Things are looking incredibly promising for Bitcoin and the BTC value right now. With the overall cryptocurrency market cap surpassing US$102bn, the fear of missing out is setting in around the world. A lot of consumers and investors want to ensure they make a strategic investment in cryptocurrency right now. As a result, the Bitcoin price keeps going up and is well underway to hit US$3, 000 in the near future.

Just yesterday, we discussed how the total cryptocurrency market cap would surpass US$100bn very shortly. Fast forward to today, and that is exactly what happened. As of right now, the total market cap sits at over US$102bn, and it seems there is still a lot of room for future growth. A lot of fresh capital has entered the cryptocurrency ecosystem, just as it has done so over the past few weeks.

Rest assured a lot of people are closely monitoring the Bitcoin price right now. A new all-time high has been set virtually every hour, and it looks like the momentum is not over just yet. Right now, one Bitcoin is valued at US$2,908. That means we are getting incredibly close to hitting US$3, 000. This value represents a target most experts claimed was well out of reach. Then again, one cannot properly predict how a free market will evolve despite technical analysis, charts and observations.

Even though Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency shooting up in value, it remains the most important one to a lot of traders. If Bitcoins value goes up, so will the value of other cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and tokens. It is in everybodys best interest to see the Bitcoin price appreciate over time. Then again, it is also possible a lot of investors will convert alternative currencies back into Bitcoin, which will lead to some volatility in these markets.

With close to US$2bn in 24-hour trading volume, it is evident demand for Bitcoin is not slowing down anytime soon. Korean exchanges have already projected the Bitcoin value at over US$3,000, although traders in these regions often pay a hefty premium to buy and sell Bitcoin. China has Bitcoin valued slightly higher compared to the American exchanges, although the gap is a lot smaller than most people would expect.

When looking past the Bitcoin trading volume generated by various alternative currencies and tokens for a moment, it is evident fiat currency-based trading is increasing in volume. The USD, KRW, CNY, and even EUR markets are all providing a lot of trading volume right now. This seemingly indicates people are converting their fiat currency to Bitcoin and vice versa. Based on the current charts, it looks like most people are actually buying Bitcoin, rather than selling it. This is a sign of FOMO settling in, although it is still too early to tell what is going on exactly.

For the time being, it is unclear what will happen to the Bitcoin price. The previous sharp increase in value was met with an equally sharp dip shortly after. It is possible Bitcoin will reach US$3, 000 without too many problems. On the other hand, the price may drop a fair before resuming this upward trend. Regardless of which scenario comes true, there will be plenty of eyeballs glued to Bitcoin trading charts over the coming days.

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Bitcoin Price on Track to hit US$3000, Total Cryptocurrency Market cap Surpasses US$102bn - The Merkle

NuMelo Technology (formerly Ciao Group) today announced bringing Henryk Dabrowksi on board to lead the companys new Cryptographic Enterprises Division.Mr. Dabrowksi comes to

NuMelo after leading Alternet Systems, Inc. (ALTI) in the development and eventual cash sale of ALYIs subsidiary mobile financial transaction software company, Utiba Americas.Utiba remains today as one of the leading mobile financial remittance systems in the world.

Mr. Dabrowksi will now lead NuMelos development of blockchain and Bitcoin solutions in addition to pursuing other cryptocurrency and cryptographic technology enterprise solutions.

NuMelos new, recently announced Cryptography Division is headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley in San Jose.

Ciao Group is in the process of changing its name to NuMelo Technology first announced back in April as part of a business plan refresh. The refreshed business plan aimsto concentrate on developing locally sourced technology and telecommunication services within frontier and emerging economic markets.

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NuMelo Technology hires Henryk Dabrowski to lead cryptocurrency initiative - CryptoNinjas

The high volatility of exchange value is one barrier to the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. But for those that have sought to address this with pegged exchange rates, success has been hard to find. Not impossible, though.

Though such currencies seek to eliminate the exchange-rate issue while enjoying the same ease and low-cost of Bitcoin transactions, its been argued that pegging to, say, the dollar, also pegs the currency to the vagaries of institutions like the US Government and Federal Reserve.

The advent of Blockchain 2.0 has enabled the launching of a variety of new digital assets, including currencies pegged to fiat currencies and to gold. Last month saw New Zealand cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia announce New Zealands first cryptocurrency which will be pegged to the New Zealand dollar.

