John Gage

Total Post: 30

Deutsche Telekom Launches Its New Blockchain-based e-Mobility Pilot Project, Xride

Deutsche Telekom Launches Its New Blockchain-based e-Mobility Pilot Project, Xride

Blockchain technology is making its headway into nearly all sectors of the economy, be it commerce finance or as a mode of payment for certain government utilities. A new feather to its hat is the transportation and mobility sector, particularly the e-mobility sector, one of the major segments of the “machine and sharing economy.” This time it is the e-mobility sector in Germany which aims to bring in blockchain technology for a ‘decentralized’ system of transportation, the first demonstration of which would be through the electric scooter, an already popular option of transport. Deutsche Telekom Innovation Laboratories has planned to introduce an e-scooter with an e-mobility pilot that is based on blockchain technology. This is a first of its kind innovation that T-Labs (the R&D unit of Deutsche Telekom) has planned to launch and has been named the X-ride and is intended to save time as compared to the lengthy centralized process that is followed now.

T-Labs was set up in 2017 as a blockchain group within the Deutsche Telekom Innovation Laboratories, and it deals with all the blockchain-related activities of the company, like research, development, implementation, coordination and so on. It, therefore, supplies business and telecom clients of Deutsche Telecom with the necessary technological know-how in blockchain especially with the German government being very proactive and encouraging w.r.t. digital technology. Recently, the company had also employed a professor of blockchain studies of the CODE University, Berlin, named Dr. Dwindle Rupple to contribute to and guide the firm’s blockchain-based innovations. T-Lab’s collaboration and partnership with CODE thus help in bringing new technologies from different parts of the globe, adding significant value to the company’s initiatives.

In the case of Xride, the system is backed by a blockchain operating stack called ‘Stax’ that enables  “creation of decentralized, trusted and secure IoT eco-structures (ecosystem infrastructures),” which has been created by T-Labs. This would play an important role in the systemic development of “machine-to-machine economies” with such eco-structures allowing producers and consumers to link and exchange trusted data in a decentralized manner. Stax links the different blockchain technologies into a “single operating stack” which allows smooth management among various enterprises. “In the Xride pilot, Stax enables shared deployment, where blockchain nodes run on machines, devices, and cloud-based computing systems.” A trial period over four weeks will see the use of Stax to test its benefits in Bonn, at the Deutsche Telekom’s headquarters.

John Calian, senior vice-president and head of T-Labs said,

In Xride, historically centralized functionalities like identity management, data verification, and storage, payments and charging are fully decentralized. This allows for a less costly, more secure and more efficient vehicle sharing that benefits both providers and the user.

A number of e-scooters would be made available to DT employees from Simple Mobility and the trial will have have the participants using the Xride app, changing batteries at the installation points and share their experience with the T-Labs group. Thus, with this project blockchain will make its presence felt in the transportation and mobility sector, to make it a smoother and faster experience.

Forex Risks – If You Are Traders You Should Know This

Forex Risks – If You Are Traders You Should Know This

Forex trading involves trading of currency pairs. When you go long on a currency pair, you hope that the price of one currency will increase relative to the other currency. If you go wrong with the prediction, the trade goes against you. This is one of the most common risks of forex trading. Sometimes when traders pick up the less popular currency pairs, they get themselves involved in additional risks.

Note that Banks makes the majority number of Forex transactions, and they use forex to reduce currency instability. Through the sound trading system, you can keep forex trading reasonably risk free. But first, it is important to understand the major risk of FX trading:

  1. Exchange rate risk – It is the risk caused due to the changes in the value of the currency. It is caused due to the volatile shift in the worldwide supply and demand of the currency. The risk such caused can be substantial. Additionally, off-exchange forex trading is unregulated; therefore, no daily price limits are imposed.
  2. Interest rate risk – It refers to the profit and loss caused by fluctuations in the forward spreads, along with the maturity gaps and the forward amount mismatches in the foreign exchange book. To minimize this risk, one needs to put limits on the total size of mismatches. The common practice is to separate the mismatches according to their maturity dates up to six months and past six months. Transactions are entered in the computerized system to calculate the gains, losses, and positions for the dates of the delivery.
  3. Leverage risk – In a forex trade, leverage needs a fraction of investment called a margin so as to gain access to trades in foreign currencies. Price fluctuations lead to margin call where investors are needed to pay the additional margin. During volatile conditions, excess use of leverage can cause huge losses in initial investments.
  4. Transaction risk – Transaction risk is associated with the difference in time between the beginning of the contract and when it ends. Forex trading takes 24 hours and in that duration exchange rates can change before the trades have settled. Currencies can be traded at a different time at different prices during trade hours. Huge time difference between entering and settling the contract leads to transaction risk.
  5. Counterparty Risk – Counterparty is the company that provides the assets to the investor. Counterparty risk means the risk of default from the broker. In forex trading, spot and forward contracts are not guaranteed by an exchange. Counterparty risk is the result of the solvency of the market maker in spot currency trading. When the market is volatile, the counterparty may refuse to stick to the contracts.

