John McAfee challenges SEC over cryptocurrencies

Love him, or hate him, there is very little doubt that John McAfee always keeps things interesting.

The eccentric founder of McAfee Associates is rarely far away from the headlines and that’s not about to change any time soon, with the businessman announcing plans to make a run for the Whitehouse in 2020.

The security expert’s decision to run for the presidency can only be good news for the cryptocurrency community, as McAfee has repeatedly shown himself to be a proponent of digitalised money.

In one of his most recent showings of support, McAfee challenged the SEC to a debate on the subject, which he would like to be aired on national television. He made this challenge after the SEC chairman Jay Clayton’s comments on the regulations currently in place on cryptocurrencies.

Earlier this week McAfee took to Twitter to call out Clayton.

McAfee’s reaction was partially prompted by the SEC Chairman’s recent classification of all initial coin offerings as securities.

He commented on this via his Twitter, writing: “The head of the SEC declared today that all ICOs are securities. While I STRONGLY disagree, and believe that the majority of ICOs do not meet the Suprene Court Howey Test for securities, I will submit, for now, to their rules and will not work with future ICOs.. But, I’ll be back.”

The worry of McAfee and other cryptocurrency supporters is that the SEC will move toward strict regulatory measures. McAfee has never been shy in his view on this, stating that he believes that money should be separated from the state as the tools are now available for this to be possible.

McAfee also believes that a discussion over the subject on CNN could help him further prove his point, stating:

“I challenge the SEC to debate me on CNN. I debated the FBI two years ago when they they overstepped their bounds. You, the SEC, have overstepped your bounds. I ripped the FBI a new asshole on CNN. I welcome the opportunity to RIP the SEC a new asshole.”

It’s not clear which way this will go as of yet, but McAfee doesn’t look like he’s going to back down any time soon.

Cashout in 6 seconds: ORCA solution for instant crypto to euro withdrawals will cure headaches for crypto users

Want to cash out Ethereum or other cryptocurrencies from an exchange instantly without paying ridiculous fees? ORCA can help you. The passage linking cryptocurrencies together regular finance is being laid. Yesterday ORCA Alliance has presented their technological case for the community during a live event streamed online. Mere 6 seconds. That’s how long it took ORCA to complete a transfer from a cryptocurrency exchange straight to user’s bank.

The demonstration was opened by Laurent Bourquin, Chief Operating Officer of ORCA and former investment bank analyst who presented the changing landscape of global finance.

“The whole banking sector is being disrupted <…>. A couple of years ago it had been inconceivable to think that a start-up can enter the closed market of retail and investment banking and take over a part of its market share” – claimed L. Bourquin.

According to him, new IT-based market players are challenging banks and providing cheaper, more efficient services. To intensify the changes further, Open Banking is already making it’s way to Europe while other countries are watching closely to jump onboard. Most importantly, cryptocurrencies are capturing people’s attention and have become the most recent trend widely discussed in the world of finance, especially due to the fact it is including and making regular people interested in finance.

Natan Avidan, the co-founder, and CEO of ORCA Alliance gave a broader presentation about ORCA and what problems does it aim to solve. ORCA is a financial management tool oriented for cryptocurrency users which connects various financial accounts through their APIs.  N. Avidan said that mass cryptocurrency adoption would be reached only if the market becomes more user-friendly, facilitating ease of access to technologically uneducated users.

The technological case itself was presented by Dmitrij Radin, Chief Technological Officer of ORCA, with the help of a vending machine which helped to verify that funds were received. The transfer took only 6 seconds, ten times shorter than was initially expected.

ORCA’s solution is set to relieve loads of issues tormenting cryptocurrency adopters. ORCA is building an Open Banking platform that will make everyone’s banking experience convenient and simple. Users will be able to connect, track and manage their financial accounts from European banks, e-money institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges, and wallets. ORCA is providing an all-in-one banking solution.

“At the core, ORCA is a consumer application, and we are well aware that mass adoption can be reached only through practical use cases and convenience benefits. Instant crypto withdrawals are just a stepping stone towards our goal albeit an essential one.” – commented Natan Avidan, CEO of ORCA Alliance.