The main success so far is that of Tether, which is pegged to the US dollar and offers crypto versions of three currencies, known as: USDT, EURT and JPYT. Tether maintains its peg by keeping the US Dollar equivalent of all USDT value in reserves at all times.

Launched in early 2015, Tether has largely kept the peg in place since then. That is, until late April when it crumbled due to issues with the Taiwanese banks they use for receiving and sending USD withdrawals. All incoming international wires to Tether were blocked and refused by the banks. Since then, however, the value of USDT has rallied from $0.93, and it now trades at $1.02.

Other pegged cryptocurrencies have fared less well. CoinoUSD, NuBits, and BitUSD all eschewed the traditional currency pegging method of the holding of reserves in physical dollars or dollar-denominated debt securities.

CoinoUSD began trading in December 2014 and reached a market capitalization plateau of $2.7 million in early 2016. However, it shut down shortly after due to a glitch which flooded customers with free CoinoUSD units, making it impossible to maintain the exchange value at $1.

NuBits are notable for being the first decentralized cryptocurrency to maintain a $1 peg for a period of one year, having accomplished it in September 2015. However, in June 2016, NuBits suffered a devaluation crisis, with the price falling to 20 cents when its rate-pegging mechanism failed. Although the price later returned to par, today NuBits shows very little market activity.

BitUSD is built on the blockchain platform of the cryptocurrency BitSharesX. BitUSD uses a novel pegging system, involving BitShares, that so far has proven robust. The price of 1BitUSD has hovered around $1 and has not experienced any lasting devaluation. However, in part due to the declining use of BitShares, BitUSDs clientele went into serious decline not long after launch. In late April, however, there has been sudden renewed interest which has seen its market cap surge from below $110,000 to a high of just under $2.4m.

Tether slowly built its market cap and started 2017 at just below $10m. Since then it has also enjoyed a surge. Presently, it has reached its current high of $107m and is the outstanding dollar-pegged cryptocurrency.

Despite its surge in popularity, there is still a long way to go for all cryptocurrencies, of course, which have still to experience a full business and credit cycle. Bitcoin price volatility may eventually flatten out when digital currency becomes more widely accepted, but that is still a long way off.

Meanwhile, Tether offers that sought after exchange stability, but questions remain over its decision of a hard peg maintaining a value different to how the market would value it which has already failed.

Perhaps the greatest value of dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies is that they provide a gauge to how much of the demand for cryptocurrencies is transactional versus speculative.

Picture from Pixabay.

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Quartz

The new cryptocurrency gold rush: digital tokens that raise millions in minutes Quartz The cryptocurrency world has gone mad for token offerings. These launches, popularly known as ICOs or initial coin offerings, have already raised more than $150 million this year, according to research firm Smith + Crown. They are seen as a disruptive ...

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The new cryptocurrency gold rush: digital tokens that raise millions in minutes - Quartz

New York Post

How to get a start in the cryptocurrency game | New York Post New York Post As bitcoin reaches for $2500 again, I thought this would be a good time to let readers know exactly how digital currencies work and how to get more information. Cryptocurrency: An idea whose time has comeThe Hindu Small-Ticket Investments from Individuals Flood Asian Cryptocurrency MarketnewsBTC Cheap cryptocurrencies you can buy - Blasting News USBlasting News International Business Times -The Sun Daily -CryptoCoinsNews all 26 news articles »

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How to get a start in the cryptocurrency game | New York Post - New York Post

Forbes

Cryptocurrency Is A Bubble Forbes Bitcoin has gone off the dial in the last few weeks, hitting above $2,700 a coin. It has fallen back since, but the other cryptocurrencies have shot up in the aftermath. Anyone who rode the dotcom boom will recognise the symptoms: up like a rocket and ...

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Cryptocurrency Is A Bubble - Forbes

Forbes

The Benefits And Best Practices Of Branding Your Own Cryptocurrency Forbes In 2015, "Minecraft," one of the most popular online games now owned by Microsoft, announced that PlayMC, one of their servers, would be introducing their own cryptocurrency in order to teach children about the digital currency. It's a pretty smart ...