Risks associated with foreign exchange trading are high due to the nature of the leveraged trades. Political issues and time differences all contribute to making the condition worse. One of the best ways to minimize the risk is by selecting a good brokerage firm. AAATrade.com is one of the best investment firms which is regulated and licensed by CySEC, which makes it the most reliable firm in the world.

Bitfinex discloses its IEO plans through the white paper

Bitfinex discloses its IEO plans through the white paper

The cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex is looking forward to raising $1billion through initial exchange offering (IEO). The news surfaced on 8th May, as per the official white paper discharged by the company. They have also revealed that they have launched a dedicated platform, iFinex to project the said sale that will start from the next month.

The aforementioned white paper says they will be raising the amount by selling their own exchange token LEO. The document also says the LEO holders will have the advantage to access all the products available on the platform iFinex. In addition to this, they will get discounts on taker fees, derivative taker fee, deposit and withdrawal fee, etc.

In the white paper, it is also said that if lesser than one billion USTD gets sold in the private seller, then the remaining tokens will be sold afterwards.

One billion LEO coins will be retailed at 1USTD per coin. It will be sold in a confidential offering excluding any advertisement and general solicitation. LEO has some similarity with Binance token, BNB as it can be utilized as a restorable asset.

Presently the exchange is facing legal scrutiny from the authorities who have accused them of losing $850 million.  The IEO is intended to cover up the lost amount. Last week the exchange and Teether was sued by NYAG. NYAG has claimed that both the exchange and the Stablecoin firm has misled the stockholders by failing to reveal the truth about the inaccessible amount. Although they have told the amount is held by their payment processor and shadow bank crypto capital.

Bitfinex had received $850 million from tether as a credit to run their operation. Losing the amount accidentally means USTD does not remain in a 1:1 proportion with USD. Crypto capital, in turn, has told NYAG the fund is seized by the authorities of Poland, US, and Portugal although it is said that both Bitfinex and Tether does not believe in the explanation given by crypto capital.

The launch of IEO may ease some of the financial responsibilities of Bitfinex, but its market image has already got damaged by the negative news surrounding it. From the previous few weeks, the exchange is facing massive withdrawals from the traders. A large amount of BTC and ether has been moved from its wallet to an unknown address the worth of which is estimated to be $400 million. This may also mean the teether holders are liquidating their assets to bitcoin and ether.

NYAG Demands Documents Of Tether And Bitfinex Deal

NYAG Demands Documents Of Tether And Bitfinex Deal

Bitfinex and Tether have been surrounded by controversy for the last few weeks regarding a cover-up of suspected loss. There has been further stir into the situation as NYAG has requested both virtual currency exchange and the Stablecoin operator to disclose the papers of a contract.

Letitia James of NYAG has requested the Bitfinex to submit the documents of financial dealings with Tether, its loan details, missing funds and its transactions with crypto capitals as per the memorandum of law on May 3rd.

Although the company has claimed they have not lost any fund instead it was deposited with a Panamanian firm, crypto capital. The fund was later held by the government authorities of the US, Portugal, and Poland.

The crypto exchange is accused of using $850 million funds received from the tether to mask the damage. The fund was supposed to be utilized as a reserve fund for USTD. This act of both firms has compelled NYAG to file a case against them. According to NYAG, both the firms have tried to deceive the investors and have attempted to manipulate the cryptocurrency market place.

Tether and Bitfinex have discharged a joint declaration after the accusation made by NYAG saying the allegation is baseless. They have also requested the Supreme Court of New York to put a stay on NYAG order, which means Bitfinex will not have to provide the documents to NYAG within the stipulated date provided by them,

According to the legal counsel of Bitfinex and Tether, Stuart Hoegner, who has been serving both the firms since 2016, has written in an affidavit Tether is presently having an account standby of 2.1 billion dollars which represents 74% of the total USTD in circulation. The remaining 26% is held by Bitfinex of which they are alleged of covering up their loss. He has further said that NYAG allegations is not serving any useful purpose but spreading misinformation in the market.