ORCA started making waves in the crypto community. Fintech start-up recently announced a partnership with an e-money institution MisterTango which is operating under the supervision of European authorities. Soon enough they presented the technological solution for momentous crypto withdrawals and plans to release introductory version of the platform before the end of June. The timing of ORCA to create a consumer-oriented application for personal banking including cryptocurrencies is impeccable.

More information about ORCA: https://orcaalliance.eu

OSA DC Partners With Dalong Pay to Accept Fiat Payments

OSA DC has penned a partnership with DalongPay, a payment platform that bridges the gap between crypto and traditional currencies.

Founded in December 2016 with the goal of delivering convenient payment instruments to the emerging crypto community, DalongPay is a crypto-to-fiat payment system. It acts as an easily accessible bridge between fiat currencies and crypto currencies. The system allows its users to buy crypto online with bank cards, as it allows them to sell and swap crypto and fiat freely using the bank card and transfer between the two types of currencies using DalongPay’s system. DalongPay currently supports Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dash, and Zcash.

Approximately 15%-20% of ICOs use fiat for contributions, while more than half of 2017s most successful ICOs accepted fiat during their token sales. The team believes that the service will be greatly beneficial to the OSA DC community, it’ll make purchasing OSA tokens easier and more convenient than ever before. It’s the first step OSA token sale participants can take towards become smart consumer’s on the OSA DC platform, as they’ll have easy access to liquidity and a sure-fire way to participate in the ecosystem even if they have no prior experience with cryptocurrencies.

“At OSA DC, we cater to the smart consumer, so it’s only natural that we’d want to provide every avenue possible for them to participate in the token sale,” Alex Isaiev, co-founder of OSA DC stated regarding the developments. “Now it’ll be easier for our community members to get involved with the project, opening up avenues for even more smart consumers to join us in our pursuit of a perfected retail experience.”

Building on its predecessor the OSA Hybrid Platform, OSA DC combines blockchain technology and cutting edger artificial intelligence to help retailers and manufacturers better manage their inventories. With OSA DC’s blockchain, producers and sellers can track their products with pinpoint accuracy, while its AI digital assistant will allow them to devise more precise business strategies and help retailers to manage stock-outs and inventory issues in real-time. Consumers will benefit from the platform, as well, utilizing its AI assistant to tailor shopping choices and to commit data to the network in exchange for OSA tokens.

At the moment, DalongPay applications for iOS and Android are already available for users. For companies wishing to conduct an ICO using DalongPay, the organization has developed an API for acquiring and instantly converting fiat currencies into cryptocurrencies.

You can learn more about OSA DC here and more about DalongPay here.

Edgar Allan Poe inspires creatives’ blockchain start-up

There aren’t many blockchain start-ups that can say that they take their inspiration from a nineteenth century poet, but Qravity certainly can.

Inspired by the tiny amount that Edgar Allan Poe was paid for his writing output, Austrian producer and composer, David Brandstaetter, set-up the blockchain start-up Qravity.

The idea behind it is to give artists and content creators their just reward.

He discussed this inspiration, with The Drum reporting him as stating the following: “Poe’s work, especially The Raven and Annabel Lee, has always inspired me. He not only wrote some of the most famous poems of all time, he also established the foundations of the detective story and science fiction!”

Copyright infringement and fair payment are just some of the hurdles today’s creators have to face in order to get fair payment and Poe’s story of underpayment got the Austrian thinking about this.

Brandstaetter has a long history in the world of creativity, working for the likes of Sony and Rockstar Games, so he understands what it takes to make it in the fiercely competitive creative industries.
Thus, he founded Qravity in 2016 with the goal of helping others bring their content to the market.

In a world where opportunists exist at every corner, Qravity uses blockchain to keep all transactions transparent. It also uses smart contracts which keep immutable and transparent records of projects within its system.

He added: “In July 2017, we had a unique collaboration and communication tool for creative teams. Qravity also tracks tasks in such a way that creative members receive stakes in the content they help make. For example, a person who writes lyrics for a song gets a share, say five percent, of the song’s revenue. Every time someone buys that song, the lyricist gets five percent of that payment.”

