the private keys to your own cryptocurrency wallet while the second is that an exchange company holds it for you.

The second type offers you ease of use if you intend to engage in trading cryptocurrencies, but also poses the most risk since if the company is hacked or downed there is a chance that you might not recover what you have lost.

Apply Basic Online Security Principles

This is the part where you bring out your inner-paranoid. Use strong passwords, and don’t be lazy and recycle passwords. If you can’t remember them write it down on paper only you have access to. Be wary of links that lead to phishing scams. Note that a lot of people still fall for this scheme. And do not announce into the world that you have coins in your pocket meaning do not brag about it too much on social media. This will only make you a visible target.

The 10 Thousand Dollar Threshold was just surpassed by Bitcoin

November 29, 2017

For some, Bitcoin has been a bubble that is waiting to pop right from the start, but it seems as though that the bubble continues to defy the pessimists’ expectations since it just crossed the $10K last November 28.

Being almost irrelevant when it started as a currency back in 2009 and regularly brushed off as another scam that will be used by the malicious to siphoned money from the law abiding citizens, Bitcoin has come a long way if you look at how lucrative owning Bitcoin has become.

Positive Movements Indicating a Positive Future

There are a couple of good news when it comes to the future outlook of Bitcoin if you are to interpret the movement of big entities moving into Bitcoin as explained by Riccardo Spagni, a leading developer of privacy cryptocurrency Monero. The current surge in the price of bitcoin is primarily fuelled by money coming in from institutions. He mentions that there are already 120 hedge funds that are focused on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. And that bitcoin has proved to be stable despite the unprecented pool of investors coming in.

Spagni explains that this phenomenon can only be explained that these businesses already believe that the cryptocurrency bitcoin will at least stay on for at least 10 to 20 years.

A Global Validation

If you ask Patrick McCorry a PhD candidate for the University College London and a leading cryptocurrency researcher the mere fact that the value of Bitcoin reached at least the $10k threshold proves that bitcoin is now accepted as an International currency. This is a complete 180 to at least 5 years ago when bitcoin was still at its infancy stage and was not generally accepted as a concept.

The growth of bitcoin is well and good however he is concerned that it may result to a loss of money when the bubble pops because the price drive is due more to people wanting to make a quick return rather than the actual use for the cryptocurrency.

John McAfee predicts Bitcoin at $1Million By End of 2020

November 27, 2017

Bitcoin being already a controversial concept despite the successes it celebrated lately easily becomes a trending topic again and again especially when famous personas mention it publicly.

John McAfee

The latest notable person to make a crazy announcement involving Bitcoin is no less than John McAfee, founder of McAfee Associates, the company responsible for rolling out the first commercial antivirus software. John McAfee drew both flak and praise last year when he publicly commented on how the iPhone used by the San Bernardino attacker can be hacked in thirty minutes. He gave an overview on the steps on how to hack an iPhone or any computer for that matter on various media outlets.

A crazy self-imposed challenge

This year however he decided to end 2017 with a big buzz by commenting that he will be eating his own manhood if by 2020 Bitcoin does not have a value of $1 million yet. He has been known for making outrageous comments in support of Bitcoin. This was not the first time he mentioned about eating his own self. In fact last July, he promised the same act if the cryptocurrency did not surpassed $500 thousand by three years.

McAfee not alone to make the prediction

However the enigmatic McAfee is not alone in this prediction, because others are also making that bold prediction. James Altucher a former hedge fund manager and a self-help guru also predicts that Bitcoin will be worth $1 million come year 2020. He justifies this by making the analogy that there are 15 million millionaires in the world who would quickly invest in Bitcoin once their financial advisors tell them to do so.

There is logic amidst the hype

Although these outlandish comments about the bullish future of Bitcoin seem like all hype, there are actually valid points that support a future of growth. One reason would be the acceptance of Bitcoin by institutions like the nation of Japan among others.

A real world application of the blockchain concept could revolutionize the consulting industry

November 25, 2017

The Blockchain technology has a lot of uses that innovators can use to revolutionize industries that do not have an efficient system in place yet. Due to its inherent secure trait that also promotes accuracy and speed of transactions, the Blockchain concept is an ideal system for some businesses that require such aspects.

One such industry that will be seeing better days ahead with the Blockchain technology is the ‘Expert or Master’ consulting industry.

In running a business, there can be a lot of scenarios that would require the proprietors to seek the help of a consultant whether they need help in getting through a rough financial patch unscathed or even in deciding which marketing stunt to pursue in order to garner better results.

In today’s world, the reach of any entity has been exponentially expanded due to the advancements in technology, thus an online consultant is now not uncommon.

A Blockchain-inspired Consulting Software is better than existing tools

Despite the rich software tools available out there to aid consultants and their clients to communicate and collaborate online, there is still an ample space for improvement. The current top online communication tools such as Skype, Viber, and the like lack the functions that a blockchain application would offer. Such as the ability to eliminate the limiting factor of differing time zones if the two parties come from different parts of the globe. With the blockchain concept, information and knowledge will be updated real time regardless of the differing times and there will a perfect documentation of all transactions for all the parties or blocks involved in that particular blockchain.