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The Benefits And Best Practices Of Branding Your Own Cryptocurrency - Forbes

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology has received significant attention at the ongoing Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Russian Central Bank made an important announcement regarding its plans to introduce a national cryptocurrency during the event. The introduction of a national cryptocurrency comes at a time when Russia is mulling over the possibility of legalizing Bitcoin and other altcoins in the country. The plans to develop a national cryptocurrency was announced by Russian Central Banks Deputy Chairman, Olga Skorobogatova.

Skorobogatova was quoted by one of the leading Russian media outlets saying,

Regulators of all countries agree that its time to develop national cryptocurrencies, this is the future. Every country will decide on specific time frames. After our pilot projects, we will understand what system we could use in our case for our national currency.

The Russian Finance Ministry recently announced its intentions to introduce Bitcoin regulations, offering a legal status to cryptocurrencies. The move is completely opposite to the ministrys earlier stance which involved criminalizing the use and trade of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Russias decision to legalize Bitcoin closely follows Japans latest move to recognize the cryptocurrency as a legally valid mode of payment. The Russian Central Banks decision to introduce a national cryptocurrency is similar to the proposals put forward by respective regulatory bodies in England, United States and others.

Governments can save a lot of taxpayers money and resources by adopting cryptocurrency as a legal tender. The use of cryptocurrency will eliminate the costs otherwise involved in printing, transporting and managing physical banknotes. At the same time, cryptocurrency adoption will further promote the adoption of cashless payment methods.

With the banking sector increasingly adopting blockchain technology, the transition between conventional monetary system involving physical currency to blockchain based electronic currency will be smooth. It is just a matter of time before other countries also start adopting a similar stance.

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Russia to Soon Get Its Own National Cryptocurrency - newsBTC

Cryptocurrency (digital currency) is taking off this year. New millionaires are being made almost daily as Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Stratis, and other cryptocurrencies reach all-time highs. It is becoming somewhat of a modern-day gold rush.

As I write this, Bitcoin's "market cap" is $37 billion, with a value of $2,281 per Bitcoin. For a coin that was once worth only pennies, Bitcoin investors have made serious money in the past few years.

Bitcoin might be the oldest, but it's not the only cryptocurrency on the block. In fact, the majority of people getting into cryptocurrency are flocking to Ethereum. Ethereum has had the most impressive gains this year after recently being the first cryptocurrency to be backed by major corporations such as Microsoft, Samsung, JPMorgan Chase, and others in what's being called the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. Ethereum does for code and programming what Bitcoin did for financial transactions. For simplicity's sake, think of Ethereum like a more advanced and sophisticated Bitcoin backed and utilized by major corporations because of its technological advances and clear pathway to building a decentralized internet.

One Ether (Ethereum's crypto token) was worth as little as $12 earlier this year, but the cryptocurrency is now worth $228 per coin with a total market cap of $21 billion. Ethereum is slowly but surely making gains on Bitcoin's market cap. Many spectators believe that "the flippening" will happen sometime this year, in which Ethereum becomes the most valuable (market cap) cryptocurrency in the world, overtaking Bitcoin in total value (total number of coins times price per coin).

Ethereum isn't the only new coin on the block, but it is definitely the most promising. Others to watch that I will explain and write about in future articles include Ripple, Litecoin, Statis, and Siacoin. All these coins have something unique and technologically innovative about them.

Buying cryptocurrency is confusing for a lot of people. It's not a stock or a typical "investment." It's not like anything most people have ever seen or experienced. You don't get shares; instead you get digital coins or tokens. The coins are "better" than a paper dollar bill because they actually support a greater cause, as in Ethereum's case, to build a decentralized internet and host code and apps on a decentralized platform. And coins help "fuel" that cause, so to speak, without getting technical.

For most people in the U.S., Coinbase would be the easiest option to buy Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Litecoin (it doesn't support any others yet). After verifying your account, you can add a number of payment methods including credit or debit cards, U.S. bank accounts, or even wire transfers of funds. Other options for exchanges that will take U.S. dollars for coins are Kraken, and Gemini in the U.S. Typically you will need to verify your account with a driver's license and add other details to expand your buy limits. Since cryptocurrencies are "hard currencies," the exchanges don't want to risk getting ripped off, since you can't reverse a cryptocurrency transaction once it's done.

