The search for bitcoin’s founder: who invented cryptocurrency?
The identity of the pioneering cryptocurrency’s founding father(s) has remained a mystery since a whitepaper published by a programmer going by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto surfaced in 2008. However, there are plenty that have worked with the bitcoin founder to make it a success. Satoshi Nakamoto ‘What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party’ – Satoshi Nakamoto, 2008. For a cryptographically secured digital currency built on a system that requires no central authority, it is unsurprising that its creator has stayed in the shadows. […]
Why Bitcoin’s price is so volatile
In 2017, Bitcoin’s value soared from $1,000 to just under $20,000 before dropping down to around $13,000 at the end of the year. Since then, it’s value has risen and dropped sporadically from day to day, dragging smaller cryptocurrencies like Ether and Ripple along with it. If you’re new to cryptocurrencies, this kind of volatility can be dizzying (and painful if you invest at the wrong time), but if you take a closer look it starts to make sense. Here’s why Bitcoin’s price keeps changing so drastically, and why it may get more stable in the future. Bitcoin Is Still Very New Bitcoin was first released in 2009, but it […]
‘I actually don’t quite care’: Australian bitcoin investors hang tough
Australian bitcoin investors are refusing to be spooked by the cryptocurrency’s wild volatility, saying its steep drop in value was a “healthy step” in the virtual currency’s brief history. Bitcoin – the world’s largest digital coin – fell below $US10,000 ($A12,500) on Wednesday, continuing its month-long slide. Bitcoin peaked in December, at nearly $US20,000 but has since dropped by 50 per cent. Wednesday’s price drop was sparked by a record sell-off after the South Korean government flagged a crackdown on cryptocurrency trading. South Korea is one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin is one of nearly 1400 different types of cryptocurrency. China has also recently flagged a crackdown on […]
Why investor Steve Baxter’s changed his tune on the blockchain, but warns current hype levels are “dangerous”
Last year, prominent Australian investor and Shark Tank judge Steve Baxter told StartupSmart in an interview he believed the blockchain was “overhyped”, and he had no blockchain-focused startups in his portfolio, nor was he “in a hurry to find any”. Since then, blockchain startups and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen an astounding boom in both popularity, recognition, and price, with multiple success stories locally and abroad. Asked if he’s changed his tune just over six months later, Baxter told StartupSmart this week he now owns “a bit” of second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum and appreciates the tech more. “I bought $500 bucks of Ethereum to get a sense of […]
Bitcoin tumbles as fears of cryptocurrency crackdown linger
January’s cryptocurrency selloff got fresh impetus on Tuesday when Bitcoin slumped as much as 20 percent, as the prospect of regulatory crackdowns appeared to spread. While the largest digital coin trimmed its loss and was down 18 per cent at $11,444 ($14,378) at 5am AEDT, it was still at the lowest level since late December, according to composite pricing on Bloomberg. As Bitcoin halted its two-day rally, rival cryptocurrencies also tumbled. Ripple sank as much as 33 percent and Ethereum dropped 24 percent, before both tokens pared some declines. Speculators across the globe are struggling to determine when or how market watchdogs may rein in an industry that’s decentralised and […]
AUSTRAC opens consultation on new rules for digital currency exchange providers
Australia’s financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC has earlier today provided another update to digital currency exchange providers. Somewhat later than initially planned, the agency published its draft AML/CFT Rules for consultation. The draft amendments result from the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2017, which is also known as the “Bitcoin bill”. In December last year, the legislative piece passed both Houses and got Royal Assent. Today, AUSTRAC opened a public consultation into the draft AML/CFT Rules. The period of the consultation lasts until February 13, 2018. The rules, inter alia, provide detailed information on the Digital Currency Exchange Register, as well as requirements for information to be reported about […]
Bitcoin officially has 80 percent of its 21 million coins mined
Bitcoin has surpassed another momentous milestone, with 80 percent of all the available cryptocurrency having been mined so far. Around 16.8 million Bitcoin have been mined thus far, comprising 80 percent of the 21 million Bitcoin made available by the cryptocurrency’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto, according to Bitcoin tracker Blockchain.info. Bitcoin proponents argue that because Bitcoin’s supply is finite, its value will continue to increase as scarcity prompts investors to “hodl” (hold in crypto-speak) the cryptocurrency. Thanks to difficult mathematical algorithms, and dwindling financial returns, the remaining 4.2 million Bitcoin will become ever-increasingly tough for miners to harvest. To read more, please click on the link below…. Source: Bitcoin officially […]
This Australian tech investor will be the first ASX-listed company to mine cryptocurrencies
Fatfish Internet Group will become the first ASX-listed company to “mine” cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Unlike fiat currency which is issued by a central bank, Bitcoin is created or “mined” with high-powered computers and special software used to solve math problems. Singaporean tech investor Fatfish is sinking $US1 million ($1.28 million) into a new Malaysia data centre set up to mine cryptocurrencies. It will start operation in two weeks. Fatfish (ASX:FFG) would own 51 per cent of the business and receive its profits in cryptocurrency, said CEO Kin Wai Lau. Fatfish was initially approached three months ago to invest in the business but only became interested after Bitcoin values surged […]