Both the companies have represented itself as a victim of NYAG interfering in the course to recover the client’s funds.

Although the injunction from NYAG has not prevented Bitfinex or Tether to operate its business normally, the case has raised considerable interest in the crypto community. But the legal counsel of the firm has confirmed tether holders does not have any risk. The website of the firm has also guaranteed the Stablecoin is 100% backed by USD.

Website Claims Satoshi Reveal in 10 days

Website Claims Satoshi Reveal in 10 days

The whole world was watching as a cryptocurrency crawled into the market and took it by storm some years ago. It has hit the news a lot of times since then, sometimes for the good reasons and sometimes the bad but there has been never a face to associate the news too. Maybe that’s what makes Bitcoin so interesting; the man who created Bitcoin has never come forward. He goes by the name Satoshi Nakamoto. A website now claims that it will reveal him in 10 days.

This website, called gotsatoshi.com, was created some years earlier but had been inactive since then. Recently though it was updated with a countdown of 10 days, after which they claim they would be releasing the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. If this is true, the crypto industry would burst with a new interest and intrigue.

What would Happen if Satoshi is Revealed

Satoshi has become a hero of sorts to the proponents of the free currency, and his cult following seems to be living contended in his anonymity. They might find out it’s not who they thought he would be and might lose their cause or they would find a renewed energy and take the crypto revolution further, bettering it every day.

These are the repercussions of unveiling the biggest digital mystery ever.  He has become an iconic man of the crypto industry, and it’s highly unlikely that the website would go unnoticed. People would be looking, and they might want to know him, find out the truth about it all after all this time. Is it Satoshi revealing himself or someone else doing it? Or is it all truth anyway?

There are a lot of things to be seen yet, and Satoshi may not be among them. All this could be a cheap stunt by someone who wants to get on the hype-wagon to get a little media coverage and virality. But if it does end up being the Satoshi people have been looking for, it would be news worth watching.

The Satoshi that Never Was (or is?)

Craig Right has been claiming to be the Satoshi who created the Bitcoin, but his claim is not supported by any of the known players of the crypto industry. They call him a fraud and a liar and nobody even seem to care about his claims much. However, he sued the founder of Bitcoin.com recently accusing him of tampering his reputation.

What happens after all this remains to be seen. Would the website reveal Wright to be Satoshi? Unlikely. Who would it be then? We would have to wait 10 days to know.

Texas Transportation Ties-Up With IOTA Foundation To Enhance Transportation System

Texas Transportation Ties-Up With IOTA Foundation To Enhance Transportation System

The Austin city’s official transportation department, Texas (ATX) will collaborate with the team of IOTA foundation to make the automobile and transportation industry more innovative. Texas has a population of 1 million, and both the firms want to enhance the transportation system of the Texas state capital. The Austin transportation revealed the news through its official Twitter account on April 25th, 2019. The Twitter post also included an event link that was held on April 29th.

Austin Transportation stated:

“We’re partnering with the nonprofit @iotatoken to bring the future of mobility to Austin. Learn all about it at a special event on Monday, April 29, at 5 p.m. on the UT campus. ATD and IOTA leaders will make an announcement, followed by a Q&A.”

The special program was held at the Austin University on 29th April 2019 and was attended by the IOTA co-founder, Dominik Schiener along with Transportation Director of Austin City, Robert Spiller. At the special event, the announcement of collaboration was revealed.

This collaboration is certainly going to improve the transportation system. IOTA foundation is currently making news over its growing partnership with government and private industries. IOTA has increased its partners and also promoting its technology.

A few days back, IOTA foundation had partnered with the leading automobile company of UK, Jaguar Land Rover. The partnership allowed the drivers of Jaguar Land Rover to receive IOTA tokens for sharing information.

The IOTA foundation is also a Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) member, MOBI is a free industry consortium that makes use of blockchain solution to improve mobility. Other companies that are members of MOBI are Ford, IBM, BMW and GM.

If the new initiative of IOTA foundation and Texas is successful in implementing, then IOTA will further expand its services to other cities.

ATX published a newsletter in which it mentioned the plan of implementing IOTA in the existing transportation system. It said imagine users are shifting from one mobility service to another by using a single account; they might even use any other mode that they wish to. In order to do this, mobility providers, users and public agencies need to share information and transaction details to each other in a safe, efficient, secure and smooth way and to make this happen the IOTA foundation and Austin Transportation is working in partnership to bring the mobility future to Austin City.