If you are looking for some of the newer coins that are making big movement but haven't made their way to the aforementioned exchange sites, you can look into Poloniex or Livecoin. You can transfer Bitcoin or Ethereum to these platforms from Coinbase and then exchange it for any other digital currency that you want.

If you are outside the U.S., here are a few options for exchanges that take your local currency: BTC Markets (Australia), Bitthumb or Coinone (Korea), CHBTC or Huobi (China), and QuadrigaCX (Canada.) You can find a full list on this page of where to buy Ethereum for your local currency.

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How to Buy Your First Cryptocurrency Coins (Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ripple) - Inc.com

Russia wants to build its own cryptocurrency that it believes will be better than bitcoin, this is according to the Central Banks Deputy Governor, Olga Skorobogatova. The announcement comes not long after the Central Bank said that it would be pushing for legislation which would introduce a tax on bitcoins and other digital currencies.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2017, Skorobogatova said:

Regulators of all countries have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to do a national virtual currency. This is the future. Each country will decide the issue of a specific time and maturity independently.

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts shouldn't get too excited just yet about the new virtual currency because while testing has already taken place on the Masterchain and Hyperledger platforms, more details arent expected to be revealed for another two to three years.

Russia has been an interesting place for cryptocurrencies, a few years ago it was suggesting harsh penalties for those issuing currencies such as bitcoin but has since become more liberal on the issue. Now, to see it coming out and saying it wants to have a national cryptocurrency, it makes it one of the first countries to say so, with the State of Palestine also announced similar intentions not long ago.

Source: RT | Image via Wallpoper

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Central Bank of Russia wants a national cryptocurrency - Neowin

Cryptocurrencyis conquering the world of currencies and finance in a way wecould not even imaginefive years ago

In this next video, Wences Casares, the founder and CEO of Xapo, a Swiss-based Bitcoin wallet and vault company takes us through a short but compelling history of money. In less than 15 minutes you will hear what is so special and monumental about Bitcoin and real cryptocurrency like YOcoin.

Take notes on the videos belowthey couldhave a big impact on your financial future!

Once you have your wallet set up, you will want toregister in anexchange.New exchange video coming soon!

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The blockchains uses span far beyond cryptocurrency. Check out these articles on some of the ways it is taking off in China.

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Digital bank WB21 announced that it has added Bitcoin as a method for its customers to transfer and deposit funds to their checking accounts.

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YOcoin A new open-source cryptocurrency distributed by you!

Forbes

Florida Man Goes From Multilevel Marketing To Cryptocurrency - What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Forbes About Cryptocurrencies. The best known and most used cryptocurrency is bitcoin. A website that tracks the cryptocurrency market indicates that the value of the over 700 currencies that it tracks is just shy of $27 billion. Of that over $18 billion is ...

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Florida Man Goes From Multilevel Marketing To Cryptocurrency - What Could Possibly Go Wrong? - Forbes

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) has published its first study on digital currencies, its usage and the emerging ecosystem supporting the new type of currency. As the report explains, the world of money and finance is transforming before our eyes.

The Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study is CCAFs inaugural research focused on alternative payment systems and digital assets. Led by Dr. Garrick Hileman, the research is designed to holistically examine the global cryptocurrency market and, according to CCAF, is the first of its kind. Michel Rauchs, a Research Assistant at CCAF, co-authored the report.

Dr. Hileman told Crowdfund Insider;

The data we collected indicate that the number of people actively using cryptocurrency is much greater than many people previously thought. Many observers felt that fewer than a million individuals actively use cryptocurrency, but our data suggest that today there are likely well over a million active individuals using cryptocurrency.

The Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study gathered data from more than 100 cryptocurrency companies in 38 countries around the world via secure web-based questionnaires. CCAF said they captured an estimated 75% of the cryptocurrency industry. Over 30 individual cryptocurrency miners were also surveyed. Four key areas were targeted including exchanges, wallets, mining, and payments.

Highlights of the CCAF research include:

Dr. Hileman said that digital currencies like Bitcoin are not a passing fad. The combined market value was estimated at $27 billion. Hileman compared it to the value creation of a high-profile startup like AirBnB.

While Bitcoin may be the first and best-known cryptocurrency to emerge there are now hundreds of different types of digital coinage. Bitcoin does remain the dominant cryptocurrency both in terms of market capitalisation and usage but it has conceded market share to other cryptocurrencies declining from 86% to 72% in the past two years. This was buttressed by the fact that almost 40% of wallets accept various forms of cryptocurrencies.