The retrieval of the past information and files will also be a breeze with a blockchain-inspired consulting software which will greatly minimize all the nuances caused by an inferior system.

Philippines SEC “open-minded” on Bitcoin

November 23, 2017

Bitcoin, being a revolutionary concept, took time to garner support behind it but is slowly gaining international recognition by different government agencies. In the Philippines, a big step is happening for the cryptocurrency world for the regulatory powers of the country is formulating ways on how to become more open to this new ‘thing’ growing in the financial world.

The principal regulator that spoke out about Bitcoin talked about the possible use of virtual currencies offerings as potential securities that will be under the supervision of the regulation code guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He emphasized a move to proper legalization bringing along the Philippine central bank for consultation on future maneuvers with regards to the cryptocurrency.

This move by Commissioner Emilio Aquino is certainly in the right direction if the positive results experienced by the government of Japan due to their open policies toward Bitcoin, is to be considered.

Calata’s CALCOIN as an example

A move by an agricultural firm, Calata Corporation, to cyptocurrency to raise capital after being stripped off its formal stock exchange due to violations has further put the pressure on the Philippine Securities Exchange Commission to step in into the scene since they have been monitoring the growing number of initial coin offerings for a while now as what Commissioner Aquino said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had already endorsed at least six companies that cater to Overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) remittances. These companies are money services businesses that offer alternative ways that help OFWs send their earnings back to the Philippines at lower costs.

The BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. stated that their stance with regards to financial technology innovations such as cryptocurrencies is not restrictive and that they are making sure that their policies will not hinder any innovation whatever the blockchain technology brings in to the table.

Bitcoin Trivial Facts that you must Know

November 21, 2017

Bitcoin is one of the most frequently word searched in Google right now and constantly tops the trending charts these past couple of months. Despite this popularity, it is still one of the most confusing concepts out there that leaves a lot of people scratching their heads even after going through a few Google search result pages.

One way to learn more about a particular subject is by learning some facts about it that are not normally discussed. This will help you get a better grasp of the whole picture.

The three following points are just some of the most important trivial facts about bitcoin.

The creator of Bitcoin is shrouded in mystery

The creator is said to be Satoshi Nakamoto. There are conflicting accounts that Satoshi is actually a group of individuals as opposed to being a real person. As of writing there is no entity government or individual that can pinpoint the real identity or identities of Satoshi Nakamoto. The closest possibility is that it is composed of a group of developers that own around a million bitcoins.

The first bitcoin purchase

The first commercial purchase using bitcoin is for a Pizza back in 2010. This revolution happening in the financial world was spearheaded by the buying of one of the most popular comfort foods for a lot of people. Now, how cool is that? That day which falls on the 22^nd of May is now yearly known as Bitcoin Pizza Day.

Bitcoin is digital but finite?

Now wrap your head around that? Being digital, why didn’t the creators choose to make Bitcoin an unlimited resource? This is because the developers wanted to emulate gold in that it must be mined digitally and there can only be a finite source to prevent banks from arbitrarily issuing fiat substitutes.

Use Of Bitcoin In Real Estate Listings Proven To Gain More Popularity

November 18, 2017

The growing trend of using cryptocurrencies has brought popularity in almost all places, including the property market. This includes the use of Bitcoins in trading houses. According to sources, this has proven advantageous for real estate agents when buyers are given the chance to purchase with Bitcoins.

Gaining Popularity With Bitcoins

The great news is that people who posted their houses for sale in Bitcoins were suddenly flooded with media due to popularity. In fact, one mansion in Notting Hill worth U.S.$22.5 million has become the object of desire when it went for sale in October. Most of the interested buyers came from Asia, which were just below the age of 30.

This only indicates that a new market has opened in the purchase of investments, which are all young. Thus, the trend of adopting digital currency has been much higher among younger adults.

Use Of Cryptocurrency

It can be recalled that during the early days of Bitcoins, only the tech-savvy and the young people have invested and knew about it. However, those were the days when Bitcoin could barely buy a pizza. Today, the same coins are worth many times more that they could be used to purchase something like a property.

Although this has become popular all over the Internet, many still believe that these are just marketing gimmicks. On the other hand, the Bitcoin property market could be what the young and up-and-coming investors in crytocurrencies need.

Low-Risk Returns

Another expert stated though that people who have invested in property have done this due to the low-risk returns. In addition, the exchange medium using Bitcoin might not be sustainable in the long run. Thus, it has been considered just a marketing gimmick. Overall, it has been anticipated that Bitcoin is extremely volatile. Thus, it has a very high risk when using it as a transaction medium.

Ripple Tech Aids American Express To Open First Blockchain Corridor

November 17, 2017

Finally, a payments corridor has been opened by American Express with help from Ripple technology. This is the ability to send money to the U.S. from England within just a few seconds.