At the event, the members said that the aim is to allow every transportation system to interact with a single payment app and with one digit virtual identity, to do this distributed ledger technology of IOTA will be used. The technologies of IOTA will offer a greater level of transparency for the supply chains of consumer goods.

ShapeShift Is Alleged of laundering Money Worth $6 Million, Says WSJ

ShapeShift Is Alleged of laundering Money Worth $6 Million, Says WSJ

Whenever it comes to cryptocurrency transactions, people are always doubtful, and the questions about the authenticity of the transactions along with the allegation of money-laundering are raised.

A Wall Street Journal investigation report was published recently in which it is claimed that the cryptocurrency conversion platform named ShapeShift had supported and conducted money laundering activities worth at least $9 million over several years.

On this claim made by the WSJ, one blockchain analytics firm named CipherBlade has responded (on the request of ShapeShift) that the 2018 report published by the WSJ has found below than $3 million in transactions which were using potentially stained funds.

CipherBlade said,

“Of the ShapeShift addresses which receive ETH within three hops from the initial dirty addresses, less than half of the ETH traded through them are tainted. Using the most generous assumptions, this is still only 23.53 percent of the WSJ’s claimed $9 million.”

When the WSJ was reached to ask about the investigative process, its spokesperson said,

“An analysis looking at individual tainted Ethereum coins, rather than tainted wallets, would be a different project than what the Journal embarked on, and one we can’t comment on because we have not reviewed it.”

The CEO of Coinfirm said that one could not make an exact accurate claim in this matter and there is no clear and specific answer to the exact amount which was laundered through the platform. We can not forget the fact that till October 2018, ShapeShift was not performing KYC identity check-p drill. He said that if one does not know the authentic user/client who has transacted the money, you can not do anything. This is precisely why KYC is extremely important.

He also added that one must not forget that the truth is always in the grey area.

Coinfirm issued its own report which was dedicated to the risks associated with crypto platforms. In this report, ShapeShift was under the “high risk” category in terms of its anti-money laundering structure and compliance with the rules and regulations. This was because the ShapeShift was not following the KYC procedure, as we saw above.

Binance’s Coin Value Goes Up After it Updates Token’s Sale Format on the Launchpad

Binance’s Coin Value Goes Up After it Updates Token’s Sale Format on the Launchpad

Token sales event is coming up soon and to ensure the fair and unbiased distribution of tokens during this, Binance has come up with a new lottery launchpad structure which will replace the existing distribution system of first come first serve strategy.

Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume. It has listed over 100 cryptocurrencies on its platform. And when such a big platform comes up with something new, the market and traders are supposed to get influenced. So far the Launchpad of Binance has undertaken three successful token sales of known tokens like BitTorrent Token (BTT) of TRON, Fetch.Ai Token (FET) and Celer Network Token (CELR).

As we have already seen, the new system works on a lottery pattern. The lottery tickets will be issued after considering the balance available in the users’ BNB account twenty days prior to the lottery issuing day. More the BNB balance held by the users, more lottery tickets he/she can possess. However, one can not possess more than 5 tickets/account.

Binance has assured that the lottery system would be implemented fairly and the process will be transparent. Lottery tickets will be selected randomly, hence avoiding the chances of unfair distribution of tickets. However, before users enter the lottery system and seek to get benefited from, they will have to get their identity verified via KYC procedures of the respective regions. Once done successfully, the account will be tagged as verified.

The reason why Binance shifted to the new system is that the exchange giant itself witnessed a few issues with the earlier sales on its Launchpad. During the FET and BTT sales, the Launchpad experienced heavy traffic which leads to an extra load on the website causing many traders to stay away from the site.

During the CELR token sale, Binance CEO said:

“39003 people tried to buy, 3129 people got some. 35000 people will be somewhat unhappy… Some users experienced a caching issue that looked like they need to re-login, a refresh would solve the issue. Others still experienced network delay”.

As Binance is introducing a new system, it shows that it wants to stay clean and transparent about the related risks and trade-offs.

BNB price will get influenced by this news for at least 20 days. During these 20 days time, if BNB value gets cut down, the drop could outweigh any profits made by the new token.

Bitcoin [BTC] vouchers all set for getting traded at Coinstar after the affiliation alongside Bitcoin ATM maker Coinme

Bitcoin [BTC] vouchers all set for getting traded at Coinstar after the affiliation alongside Bitcoin ATM maker Coinme

Coinstar, a 3-decade aged corporation devoted to making kiosks which became loose and altered into currency, has declared its partnership with Bitcoin ATM for cryptocurrency digital assets, Coinme. By way of this joint venture, the 27-year old kiosk installer agency aspires to leap into the cryptocurrency world by allowing citizens to alter their currency into Bitcoin.