Emerging cryptocurrencies include; Ethereum, Dash, Monero, Ripple and Litecoin.

This benchmarking study sheds light on the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry and comprehensively examines the global development of exchanges, wallets, payments and mining sectors, added Robert Wardrop, co-founder and a Director of CCAF. It demonstrates that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are undergoing some profound changes in how digital assets are transacted, stored, channeled and generated. The findings of this study will serve to advance useful academic and policy research into cryptocurrencies and its many implications.

A forthcoming report will focus on Blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) will also be released in the next few weeks.

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Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Publishes First Global Cryptocurrency Study - Crowdfund Insider

As most cryptocurrency enthusiasts are well aware of, there are different groups of currencies to take into account. The major cryptocurrencies are all offering something seemingly different, whereas the rest are mostly copy-and-paste clones. However, there are some big differences between the major cryptocurrencies, otherwise there would be very little point in distinguishing between them.

One of the main thing that Dash does well is providing its users with additional privacy when completing transactions. The network of Dash Masternodes provides these services, while also incentivizing users to not spend their wallet balance. Additionally, Dash is making quite an impact in the point-of-sale industry, through strategic partnerships. All things considered, Dash provides a valuable service to people looking for those specific traits.

When it comes to finding anonymous cryptocurrencies, one has to look well beyond bitcoin and others. Monero is leading the charge in the anonymity race due to some innovative concepts. Monero has also been embraced by darknet markets because it provides privacy and anonymity one cannot find in bitcoin. Other use cases for Monero are somewhat limited, though.

Although many have quite contrasting opinions regarding Ripple, one cannot ignore the benefits it brings to the table. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ripple is not about speculation, but strongly focuses on transactional utility. Dozens of banks around the world are looking at Ripple to improve their transactions and other day-to-day operations moving forward. Over the past few days, Ripples XRP token saw its price increase significantly due to a new banking partnership.

Over the past year or so, many people have compared Ethereum to bitcoin. That is like comparing apples and oranges, since both ecosystems are nothing alike. Ethereum focuses on the technical side of blockchain development, including native tokens, smart contracts, and decentralized applications. It is possible all of these features will come to bitcoin in the future, but it is good to have some competition among cryptocurrency ecosystems.

To a lot of people, litecoin is either a bitcoin cloneor one of the first original outcomes to gain traction. Litecoin offers a different mining algorithm and faster transactions. Interestingly enough, there are some development similarities between bitcoin and litecoin. Segregated Witness, for example, may very well activate on the litecoin network first before it will go into effect among bitcoin users. Litecoin is accepted as a payment solution in various places, although it is nowhere near bitcoins level of acceptance.

It is impossible to deny the success bitcoin has had. Even though bitcoin has some problems that need addressing, such as scalability and privacy, it has become the worlds leading cryptocurrency with relative ease. Bitcoin is designed to make global transactions possible and boost financial inclusion. Moreover, thousand of merchants all over the world have started accepting bitcoin payments, both in the online and offline world.

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Top 6 Major Cryptocurrencies and the Differences Between Them ... - The Merkle

TaaS, a tokenized closed end fund dedicated to blockchain assets, has partnered with two cryptocurrency exchanges, Livecoin and Ukraines Kuna, to offer its tokens for trading. Userswill be able to trade the tokens after the conclusion of TaaS Initial Coin Offering (ICO), which will run untilApril 27, 2017.

The London Summit 2017 is coming, get involved!

So far, the TaaS ICO has raised more than BTC 2,873 ($3.3 million) from 1539 investors with twenty days left to go.

TaaS Co-founder and President Ruslan Gavrilyuk said: TaaS is proud to partner with Livecoin and Kuna, helping early adopters capitalize on the surging blockchain and cryptocurrency spaces. With the TaaS token tradable on the Livecoin and Kuna exchanges, more investors can gain easy, fully transparent and convenient access to the vast cryptocurrency market.

Livecoin CEO Svetlana Geller said: The partnership with TaaS will aid us in our mission to provide a modern and easy-to-use service for accessing cryptocurrency exchange markets. Our agreement with TaaS will prove mutually beneficial in allowing both companies to bring even more people into the burgeoning space of digital currency investments.