Digital tokens that are called QPT are how creatives keep track of their records. Revenue is distributed based on how many QPT they hold relating to their content.

Payment is then given in the form of Qravity’s cryptocurrency, QCO.

For instance, if a drummer has a ten percent stake in the song he penned, a 1 QCO song earns him 0.10 QCO, which he can then trade on crypto exchanges, or spend in the Qravity marketplace.

Investors pile-in for blockchain streaming start-up

How we watch our favourite television shows and sporting events is changing and up until now, this hasn’t been great news for television networks.

That is because these networks haven’t been making much money off that process, but VideoCoin might just change all that.

When networks stream to televisions, one signal can hit many different viewers, but with internet viewing it is simply one signal to one device.

Thus, the overall people per signal drops. VideoCoin plans to help broadcasters send video streams to unused tech infrastructure that have extra capacity which will help with processing.

The immersive video start-up, Live Planet, is also involved in this project as strategic partners. There are also plenty of other high profile investors on-board, including the likes of Anthony Di lorio, who is a co-founder of Ethereum and Akamai co-founder Randal Kaplan.

In fact, their entire $50 million initial coin offering (IC0) has already been sold through private investment. If you want to get involved, then we’ve some bad news; there is no plan for a public sale.

That being said, there are reports that there will be an airdrop to supporters over the next few weeks.

Halsey Minor, who is a co-founder of CNET is already on-board too and he sees this investment as a no-brainer.

He said: “What we’re building is the next-generation infrastructure for how you do video processing and distributed services.”

He also added that this is the ideal use for this technology, stating: “The one use case the blockchain that’s going to work first is the commodification of hardware. It’s perfect for it.”

Blockchain being tested on UK National Archives

Every day there is another story about an organisation reaping the rewards of blockchain technology, however there aren’t many with the reputation of the UK government.

Thus, the news that the government are investigating the use of blockchain for record sharing within The National Archives could be a massive boost for advocates of the technology.

The Archives is renowned for being a standard setter in its area, so it is hoped that this research will give a wider understanding of blockchain technology to Archives and Memory Institutions (AMIs) throughout the world.

The research, which is entitled Archangel, is a collaborative project and involves the likes of the University of Surrey and the Open Data Institute.

It is being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, with the key idea being to check how useful blockchain can be for managing extensive archives.

Alex Green, who is the Archives’ digital preservation services manager, wrote a blog about the research this week.

In it, he wrote the following: “How can we demonstrate that the record you see today is the same record that was entrusted to the archive 20 years previously?”

“How do we ensure that citizens continue to see archives as trusted custodians of the digital public record? To address these questions, Archangel is exploring how we can know that a digital record has been modified and whether the change was legitimate so that ultimately it can still be trusted as the authentic record”

He added: “Specifically, the project is investigating how blockchain might be used to achieve this.”

Distributed ledger technology will “collect robust digital signatures derived from digitized physical, and born-digital content.”

The research is expected to take around a year and a half.

How does a commission-free smartphone trading service sound? Revolut might have the answer

There aren’t too many app-based challenger banks that are as diverse as Revolut.

You’d be hard pushed to find another one that offers accounts, international money transfers that aren’t expensive and an option to both buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

Now, it is adding another tool to its arsenal; a commission-free share trading platform, which will allow customers to invest in companies without having to pay huge fees. It is also letting users buy other instruments, such as exchange traded fund (ETFs).

For those of you familiar with the US market, Revolut’s model is similar to the Robinhood app, but for the European market.

In a statement released by Nik Storonsky, who is the Founder and CEO of the company, Revolut has vowed to shake up the world of investments in a similar fashion to how they did with banking.

The statement read: “Brokers are charging people as much as £5.00 per trade and the user interfaces are typically clunky, slow and confusing for consumers. The pain points are clear for us and the room for improvement is massive.”

Smartphone investing without commission and brokerage fees is an idea which could change the entire investment landscape within Europe, so it’s hardly surprising that this development is being monitored with a watchful eye.

