Monthly Archives: May 2017

The Palestinian Monetary Authority is considering the possibility of introducing its own cryptocurrency in the next few years. Read more...

Bitcoin has already proven its potential to act as a universal currency, overcoming geographical, cultural and political differences. The cryptocurrency has been a savior to many in suffering economies, throwing them the much-needed lifeline in the form of an alternative currency. The recent legalization of Bitcoin in Japan and Russias consideration to assigning a similar status to the digital currency has got another geographical region thinking along the same lines.

According to reports, the Palestinian officials are planning to create their own digital currency in the next five years to establish an autonomous financial system. The new cryptocurrency based system is expected to reduce the regions dependence on its neighbor Israel while safeguarding itself against potential external interferences.

Currently, people in the region do not have their own legal tender, and most of the transactions happen either in euro, US dollar, Israeli shekel and Jordanian dinars. With the new digital currency, the Palestinian state will be able to conduct transactions with its own legal tender. The Palestine Monetary Authority already has a name for it, and they intend to call it Palestinian pound.

The decision was made public by the Head of Palestinian Monetary Authority, Azzam Shawwa while participating in the annual meeting of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development held in Cyprus. The ease of creating a digital currency, compared to printing banknotes may make this project successful in the conflict-ridden region. However, there are concerns about the 1994 Paris Protocol Agreement which has effectively revoked the monetary authoritys power to print its own currency.

Mentioning the monetary authoritys choice of cryptocurrency over conventional banknotes, Shawwa said,

If we print currency, to get it into the country you would always need clearance from the Israelis and that could be an obstacle, so that is why we dont want to go into it.

As the state continues to build the necessary infrastructure to rebuild its financial system, the Palestinian pound is not going to make an appearance anytime soon. It may take almost five years before the first Palestinian pound transaction can take place. But it is a good start nevertheless.

Original post:
Will Palestinians Consider Cryptocurrency as a De-Facto Currency? - newsBTC

The next generation of cryptocurrency trading has arrived: Liberalcoins.com is the first local cryptocurrency exchange that offers Bitcoin and Altcoin trading for cash as well as inter-cryptocurrency trading all under one roof. The new user-friendly platform charges the lowest fees in the market and offers unrivalled security features. Free registration is now open.

Liberalcoins is the brainchild of entrepreneur Simon Lange, 26, who addresses the need for more flexibility, privacy and safety in the cryptocurrency exchange market. After two years of development his international one-stop-shop for crypto trading launches today (13/5/2017).

With its secure, intuitive and easy interface, Liberalcoins is perfect for newbies who want to start their crypto portfolio as well as for experienced traders. Users can find local traders via the platform and arrange to meet face to face for cash for Bitcoin or cash for Altcoin exchanges. Alternatively, they can choose from a wide array of wire and transfer services.

Bitcoin/cash trades are charged at 0.5% per completed transaction. This is the lowest fee in the market.

Heres the brilliant thing: The platform aims to unite the diverse cryptocurrency market by also facilitating trades between cryptocurrencies. This will give users the option of easily balancing their cryptocurrency portfolio, and has potential to further drive the demand for Altcoins on the back of the recent surge in Bitcoin prices.

Currently supported are exchanges between Bitcoin, Dash, Monero and Litecoin in any combination, giving traders ultimate flexibility when balancing their portfolio. As Lange puts it, Liberalcoins has the potential to bring the cryptocurrency community closer together to drive towards a common goal a stronger integration of digital currencies into our daily lives.

The company has gone to lengths to offer the best security features on the market: Shortly after launch, users will be able to encrypt access to their assets with a password an industry first.

A built-in escrow system releases the coins after the transaction is completed. Liberalcoins is business validated by Symantec, which also runs daily security checks. Users also benefit from the stringent privacy laws of the Isle of Man and Scandinavia, where servers and email storage are located respectively.

At Liberalcoins we seek to give traders the opportunity to trade and invest in digital currencies minimizing dependence on the global banking system, says Lange. We firmly believe in the future of cryptocurrencies and the security and privacy of our users.

We strongly advocate that the cryptocurrency market remains free from any governmental regulatory and legal intervention. In an economic reality of historically increasing inflation, rising prices and central bank printing of fiat currencies we are part of the evolution of our financial future.

Join Liberalcoins.com today to be a part of the evolution in digital currency trading and become part of the community. To keep up with news and developments that will help traders with their investment decisions, follow Liberalcoins on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Steemit and Liberalcoins Blog.

Read the rest here:
Launching Today: Liberalcoins.com the First One-Stop-Shop for Cryptocurrency Trading - newsBTC

It is evident for everyone to see Japan is going crazy about cryptocurrency right now. This is made possible thanks to the new regulations going into effect, which removed the 8% sales tax when buying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It is also interesting to note several cryptocurrencies are incredibly popular in Japan, whereas others are not that hot. All of the coins listed below are ranked based on their JPY trading volume.