Kuna Founder Michael Chobanian added: Kuna is delighted to add TaaS, an innovator in blockchain technology investment, to the Kuna cryptocurrency exchange. We believe Kunas customers will greatly appreciate the opportunity to take advantage of TaaS groundbreaking offering and that the partnership will help to grow and strengthen Kunas platform.

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Ukrainian Bitcoin Exchange Kuna Partners Dedicated ... - Finance Magnates

When SEC announced the rejection of Bitcoin ETF, a huge drop in Bitcoin price was expected. But nobody expected a sudden recovery soon after. Read more...

Bitcoin ETF easily qualifies as one of the buzzwords of 2017. The much-awaited SEC ruling on Bitcoin ETF left many people disappointed after the regulatory body weighed against it. However, the incident has also presented Bitcoin in a new light.

Bitcoin price is known for its volatility due to various influencing factors. These external factors fuel speculation, driving demand against supply. As the cryptocurrency matures, the room for speculating is gradually reducing, and need-based demand has taken over the driving seat, influencing Bitcoin price.

The renewed interest among investors in light of the potential approval of Bitcoin ETF by the SEC was considered to be the reason behind increasing demand in the recent days. It was also predicted that the failure of ETF approval would lead to a massive drop in demand, driving the digital currencys price down by hundreds of dollars. When the SEC announced its decision, people were expecting the cryptocurrency market to face a huge shock which might take a while to recover.

These speculations partially came true. Bitcoins price following the SEC announcement fell by close to $200. But surprisingly, the digital currency price recovered soon after to reach close to the earlier held levels. The quick bounce-back wasnt expected by many people, just like the time when the Chinese government cracked down on the countrys Bitcoin platforms. The effects of external factors on Bitcoin price has reduced drastically in the past few months, showing resiliency.

These two examples Chinese market volumes and Bitcoin ETF, were both expected to have a long-term effect on the digital currency. But thanks to the active community, effects were negligible, which has, in turn, increased the credibility of Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has proved to be more stable than ever, giving it a chance to grab the mainstream currency title.

The failure of SEC to approve Bitcoin ETF may have proven to be more beneficial for Bitcoin than expected. The cryptocurrency has gained the faith of people, irrespective of whether they are part of the Bitcoin community or not. It will help Bitcoin further expand its community and emerge stronger than ever. Eventually, it will also influence regulatory agencies to approve the use of Bitcoin like any other currency.

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Bitcoin ETF Rejection Reinforces Faith in Cryptocurrency - newsBTC

New Hampshire is home to the largest community of freedom advocates in the US, and possibly the largest Bitcoin-using community as well. The New Hampshire State House of Representatives recently passed an important bill for local Bitcoin businesses. The legislation unwinds a bill created two years prior, an ominous-sounding Bill, HB 666, which defined bitcoin and cryptocurrency-using businesses as money transmitter services.

The law forced at least one Bitcoin business from accepting customers in the state, and has kept new businesses from starting up in the otherwise bitcoin-friendly stronghold. The popular bitcoin and altcoin exchange Poloniex, based in Washington DC, discontinued services in October 2016, due to changes in New Hampshires regulatory statute as it applies to cryptocurrency.

Other Bitcoin exchanges, including Coinbase, CoinEx and Circle registered with the state Banking Department. They also handle US dollars, whereas Poloniex only deals in cryptocurrencies.

- Poloniex

Poloniexs CEO Michael Demopoulos later testified to a Committee studying Cryptocurrency regulation in New Hampshire, and began discussions with the New Hampshire Banking Department soon thereafter.

LBRY CEO Jeremy Kauffman joined the conversation when the New Hampshire governor appointed him as an industry expert on virtual currencies. [New Hampshire] already has the highest per-capita Bitcoin usage, Kauffman said soon after the new bill was approved, And very soon it is likely to have the most favorable regulatory climate. New Hampshire is passing legislation to completely deregulate cryptocurrencies.

Ian Freeman has also been working to overturn the legislation. How did this happen in a state with the largest concentration of bitcoin enthusiasts per capita? asked Freeman, who worked with a couple of the State Representatives to help clarify cryptocurrency usage. Honestly, we were caught off-guard, but now thats all changed.