Enlightening the joint venture, Neil Bergquist who is the co-creator of Coinme alleged:

“Bitcoin is at the present existing at your neighborhood grocery shops by Coinstar kiosks.”

Coinstar’s CEO Jim Gaherity supposed that the Bitcoin ATM, Coinme, is going to influence the supple platform of the previous in allowing the consumers with the planet’s biggest cryptocurrency in exchange of currency flawlessly. The CEO additionally quoted that the movement is going to be useful for customers to take part in a continuously developing financial system.

But, for Bitcoin dealings, coins are not possible to be utilized. Dissimilar to the usual role of Coinstar kiosks, that is known to allow the citizens to utilize extra alteration, Amazon gift cards and among others, Bitcoins can be obtained simply by money, i.e., US Dollar bills having a limitation of $2,500 mark. To operate the digital cash, the consumer is needed to put the telephone number on the kiosk and after that put the cash bills on the kiosk. Subsequent to that, the code is going to be sent to the telephone number offered for the exchange. This code can be traded in Coinme’s webpage.

In the beginning, the kiosks have been established in a few shops in California, Texas, as well as Washington. The joint venture is predicted to roll out, measuring the progression to further elements following the commencement. In the midst of more than 20,000 kiosks beneath its buckle throughout the planet, Coinstar kiosks are currently going to be prepared to trade the digital cash subsequent to the development strategies.

Initiated in the year 2014, Coinme is currently holding the name of being the opening state-authorized Bitcoin ATM business enterprise in the United States. At this time, it encompasses 20 cryptocurrency ATMs crossways Washington, Texas as well as nine additional states of the nation.

This latest characteristic arrives at a point while the business level of the cryptocurrency is in a stage of steady turn down. During press time, Bitcoin positioned itself at a marketplace limit of $64 billion, valued at USD 3,660.9, using a slip of 0.22% over the hour. On the other hand, the ninth-biggest cryptocurrency ATM functionary, Coinme’s co-developer thinks that the digital coin is additionally precious at present.

GPU Producer Nvidia Worst Performer in S&P 500 following Crypto Mining Downtrend

GPU Producer Nvidia Worst Performer in S&P 500 following Crypto Mining Downtrend

The extreme downtrend in crypto mining benefits has hit GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) makers like Taiwan-based Nvidia hard. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the firm encountered a gigantic sell-off of its shares, cost-cutting of stocks by 54% and making it the lowest performer in the S&P 500, as indicated in a recent report by CNBC.

Since the year 2016 to September 2018, Nvidia’s fairly estimated worth uniquely expanded from $14 billion to $175 billion as demand for its GPUs in AI (Artificial Intelligence) and digital currency mining gain. In May 2018, the firm detailed its benefits from crypto mining for the first time while estimating a two-thirds drop in sale deals to miners for the second quarter.

Taiwan-based Nvidia at first estimated the insignificant crypto mining related deals in the third quarter, while the quarterly report in November reported that GPU sales for blockchain-related applications had everything but now disappeared. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that the organization’s close term results reflect excess channel stock post the digital money blast, which will be rectified.

The recent disappearance and downtrend in crypto-related sales have left the organization with a crypto headache as indicated by Huang. The digital money free for all drove up costs for Nvidia’s GPUs, yet once that demand vanished, costs did not diminish rapidly enough to attract customers who were eagerly waiting for the right moment to grab more pocket-friendly cards.

Along with the decline in crypto mining sales, Nvidia’s server centered platform failed to meet Wall Street desires, despite the fact that income developed by 58 percent, as per CNBC. Today, Nvidia stock is down 4.09% and closing at $129.57.

Overall Chip stocks have performed low this year. The PHLX Semiconductor Index, which tracks significant equipment makers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Systems (AMD), is down 20.37% more than the past three months. AMD’s share cost is down 45.42% over a similar period.

The post-mining blast equipment overabundance has seen a prominent drop in costs. AMD’s famous Radeon RX580 graphics processing unit (GPU), which has been generally utilized by crypto excavators, is presently being sold for $180, down 67% from a highly normal cost around $550 in February 2018.

Diminished profitability in the present bear market has made some miners leaves the business. Some mining firms in China have been auctioning off dated equipment that has achieved its shutdown cost by the kilogram so as to relieve their losses. As indicated by native reports, incomes from mining are never again enough to cover power and other related expenses.