No official date has been set for this new option, but the organisation is thought to be in the advance stages of development.

Can blockchain change the art world? Andy Warhol auction might just do that

Fraud has always been a problem in the art industry, but it is a problem that may have a readymade solution.

Those within the industry are looking for that solution and in that search, they have arrived with an obvious, yet brilliant, answer – blockchain technology.

Transactions using this process empower buyers, as they can trace their goods and their histories.

There is a gallery in London that intends to take advantage of that, when they auction off a portion of Andy Warhol’s ’ 14 Small Electric Cars’ for cryptocurrency.

The auction, which is taking place on June 20th, is coming to the world via Dadiani Fine Art in London’s Mayfair.

There will be 49 percent of the work on sale in cryptocurrencies, in an auction which is being hosted by both the Dadiani Syndicate and Maecenas Fine Art.

How much will it get?

A report in Forbes has estimated that the piece is worth in the region of $5.6 million (around 730 Bitcoin).

This marks just another stage in the relationship between crypto, blockchain and art. Earlier this year, Art Stage Singapore sold four paintings for cryptocurrency and several other galleries are considering moving to this sort of process.

Jess Houlgrave, the cofounder of blockchain identity company Codex Protocol, reckons that the number of fraudulent art pieces on the market could be as high as 40 percent. Thus, blockchain technology could be the very mode which will help clean up this market.

How will the price be decided?

A smart contract running on the Ethereum blockchain will determine the final price of the works.

The high profile nature of this auction could help change how buyers and sellers interact in the artworld.

The fact that every transaction is both traceable and immutable on blockchain makes it an ideal solution to transactions of a high value and a sensitive nature.

Centralization broke the internet; It’s time to fix it

There are plenty of reasons not to like the internet today.

It starts with how we access it. Depending on where you are, internet connections can be unreliable, slow, and even pricey. There’s much disparity in the speed and pricing of the packages offered by internet service providers (ISPs) all over the world. ISPs can be quite restricting too. Monthly bandwidth caps are forcing us to prioritize what to access online.

This then leads us to the issue of net neutrality. ISPs are lobbying against an open internet claiming that they should have the right to set prices depending on the type of content or data that we access. This is at odds with our right to freely use (within lawful bounds) a utility we’re paying for.

Governments are also exerting their influence over the internet placing laws and regulations that allow them to censor and surveil our online activities. Private corporations also figure into this discussion as well. It seems that we’ve virtually forfeited our data to these companies when we agreed to their terms and conditions to use their services.

Then there’s the general profusion of bad products, bad content, and bad behavior. The list can go on.

The big question is, how can we fix it?

Centralization ruined it

Centralization has got a lot to do with these issues. The internet used to be highly decentralized operating essentially as a large peer-to-peer network. This changed when large telco companies took over the infrastructure in the effort to commercialize internet access.

Today’s tech giants eventually rose to prominence by providing most of the popularly used services and applications. They now happen to figure into almost every aspect of internet use. Google knows what questions we need answered. Facebook knows who and what we like.  Amazon, being our go-to store, knows our home addresses, payment information, and purchases.

Unless you’ve been living completely off the grid, these companies are bound to have your in-depth profile. What’s even scary is that such data can be used to manipulate us as revealed in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Having only a small group of entities dictate what we can and can’t do on the internet isn’t a good thing. These companies can impose policies that are designed for them to profit from our participation in a not-so-equitable manner. They can also stifle competition due to their size and influence.

A centralized service also serves as a single point of failure, that when exploited, could lead to disastrous outcomes. For example, DNS service provider Dyn plays a major role in the today’s infrastructure. An outage caused by a cyberattack to its services back in 2016 took down popular applications like Twitter and Netflix. This disrupted the online activities of millions of users.

How about decentralization?

There is now growing interest in transitioning away from centralized approaches as more users become aware of these downsides. The vision of decentralization is lessen the hold of these few entities over the internet and give back power and control to users.