Freeman is the Program Director of LRN.FM and hosts the popular libertarian podcast, Free Talk Live. He founded the the Free Keene blog in late 2006, after moving to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. The activist and talk show host had been attending and recording sessions of the state house committee formed in the wake of the Poloniex withdraw to study cryptocurrency.

- Ian Freeman, Program Director of LRN.FM and host of Free Talk Live

The bill [HB 436] as filed wasnt quite what wed hoped for, Freeman said on the Free Keene blog. It created a new definition and exemption for virtual currency in the statutes, but still left in statutes a definition and regulation for convertible virtual currency.

We explained to them that this was confusing and they should be striking the regulation for convertible virtual currency rather than creating the additional terminology, Freeman continued. You know what? They listened AND did us one better!

While the new bill removes cryptocurrencies from the category of money transmitter services, and therefore no longer requires licensing, it still has to pass the State Senate before becoming law. The commerce committee amended the bill and turned it into the best possible protection for bitcoin businesses in New Hampshire! The amended bill completely exempts from the money transmitter statutes, Freeman concluded.

New Hampshires legislature has had more than its share of run-ins with Bitcoin. In January 2016, the same House of Representatives voted 264 to 74 to kill a separate bill allowing citizens in New Hampshire to pay their taxes and other state fees using bitcoin.

The New Hampshire State Treasurer would have been forced to not only accept the cryptocurrency if the bill had passed, but also to choose a bitcoin payment processing firm to convert the transactions by January 2017. The bill faced serious opposition and has not been re-introduced since.

- New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration

More and more states have been considering following New Hampshires early lead into Bitcoin regulation. Both Hawaii and Washington State recently introduce new rules. Bitfinex has since changed the terms of service on their website to exclude customers from Washington State.

Two weeks ago Coinbase announced that it will cease offering services in Hawaii. The state now requires local Bitcoin businesses to get a license and hold 100% reserves for each customer.

The Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions demanded that customer reserves be held in fiat currency. Although Coinbase securely maintains 100% of all customer funds on behalf of our customers, the company said in their announcement, it is impractical, costly, and inefficient for us to establish a redundant reserve of fiat currency over and above customer digital currency secured on our platform.

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New Hampshire House reverses stance on cryptocurrency money transmitter status - Brave New Coin

Earlier this year, E-Tao, an application for the sale of new/used goods was launched on Chinese and Indonesian markets with the ability to pay for goods using various cryptocurrenies. The application I run on a blockchain to prevent fraud from taking place. Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies will be connected to the E-Tao application.

The E-Tao creators noted: Today, Chinese applications are already the most popular in the world. Such services have gained traction among many clients. Nowadays, every third smartphone owner in China is an active user of the platforms for the sale of second-hand things We have gained the support of big business, and thanks to the unique design and technology of E-Tao application, we plan to change the existing industry, to take a leading position,

Investors have expressed confidence that the E-Tao platform has broad prospects, since similar projects have attracted the attention of major investors: recently, used mobile phones platform Huishou bao received A series investments of 100 million yuan, whereas the Jiu Ai company gained 30 million yuan in angel investments.

Predict market players commented: Payments in cryptocurrency is the niche service allowing to buy and sell goods without multiple conversions while maintaining anonymity and paying no attention to the dollar, the euro, and the yen fluctuations. E-tao will be the safest, most convenient and effective exchange platform of commodities, leaving behind those using old technology platforms,

In the future, the project will be expanding to be available for English-speaking users, as well as for those speaking Russian and Hindi later on.

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E-Tao Uses Cryptocurrency and Blockchain for Shopping - AllCoinsNews.com (blog)

ChronoBank, a blockchain-based initiative aimed at disrupting the short-term recruitment sector which ended its crowdsale with $5.4 million in funding, has announced thatTIME the Ethereum token representing a stake in ChronoBank has been added to several new exchanges.

Livecoin is an exchange that opened in 2015, registered in London.The exchange evenoffers VISA cards for rapid and easy withdrawal of funds. Currently, the majority of TIMEs volume occurs on Livecoin, as recorded by CoinMarketCap.

Liqui is a fairly new and relatively small exchange, but one that has a thriving community and a dedicated core of traders. Liqui is often quick to add new coins, proving agile where the larger exchanges take their time.

