Bitcoin falls below $US2000 amid fight between miners and developers
Bitcoin fell below $US2000 for the first time since May amid anxiety its dominant status is under threat. As enthusiasts consider adopting competing updates to the blockchain technology that underpins the exchange method by the end of July, it has raised the possibility of the cryptocurrency splitting in two. Bitcoin has lost about a third of its value since peaking at about $US3000 last month. Calls for a revamp of the software come as exchanges struggled to keep up with rising volumes while the price almost tripled this year. Bitcoin isn’t the only one struggling as the two competing camps — miners and developers — are facing off over how […]
Bitcoin civil war heats up ahead of key software upgrade
It’s time for bitcoin traders to batten down the hatches. The notoriously volatile cryptocurrency, whose 160 per cent surge this year has captivated everyone from Wall Street bankers to Chinese grandmothers, could be headed for one of its most turbulent stretches yet. Blame the bitcoin civil war. After two years of largely behind-the-scenes bickering, rival factions of computer whizzes who play key roles in bitcoin’s upkeep are poised to adopt two competing software updates at the end of the month. That has raised the possibility that bitcoin will split in two, an unprecedented event that would send shockwaves through the $US41 billion ($53.8 billion) market. While both sides have big […]
Beyond bitcoin: what emerging blockchain technology means for your organisation
Crypto currency Bitcoin is gaining increasing attention as an alternative to existing financial options. It offers a highly secure way for parties to exchange funds without the need for an intermediary such as a bank. Yet Bitcoin is only one application of the technology that underpins it. Dubbed blockchain, this technology has the potential to revolutionise everything from billing systems and contracts to supply chains and even electronic medical records. In reality, Bitcoin is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to blockchain deployments. According to analyst reports, usage is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 61.5 per cent until 2021. This means […]
Bitcoin seen surging to $US50,000 in decade
Ronnie Moas, who for the past 13 years has made more than 900 stock recommendations via his one-man show at Standpoint Research, is now venturing into cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin will double to $US5000 next year, and reach $US25,000 to $US50,000 in the next decade, the Miami Beach, Florida-based Moas said in a note to clients overnight, where he also disclosed he bought “a little bit” of litecoin, bitcoin and ethereum in a Coinbase.com account. It’s a testament to the exuberance around bitcoin, ethereum and other blockchain assets that equity investors who hadn’t been involved in cryptocurrencies are now starting to analyse and make bets on the sector along with established bitcoin […]
The new crowdfunding? Ethereum ICOs raise close to $1 billion in June alone
In just 19 days, Ethereum initial coin offerings have raised close to $1 billion dollars, according to estimates, with speculations this could be the biggest decentralised venture funding event in history. Tech news site Trust Nodes has crunched the numbers and estimates $US642 million has been raised by prominent initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the first three weeks of June, with another estimated $US60 million raised from smaller events. An ICO involves investors buying a cryptocurrency, which has a value in relation to another currency like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Bancor raised $US150 million on June 13, making it the biggest crowdfunding in history, at least for a few days. Trust […]
Super-fast, safe blockchain technology being developed at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney researchers are building a new super-fast, safe blockchain technology that has the potential to revolutionise the global economy. Best known as the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, blockchain is a digital public ledger where transactions are recorded and confirmed pseudonymously. Named the ‘Red Belly Blockchain’, the new system being developed by the University of Sydney’s School of Information Technologies will allow secure and almost instantaneous digital transfer of virtual currencies across the world. “In recent testing, our blockchain achieved the best performance we have seen so far – with more than 440,000 transactions per second on 100 machines. In comparison, VISA’s network has a […]
Australian govt consults on digital currency taxation legislation
The Australian government is looking for the best way to address the so-called “double taxation” of digital currency which is now prescribed by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law. The push comes amid a sharp growth in the use of this particular type of medium of exchange. The government has published exposure draft legislation and explanatory material for amendments to the GST law. The public consultation on these proposals will run for four weeks, closing on July 26, 2017. The draft legislation would have a retrospective start date of July 1, 2017. In summary, from July 1, 2017, digital currency will be treated just like money for GST purposes. […]
The truth about blockchains
Blockchain is the new ‘hotness’ in the innovation world, but like all new technologies, it is widely misunderstood. A blockchain is a set of difficult mathematical computations, based on cryptography. Participants in the chain provide transactions to it. Some participants perform the maths of encoding those transactions into the chain. This happens at a regular interval. Once encoded into the chain, each transaction is public and permanent. Bitcoin, which is the poster child for the technology, is a blockchain used as a currency. It relies on ‘miners’, or the participants who encode the transactions into the chain. These miners get rewarded with a newly created bitcoin each time they do […]