It’s even quite fortunate that blockchain and crypto activities have gained much acceptance over the past year. These technologies offer the means to make a decentralized internet viable. Through blockchain and smart contracts, it is now possible to build and deploy decentralized applications (dapps) and platforms founded on transparent and immutable rules designed to be fair to its users.

These platforms are making headway in their development.

Projects like Skycoin even seek to disrupt the internet infrastructure segment by coming up with Skyminer – a custom-built hardware that is designed to support a crypto-driven internet ecosystem. The device essentially functions as a cost-effective but high-performing server with secure routing and networking capabilities. The device is also planned to be able to broadcast using a wireless antenna which will allow owners to function as ISPs and share their bandwidth to others creating a real peer-to-peer infrastructure.

Moreover, these efforts are making use of crypto currencies to power their respective economies. This way, they become self-sustaining. Peers fairly pay each other directly using crypto currencies without the involvement of intermediaries. Prices are market-driven and not dictated by big corporations.

The community that these platforms create also become a self-policing body that could democratically decide on matters. They are also responsible for encouraging positive behavior and punishing poor products and services and malicious actions.

Fixing the internet

We’ve been letting the internet be under the control of just a few entities for far too long. What we need to fix is for ordinary users like us to regain control and create an internet that’s truly neutral. It does call for us to step away from centralized approaches. Fortunately, decentralization offers the means for us to do so.

Decentralized platforms allow us to participate in fair and equitable markets. The crypto currency economies ensure that platforms are self-sustaining. These platforms also provide the opportunity for us to get back ownership of our personal data.

These technologies may still be in relative infancy but with exciting and ambitious projects that even seek to disrupt not only services and applications but the underlying infrastructure, a decentralized internet might be in our future. This way, we get to enjoy an internet that’s truly for the people and by the people.

Why blockchain technology is changing the world of online gambling

Blockchain technology is very hot right now. Many global companies and financial institutions have implemented forms of the technology, to help improve the reliability and security of their processes. Forbes has recently reported that even the IRS is hoping to reap the benefits of the technology. One of the industries that could potentially see the greatest improvements from implementing blockchain technology is the online gambling industry.

The technology would deliver what customers and reputable online gambling providers have long since sought; a way of providing permanent verified information that is not open to any form of manipulation. This is a major change for a gambling industry that has sometimes suffered from a lack of trust shown by customers and been hampered by current verification systems which can be cumbersome and unwanted.

Early days of blockchain technology for online gambling

It’s still fairly early days for blockchain technology in the world of online gambling. However, many online casinos already accept cryptocurrencies like Ethereum as a deposit method. Here is a reliable list of recommended sites that provide Ethereum as an option in their cashier. Online casinos are also already implementing their own systems for the completion and signing of smart contracts.

A major sign that blockchain technology could be the way forward for online gambling is that Malta, the center of Europe’s Igaming has recently approved three separate cryptocurrency bills. The content of the bills concerns the legalization and regulation of cryptocurrencies for use in online casinos. This means that online casinos will have a way of being regulated and certified in the use of cryptocurrencies. The Digital Innovation Authority has also been formed, in order to keep check on information which is stored on  Distributed Ledger Technology platforms.

Why could blockchain technology be so important?

Online gambling is big business; it accounts for around 25% of all gambling revenue. This means that billions of dollars every year can be made in the gambling industry. The problem is that there are several issues which can have an adverse effect on the ability of the online gambling industry to reach its full potential; not least a perceived lack of transparency and trust.

Technology, such as that used for the Ethereum blockchain, enables the construction, signing and sharing of digital contracts between players and casinos. This means that it will no longer be possible for less reputable companies not to honor promises that have been made. This should mean that disputes will be a thing of the past and that the system of payouts will be quick and problem free. Of course, it’s possible that we will not see these benefits immediately, but blockchain technology certainly has the potential to ensure that these changes happen.

Transparency even behind the scenes

One of the biggest issues that online casinos have had to deal with is the common perception that they are hiding things from players. This could be anything from results to winners and the amount of money that is paid out in prizes. The public has a general belief that much of this type of information is hidden away from them. This often means that the profits from online gambling are not maximised and that the optimum playing experience is not achieved. Bringing blockchain technology into the online gambling arena has the potential to revolutionize it, by removing these issues.