Mercatox is a professional trading platform for digital currencies. Although they focus on bitcoin, they have taken the decision to add TIME as well, judging it to have potential and appeal to their traders.

EtherDelta is a decentralised exchange built on Ethereum. More tech-savvy users will be able to trade peer-to-peer, without any risk of hacking or the failures that come with centralised exchanges.

ChronoBank are actively exploring listings with larger exchanges, and working closely with them to ensure that both compliance and technical requirements can be met, comments ChronoBank CEO Sergei Sergienko. The nature of this is that it can be a relatively drawn-out process, because it needs doing right, though rest assured that we are working as fast as we can from our end.

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Four More Cryptocurrency Exchanges Add ChronoBank's TIME - Finance Magnates

Eight years ago, bitcoin was an experimental technology of interest only to a handful of enthusiasts. Today, China which contains one in every five internet users is mulling the idea of a national cryptocurrency.

The Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) has been trialling a national digital currency based onthe same underlying technology as Bitcoin. Heres a description of how the blockchain works, but in summary its decentralized, transparent and secure.

Governments worldwide have had a problematic relationship with Bitcoin. The US has held federal hearings on it, while at a state level New York has heavily regulated the cryptocurrency with its Bitlicense. Ecuador, Bolivia and Russia have all moved to ban Bitcoin outright, while other countries have taken their time working out what to do with the cryptocurrency.

China has been among the more aggressively anti-Bitcoin regimes. Over the past few years, PBOC has pressured exchanges and banks over Bitcoin, and the government turned up the heatagain this year.

Its not surprising that countries have found it difficult to tackle cryptocurrencies. People exchanging things on peer to peer (P2P) networks used to be the music and video industrys problem. Now, suddenly, people were exchanging money with them.

When used properly, P2P money offers true anonymity, which creates problems for authorities trying to track the flow of cash to terrorists and organized criminals. Left unchecked, its also a greattax evasion tool.Wheregovernments are regulating, theyre typically making sure that anyone trading bitcoins registers their identities so that authoritiescan follow the money.

Its a tricky line for policymakers to walk. Governments need to control cryptocurrencies, but if they squash them altogether, they risk missing some of its best innovations. These include fast payments, micropayments, integration with the Internet of Things, and the ability to secure transactions using permission from multiple parties.

Governments could digitize paymentsusing a centrally controlled digital currency, sans blockchain, but then people might not trust it.Many people would find the idea ofgovernment-tracked money unpalatable.

Could a cryptocurrency-based national currency satisfy everyone, providing convenience and privacy, while giving governments enoughvisibility to avoid fraud and criminal financing? Thats what China seems to be hoping for.

PBOC said as far back as January 2016 that it was exploring a digital national currency, arguing that it would reduce the cost of distributing money, also also help curb financial fraud. It released several working papers, and trialled a blockchain-based trading platform that also supported currency issuance.

Fan Yifei, PBOCs vice-governor, has emphasised the differences between privately issued currencies (like Bitcoin) and other cryptocurrencies issued by central banks. The former is volatile, with limited acceptance, he has said, while sovereign credit backs the latter.

PBOC deputy director Yao Ago last autumn described a digital currency that could be issued by Chinas central bank, but through commercial banks that distribute it to the public. PBOC seems to recognize the need for anonymity, and wants to preserve that through the use of cryptography, but also wants to analyze data at a macroscopic level to understand where its going.

In short, he seems to be saying you can trust us. Bitcoins original ethos, though, was that you didnt have to trust anyone.

Still, tighter currency controls will be more attractive to many countries wanting to understand where the money goes and nowhere more than China, which faces a hefty shadow banking problem.

China isnt the only country to consider a digital version of a national currency. Singapore has been testing one. In the UK, a Bank of England economist at least toyed with the idea. In Canada, which for a while mulled its own digital payment system before selling it, the central bank has suggested that a digital currency would need its guiding hand to be truly successful.

National cryptocurrencies can come from other sources. In Iceland, where the economy suffered more than most during the financial crisis, anonymous cryptocurrency advocates released a cryptocurrency for the nation, called Auroracoin.

The blockchain isnt a necessity for countries considering digitised national currencies, but if used, it does offer at least a shot at privacy. Detail is everything, though, and specialists focused on cryptocurrency and security will be taking a close look.

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