Although this particular cryptocurrency has eluded the vast majority of enthusiasts, MonaCoin is quite popular among JPY traders. It is listed on the Zaif exchange, where it can be traded against Bitcoin as well. MonaCoin was also one of the altcoins successfully activating SegWit before Litecoin did.

The native token of the New Economy Movement has seen its fair share of success in Japan as well. It is a currency maintained by a team of Japanese developers. Moreover, XEM and its NEM blockchain have made quite a name for itself in Japanese circles as well. Definitely a currency to keep an eye on moving forward.

A lot of people will be shocked to learn Ethereum is not all that popular when it comes to buying or selling it in exchange for the Japanese Yen. Then again, these are still the early days for cryptocurrency in the country, and things may continue to shift around for quite some time to come. Ethereum is very popular when traded against bitcoin, though, as is to be expected.

It comes as quite a surprise to a lot of people to learn Ripple or to be more precise, XRP is quite popular among Japanese cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Various exchanges list XRP as one of their trading pairs, and it seems to do quite well overall. In most cases, XRP can be traded against the JPY only

There is one big exception to this trend, though. The Mr. Ripple exchange which is mostly known for buying and selling XRP trades the currency against the JPY, USD, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. Its JPY market is by far the largest on the platform, although the XRP/BTC market is quite popular as well. It is quite interesting to see Japanese exchanges dedicated themselves to one particular currency and even naming the platform after it.

Regardless of where one looks in the world, Bitcoin will always be the most popular traded currency against fiat. Japan is no different in this regard, as all exchanges allow for BTC/JPY trades by the look of things. It is due to this trading pair these platforms are so successful during the initial stages of Japanese cryptocurrency adoption.

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Original post:
Top 5 Cryptocurrencies in Japan - The Merkle

The United Nations agency dedicated to fighting drug trafficking and organized crime has developed a new cryptocurrency training program.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed its "Cryptocurrency Investigation Train-the-Trainers" this week, partnering with law enforcement officials from 22 countries on the sessions.

What's happening: According to UNODC which has taken part in similar discussions in the past the initiative is centered around "[conducting] bitcoin tracing as a part of a wider financial investigation".A follow-up training was specifically dedicated to improving institutional knowledge of the tech.

The agency also worked with blockchain analytics startup Chainalysis to develop the program.

"It's thanks to donor Governments such as the UK, USA, Norway that UNODC GPML has been able to develop and deliver this innovative course," Neil Walsh, UNODC's point person on cybercrime, said of the venture.

The bigger picture: With the launch of the trainings, yet another UN agency is expanding into blockchain.

As CoinDesk has previously reported, various elements of the UN are testing the tech to see if it can help withsending remittances, delivering financial aid and endingchild poverty, among other areas.

Some of those UN agencies are even moving toward more collaborative efforts, signaling that the organization sees a positive role for blockchain in its global operations.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Chainalysis.

Image Credit:Arsenie Krasnevsky/Shutterstock.com

United NationsCybercrime

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UN Agency Launches Cryptocurrency Cybercrime Training - CoinDesk

FundYourselfNow, a global cryptocurrency crowdfunding platform, announced earlier this week it is set to launch in the first quarter of 2018. The funding portal revealed:

The year 2016 saw over $200 million worth of cryptocurrency investments raised though the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) process. But creating and launching an ICO campaign requires expert technical and marketing knowledge which may not be everyones forte. FundYourselfNow makes the whole process easier by enabling project creators to get their ideas funded by global backers. The project creators on FundYourselfNow will be able to create virtual tokens to offer unique customized rewards to the backers and helpers contributing towards the project. These tokens can also be traded or sold on the platforms marketplace on a later date.

According to the creators of the platform, FundYourselfNow is being built over an Ethereum platform and a significant portion of the site has already been completed, with preparations to introduce Bitcoin support in the future through Rootstock.Jack Ser, CEO of FundYourselfNow, stated:

With the recent mainstream acceptance of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, we want to build an ecosystem that offers entrepreneurs an alternative funding raising platform for their product, with minimal technical and marketing knowledge.

FundYourselfNow recently closed its initial seed funding round, which angel investors led by Carlos Salas invested. Salas shared:

We believe that FundYourselfNow addresses many existing problems in the traditional crowdfunding model such as accountability, high transaction costs and lack of project support. FundYourselfNow has capable people, process innovators and expert domain knowledge for successful execution.

Funds from the seed round will go towards FundYourselfNowsplatform development and enable easy crowdfunding through virtual currencies and allow users to seek assistances for their initiatives.The platform added it scheduled its upcoming ICO on June 2nd,offering an opportunity for investors to be a part of the new crowdfunding movement.

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Originally posted here:
Global Cryptocurrency Crowdfunding Platform FundYourselfNow Announces First Quarter 2018 Launch - Crowdfund Insider