This is a huge positive for online casinos. Many reputable casinos have previously suffered because rogue casinos gave the industry a bad name. How many times have you heard players bemoan the fact that the house always seems to win? If this type of concern becomes prevalent, people can start to stay away from a certain casino. This is no good for the industry. Using blockchain technology means that information is shared across everyone, so it’s not possible for casino to hide anything. This should mean that people have more faith in online casinos, meaning that they start to play more and the revenue of the casinos increases.

Cutting back on player fraud

It’s not just from a reputational point of view that online casinos will benefit from the ongoing use of blockchain technology; they should also see a reduction of losses due to player fraud. There are many different ways in which people who want to cheat the casino can do so; popular options are to hack into the casino or make fraudulent transactions in the cashier. This type of fraud can cost online casinos a lot of money. Using blockchain technology means that online casinos can ensure the security of transactions. Having distributed ledger technology in place means that all winnings are automatically calculated, and the results can clearly be seen by all. Smart contracts are in place and everything is completely open to scrutiny. This means that fraudsters should not be able to manipulate wins any longer. Preventing these losses from fraud is potentially a huge financial benefit for the online casino industry.

Simple payment options

Blockchain technology is obviously closely linked to the use of cryptocurrency, although its use has now gone far beyond that single realm. This original use of blockchain technology provides one of its most useful benefits when it comes to online gambling. The use of cryptocurrencies means that players are not restricted as to how and where they can gamble online, depending on the jurisdiction in which they live. These restrictions can be severe if a player tries to deposit or withdraw using a regulated payment service. Using cryptocurrencies also means that financial charges which casinos have to pay will decrease as they will not have to pay third party financial services providers. This should mean that online casinos no longer charge for the processing of banking transactions which are related to the use of cryptocurrencies.

Complete anonymity online

Anyone who has played at an online casino should know about the problems that sometimes arise from proof of identity being requested. Some casinos request that players provide a whole stack of private documents before they are able to withdraw any winnings. This identification process can be lengthy and extremely frustrating; not something that the casino or the player really wants.

The use of blockchain technology means that this type of identification process could be a thing of the past as the blockchain process itself provides transparency and authentication of contracts. All players should need to do is send blockchain as requested. There is no need to download software or even to create an account. This means that the players and casinos will experience less hassle and that it will not be as easy for hackers to get hold of the personal information of players. This sounds like a really good thing in some ways. However, some people view it as a means of evading current regulatory requirements relating to online casino activity. This can mean that cryptocurrency casinos are viewed with a certain amount of suspicion.

The introduction of Zero Edge

Zero Edge is an online gaming cryptocurrency provider that has fully embraced blockchain technology and its benefits to the world of online gambling. This is a brand new concept involving the launch of the Zerocoin cryptocurrency which is intended for use in the gaming industry.  The currency comes alongside a protocol developed by Zero Edge which means that the previously expected house edge no longer exists. This is an online gaming platform which is set to shape the future.

It remains to be seen how popular Zero Edge technology will become, but the more its popularity increases, the better the news is for players. This is because the value of Zerocoin could increase dramatically, which would also increase the value of winnings. It’s easy to see why Zero Edge has caused so much excitement so far. It takes all of the best points of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies and brings them together in one online gambling solution. All of this means that the future of online gambling could be a place where odds are even, deposits and withdrawals are instant and safe and fairness is ensured across all casino games. As all Zerocoin holders are pooled together when using the system, verification issues are fulfilled. All that needs to be known is that a certain amount of Zerocoins has been deposited.

All of this sounds great in theory. However, it’s still very early days for blockchain technology in the world of online gambling. The technology has certainly already started to change online gambling and it has the potential to bring about many more changes in the future. It could increase the profits of online casinos while also making casinos fairer and safer for players. As blockchain technology continues to be at the center of many news stories, it will be interesting to see how its use in the online gaming industry progresses. Only time will tell whether all of the benefits can be embraced and blockchain technology can really become the norm, in the world of online gambling.