Faster Way To Send Payments

The service was made possible with the partnership between Santander, a Spanish bank, and American Express. The corridor has been set by the global head of strategic accounts Marcus Treacher. It has made a way to send payments faster across the Atlantic.

Ripple Technology

The technology was made via RippleNet, the blockchain of Ripple. This connects Amex customers in the U.S. to the Santander bank accounts using U.S. dollars and using British pounds in the U.K. Treacher stated that this integration would route non-card payments via the shared payment network. This makes the transaction nearly instant and auditable cross-border payments.

This project signals the most recent development for Amex. This was after the credit giant has joined the Hyperledger blockchain consortium, as well as being a partner to bitcoin app provider Abra. Ripple, on the other hand, focuses on another step forward by letting the blockchain platform tested for the entire first half of 2016.

Cryptocurrency

However, even as the project is developing and able to transact in less than 9 seconds, it is restricted to pure blockchain, which doesn’t need cryptocurrency. Thus, both projects commonly have a direct connection, which doesn’t require intermediary cryptocurrency.

Nevertheless, other banks would follow in the footsteps of Cuallix, a financial services firm. This became the first partner of Ripple to convert cross-border fund transfers into the native XRP token of the blockchain.

Treacher also thinks that the native cryptocurrency used by Ripple would put the company on top of the heap. The said technology has been used by the main competitor of Ripple named Swift with its increasing number of upstarts and variations on the use of cross-border payments.

Researchers Propose Making Bitcoin More Scalable Via Another Layer

November 16, 2017

The development of Bitcoin into a more scalable version has been considered by researchers. The plan to increase the payments channel scheme was thought that it would accommodate more users.

Boost Capacity

Thus, researchers have considered the development of Lightning Network. Although it has not pushed live yet onto the blockchain, proponents of this idea have thought that it should be a way to boost the transaction capacity of Bitcoin without increasing its block size.

Adding Another Layer

However, in order to do it, researchers have found it necessary to add another layer. This has been envisioned to be in between Lightning and the Bitcoin blockchain. Thus, they thought that this would overcome the existing limits of Lightning.

The suspension of the Segwit2x hard fork, after it was proposed to increase its Bitcoin block size parameter to 2MB, has triggered researchers to find a more convenient option. In fact, they have argued that the limit may have somewhat been defined by the Bitcoin blockchain itself, capping at 1MB. So, it can’t possibly support Lightning’s infinite channels.

Channel Factory

Currently, Lightning functions as a channel that users open with another user via regular blockchain transaction. When established, both users can make off-blockchain transactions using the initial value they put into the channel.

The proposal was to use “hook transactions” that would move the funds into multi-party channels supporting 2 or more users. This was called the “channel factory”, which allows 2 people in a multi-party channel to begin a separate channel inside the main channel.

Thus, users are able to open and close channels a number of times without even making an on-chain transaction. That would be done without going back to the blockchain and without incurring any transaction fees. Thus, it would lead to the reduction in cost, which compares to the people inside the multi-party channel. For example, a hundred-person group would result to a 90% cost reduction, in comparison to a hundred traditional payment channels.

Cryptocurrency Trends Say A Lot About Technologies Of The Future

November 13, 2017

Just as you thought cryptocurrency was only limited to bitcoin and blockchain technology, the Internet is also filled with surprising trends that you might want to know. Here are some of the cryptocurrency trends to date.

New Players

Bitcoin is the most notable player in the market these days, but there are some new coins you need to pay attention to. The likes of Ripple, Litecoin, and Ethereum are also gaining popularity. Just like what Bitcoin did, you will never know which one has the element of surprise.

Governments Are Becoming Curious

Although this trend has disabled the presence of governments to control cryptocurrencies, they will likely contribute to the molding and shifting of some currencies. This is because the new system has eliminated the governments in order permit secure exchanges, payments, and trades.

Eliminating The Hassles

The use of cryptocurrencies has led to the elimination of taxes, declarations, and hassles. In fact, it has a sophisticated system that would allow for the efficient exchanges without leading to compromises. Given that the blockchain technology has evolved really quickly, so will the cryptocurrency sphere.

Ethereum And Bitcoin To Stay Popular

The price of Bitcoin has averaged around 5,000 Euros, with Ethereum at US$300. With this trend, both of them have gained many supporters and traders who are interested much in the implementations of the blockchain. For this reason, both currencies are experiencing steady, continuous growth.

Popularity Of Digital Wallets

The exchanges of cryptocurrencies are becoming less secured than you might have thought they are. In fact, there are possibilities of leaks and errors that have led to the loss of money for thousands of people. The use of digital wallets would probably minimize the risk of security breach.

Consistent Growth Of Crytocurrency

The trend of cryptocurrencies has clearly made its path known with impressive results. Bitcoin for instance is now worth $5,800. With the current trend, it is expected to grow more than $8,000 by the end of 2017.

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