Cryptocurrency News for 18 Aug 2017

Lightning Network Will Be Highly Centralized: Gavin Andresen

Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen has said he believes the Lightning Network will be “highly centralized” when it eventually rolls out.

In a series of tweets Tuesday, Andresen, who has become a source of commentary on the progress of the Bitcoin network, added that he was “OK” with the Lightning prognosis.

“I predict Lightning Network will be highly centralized in practice (big hubs at wallets/exchanges will dominate),” he wrote. “I'm ok with that, too.”

Full story at http://bit.ly/2i9wTwm

Source: CoinTelegraph

Tweet This Story

---

Three Ukrainian Lawmakers Declare Bitcoin Holdings Worth $47 Million

Three Ukrainian lawmakers have declared their bitcoin holdings as part of the country’s new electronics declaration system aimed at preventing corruption. The three hold altogether 11,644 bitcoins, worth approximately $47 million.

Three members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine which is the country’s unicameral parliament have declared their bitcoin holdings, according to Ria Novosti. Alexander Urbansky, Dmitry Belotserkovets and Dmitry Golubov are members of the political party “Bloc Petro Poroshenko.” The trio’s bitcoin holdings are shown in their electronic declarations, which Parliament members are required to submit. The publication detailed:

According to the declarations, Urbansky has 2,494 bitcoins (about 10 million dollars), Belotserkovets declared 398 bitcoins (1.6 million dollars), Golubov indicated in his declaration 8752 bitcoins (about 35 million dollars).

Three Ukrainian Lawmakers Declare Bitcoin Holdings Worth $47 MillionThis “e-declarations” system, aimed to prevent corruption, mandates government officials and related persons to declare and describe all assets they possess inside and outside of Ukraine; the information is then made available to the public.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2fNgMUD

Source: Bitcoin News

Tweet This Story

---

PayPal Ex-COO: Bitcoin, Crypto Fulfilling Our Original Vision

Former PayPal COO David Sacks has said cryptocurrency is “fulfilling PayPal’s original vision” to “create ‘the new world currency.’”

In an interview with CNBC, Sacks, who worked with the payment network in its early days around the year 2000, said there were strong comparisons between the current Blockchain scene and the dot-com boom of the 1990s.

“For those of us who lived through the dot-com era, this feels reminiscent. You have some of the same speculative excess and random enrichment,” he told the publication.

“But you can also feel that something revolutionary is happening. Money is being made programmable. That's a fundamental change with implications we can still barely see.”

Full story at http://bit.ly/2i9wUQW

Source: CoinTelegraph

Tweet This Story

---

JOHN McAFEE: Here's why you can't call bitcoin a 'bubble'

There are innovations peppered throughout history that have changed human culture beyond recognition. One such innovation was the adoption of agriculture.

Prior to this adoption, the great thinkers within society struggled with how to determine when to break camp and move to more fruitful lands, how to limit the size of a village so that sheer numbers did not quickly deplete the available food in a new area, and how to design lodging so that could be quickly dismantled for a sudden move.

Imagine how these great thinkers must have struggled to comprehend a world in which the village never moved; where the size of the village was inconsequential; and where lodging was constructed of immovable stone. There would be nothing in their contextual understanding of their culture that would allow them to comprehend the end product of the emerging new world.

I believe that the blockchain is, even now, ushering in a new economic and social paradigm that will rival, if not exceed, the impact that agriculture had in human society.

Full story at http://read.bi/2fNHOLC

Source: Business Insider

Tweet This Story

---

Venezuelan Bitcoin Mining Continues Despite Government Crackdown

The Atlantic has reported that Venezuelan bitcoin mining continues despite government efforts to crack down on miners. Venezuela has long suffered from extreme hyperinflation, inspiring many Venezuelans to mine cryptocurrency to supplement their incomes.

With the annual inflation rate expected to reach 1,600 percent, Venezuelan bitcoin mining is likely to grow in the short term. Recent reports have indicate that the Venezuelan government has been initiating a crackdown on cryptocurrency mining, motivated by concerns that bitcoin may comprise a more attracting means of exchange than the Venezuelan bolivar.

Bitcoin mining is gaining popularity in Venezuela in part due to an abundance of cheap electricity. Despite many Venezuelans struggling to access basic commodities such food, most citizens are able to afford the power required in order to mine cryptocurrencies.

Full story at http://bit.ly/2fNgPjh

Source: Bitcoin News

Tweet This Story

---

Bitcoin 'miners' dig more than just the money

In the basement of Brian Samson's house in Middletown, Delaware, computer hardware hums softly beneath monitors with scrolling lists of seemingly random numbers and letters. As Samson goes about his day as a web designer and app developer, the setup earns him money in the form of digital currency.

The best-known type, bitcoin, is how 36-year-old Samson began investing in the growing world of so-called cryptocurrencies four years ago. Intrigued by the technology used, which eliminates the need for traditional banks in transactions, he became both an investor and one of the "miners" who keep the system going.

"It gives control to people instead of a government, and I like that," Samson said. "And its value is going up. I like that, too."

In simple terms, bitcoin — which dates only to 2009 — is part currency, part commodity. It can be used as payment for transactions at companies that accept it the same way U.S. dollars are, or it can be viewed as an investment similar to gold.

Full story at http://cnb.cx/2i9gpnZ

Source: CNBC

Tweet This Story

---

Advertisement: