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Sunday, 30 September 2018

Blockchains Don't Have to Be Perfect, They Just Have to Be Better

A blockchain can contain garbage data but in many cases, it will still be better than the status quo. We might even find often that it's a lot better.

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Bitcoin Price Makes Second Straight Monthly Loss in September

Bitcoin is reporting losses for a second straight month, but there are hints of a bullish breakout ahead in the fourth quarter.

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This Meme Marketplace Uses Dummy Tokens to Draw Users in a Bear Market

Even before its protocol is live, District0x's Meme Factory has engaged its community in blockchain governance with a meme contest and fake tokens.

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India's Central Bank Denies 'Formal Creation' of Blockchain Unit

The Reserve Bank of India has denied officially forming a new unit to research AI and blockchain technology, despite reports to the contrary.

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New Ripple-Led Advocacy Group to Pay Lobbyists in XRP

Ripple is leading a group of organizations launching an advocacy body in Washington D.C. that will pay for lobbying in both U.S. dollars and XRP.

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Michael Arrington's VC Firm to Leave US Following Subpoena

Arrington XRP Capital may stop funding U.S.-based blockchain startups after being subpoenaed repeatedly by the SEC.

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One Musician's Creative Solution to Drive ASICs Off Monero

Howard Chu, a monero core dev and musician, has created an algorithm that he thinks will keep ASICS at bay on the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency.

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Friday, 28 September 2018

Bitcoin Fraudsters Misled Investors and Impersonated Regulators, CFTC Alleges

The CFTC has filed charges against two individuals for allegedly impersonating the regulator in an effort to defraud bitcoin investors.

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Samourai Wallet Stops Showing Fiat Value of Bitcoin Balances

The Samourai Wallet is dropping fiat values from its platform, and will only display bitcoin balances in BTC or satoshis going forward.

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Ethereum Security Lead Joins Effort to Oust Blockchain's Big Miners

Security lead for the Ethereum Foundation said today that he supports swift action to remove ASIC mining hardware from the ethereum platform.

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WSJ Investigation Alleges $88 Million Laundered Through 46 Crypto Exchanges

The Wall Street Journal claimed Friday that 46 crypto exchanges were used to launder nearly $90 million – with $9 million going through ShapeShift.

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US Lawmakers Ask SEC to Clarify ICO Regulations

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are asking SEC chair Jay Clayton to provide clarity on when token sales are classified as securities.

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BitTorrent to Integrate Tron Tokens in New Incentive Model

BitTorrent users will soon be able to receive Tron's tokens as rewards for maintaining files online for extended periods of time.

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Bitcoin Core 0.15.2

Bitcoin Core installation binaries can be downloaded from bitcoincore.org and the source-code is available from the Bitcoin Core source repository.

Bitcoin Core version 0.15.2 is now available from:

https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-0.15.2/

This is a new minor version release, including various bugfixes and performance improvements, as well as updated translations.

Please report bugs using the issue tracker at GitHub:

https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues

To receive security and update notifications, please subscribe to:

https://bitcoincore.org/en/list/announcements/join/

How to Upgrade

If you are running an older version, shut it down. Wait until it has completely shut down (which might take a few minutes for older versions), then run the installer (on Windows) or just copy over /Applications/Bitcoin-Qt (on Mac) or bitcoind/bitcoin-qt (on Linux).

The first time you run version 0.15.0 or higher, your chainstate database will be converted to a new format, which will take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour, depending on the speed of your machine.

The file format of fee_estimates.dat changed in version 0.15.0. Hence, a downgrade from version 0.15 or upgrade to version 0.15 will cause all fee estimates to be discarded.

Note that the block database format also changed in version 0.8.0 and there is no automatic upgrade code from before version 0.8 to version 0.15.0. Upgrading directly from 0.7.x and earlier without redownloading the blockchain is not supported. However, as usual, old wallet versions are still supported.

Downgrading warning

The chainstate database for this release is not compatible with previous releases, so if you run 0.15 and then decide to switch back to any older version, you will need to run the old release with the -reindex-chainstate option to rebuild the chainstate data structures in the old format.

If your node has pruning enabled, this will entail re-downloading and processing the entire blockchain.

Compatibility

Bitcoin Core is extensively tested on multiple operating systems using the Linux kernel, macOS 10.8+, and Windows Vista and later. Windows XP is not supported.

Bitcoin Core should also work on most other Unix-like systems but is not frequently tested on them.

Notable changes

Denial-of-Service vulnerability CVE-2018-17144

A denial-of-service vulnerability exploitable by miners has been discovered in Bitcoin Core versions 0.14.0 up to 0.16.2. It is recommended to upgrade any of the vulnerable versions to 0.15.2 or 0.16.3 as soon as possible.

0.15.2 Change log

Build system

Consensus

  • #14247 4b8a3f5 Fix crash bug with duplicate inputs within a transaction (TheBlueMatt, sdaftuar)

RPC

  • #11676 7af2457 contrib/init: Update openrc-run filename (Luke Dashjr)
  • #11277 7026845 Fix uninitialized URI in batch RPC requests (Russell Yanofsky)

Wallet

  • #11289 3f1db56 Wrap dumpwallet warning and note scripts aren’t dumped (MeshCollider)
  • #11289 42ea47d Add wallet backup text to import, add and dumpwallet RPCs (MeshCollider)
  • #11590 6372a75 [Wallet] always show help-line of wallet encryption calls (Jonas Schnelli)

bitcoin-tx

  • #11554 a69cc07 Sanity-check script sizes in bitcoin-tx (TheBlueMatt)

Tests

  • #11277 3a6cdd4 Add test for multiwallet batch RPC calls (Russell Yanofsky)
  • #11647 1c8c7f8 Add missing batch rpc calls to python coverage logs (Russell Yanofsky)
  • #11277 1036c43 Add missing multiwallet rpc calls to python coverage logs (Russell Yanofsky)
  • #11277 305f768 Limit AuthServiceProxyWrapper.__getattr__ wrapping (Russell Yanofsky)
  • #11277 2eea279 Make AuthServiceProxy._batch method usable (Russell Yanofsky)

Credits

Thanks to everyone who directly contributed to this release:

  • fanquake
  • Jonas Schnelli
  • Luke Dashjr
  • Matt Corallo
  • MeshCollider
  • Russell Yanofsky
  • Suhas Daftuar
  • Wladimir J. van der Laan

And to those that reported security issues:

  • awemany (for CVE-2018-17144, previously credited as “anonymous reporter”)


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Bitcoin Core 0.14.3

Bitcoin Core installation binaries can be downloaded from bitcoincore.org and the source-code is available from the Bitcoin Core source repository.

Bitcoin Core version 0.14.3 is now available from:

https://bitcoin.org/bin/bitcoin-core-0.14.3/

This is a new minor version release, including various bugfixes and performance improvements.

Please report bugs using the issue tracker at github:

https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues

To receive security and update notifications, please subscribe to:

https://bitcoincore.org/en/list/announcements/join/

Compatibility

Bitcoin Core is extensively tested on multiple operating systems using the Linux kernel, macOS 10.8+, and Windows Vista and later.

Microsoft ended support for Windows XP on April 8th, 2014, No attempt is made to prevent installing or running the software on Windows XP, you can still do so at your own risk but be aware that there are known instabilities and issues. Please do not report issues about Windows XP to the issue tracker.

Bitcoin Core should also work on most other Unix-like systems but is not frequently tested on them.

Notable changes

Denial-of-Service vulnerability CVE-2018-17144 ——————————-

A denial-of-service vulnerability exploitable by miners has been discovered in Bitcoin Core versions 0.14.0 up to 0.16.2. It is recommended to upgrade any of the vulnerable versions to 0.14.3, 0.15.2 or 0.16.3 as soon as possible.

Known Bugs

Since 0.14.0 the approximate transaction fee shown in Bitcoin-Qt when using coin control and smart fee estimation does not reflect any change in target from the smart fee slider. It will only present an approximate fee calculated using the default target. The fee calculated using the correct target is still applied to the transaction and shown in the final send confirmation dialog.

0.14.3 Change log

Detailed release notes follow. This overview includes changes that affect behavior, not code moves, refactors and string updates. For convenience in locating the code changes and accompanying discussion, both the pull request and git merge commit are mentioned.

Consensus

  • #14247 52965fb Fix crash bug with duplicate inputs within a transaction (TheBlueMatt, sdaftuar)

RPC and other APIs

  • #10445 87a21d5 Fix: make CCoinsViewDbCursor::Seek work for missing keys (Pieter Wuille, Gregory Maxwell)
  • #9853 Return correct error codes in setban(), fundrawtransaction(), removeprunedfunds(), bumpfee(), blockchain.cpp (John Newbery)

P2P protocol and network code

  • #10234 d289b56 [net] listbanned RPC and QT should show correct banned subnets (John Newbery)

Build system

Miscellaneous

  • #10451 3612219 contrib/init/bitcoind.openrcconf: Don’t disable wallet by default (Luke Dashjr)
  • #10250 e23cef0 Fix some empty vector references (Pieter Wuille)
  • #10196 d28d583 PrioritiseTransaction updates the mempool tx counter (Suhas Daftuar)
  • #9497 e207342 Fix CCheckQueue IsIdle (potential) race condition and remove dangerous constructors. (Jeremy Rubin)

GUI

  • #9481 7abe7bb Give fallback fee a reasonable indent (Luke Dashjr)
  • #9481 3e4d7bf Qt/Send: Figure a decent warning colour from theme (Luke Dashjr)
  • #9481 e207342 Show more significant warning if we fall back to the default fee (Jonas Schnelli)

Wallet

  • #10308 28b8b8b Securely erase potentially sensitive keys/values (tjps)
  • #10265 ff13f59 Make sure pindex is non-null before possibly referencing in LogPrintf call. (Karl-Johan Alm)

Credits

Thanks to everyone who directly contributed to this release:

  • Cory Fields
  • CryptAxe
  • fanquake
  • Jeremy Rubin
  • John Newbery
  • Jonas Schnelli
  • Gregory Maxwell
  • Karl-Johan Alm
  • Luke Dashjr
  • MarcoFalke
  • Matt Corallo
  • Mikerah
  • Pieter Wuille
  • practicalswift
  • Suhas Daftuar
  • Thomas Snider
  • Tjps
  • Wladimir J. van der Laan

And to those that reported security issues:

  • awemany (for CVE-2018-17144, previously credited as “anonymous reporter”)


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Less Than 1 Percent of Pornhub Subscribers Are Paying With Crypto

Less than one percent of Pornhub subscribers pay for the service using cryptocurrencies, the company said Friday.

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LINE Announces 5 Dapps in Push to Build Its Token Economy

LINE announced it would introduce a number of dapps in the coming weeks as part of an overarching effort to build up its own token economy.

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Tech Giant GMO Wants to Help You Mine Zcash – For a Cut

Japanese IT giant GMO Internet has made another move into the cryptocurrency space with the launch of a GPU mining client for zcash.

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The $1 Trillion Wallet: BitGo's Big Plan to Secure the Biggest Bitcoin Fortunes

Blockchain security startup BitGo is gearing up to safeguard once-unthinkable sums of digital assets as it looks towards a tokenized future.

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ASX-Listed DigitalX Hit With Legal Action Over ICO Involvement

Shares in the ASX-listed blockchain firm DigitalX slumped Friday after it revealed it is facing a legal claim from investors in an ICO it advised.

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Bitcoin Breakout Elusive As Price Retreats from One-Week Highs

Bitcoin missed a bull breakout by a whisker, as prices backed off from a six-day high of $6,826 hit earlier today.

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Indian Crypto Exchange Zebpay Halts Trading Over Banking Ban

Zebpay, once the largest crypto exchange in India, is halting its trading service at short notice, but stressed its wallet will stay functional.

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Why a 'Decentralized' Crypto Exchange Is Seeking a Securities License

As competition heats up among decentralized exchange startups for institutional crypto investors' business, Everbloom is seeking an edge.

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Chinese Arbitrator Builds Online Ruling System on a Blockchain

An arbitration committee in China has launched an online ruling system utilizing a distributed network for sharing evidence in legal disputes.

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Thursday, 27 September 2018

History Repeating? Why Ether's Price Just Might Have Bottomed Out

Ether's BTC pair is forming a market structure similar to its bottom in December of 2017, so we explore the possibility if history repeating itself.

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Sierra Leone to Develop Blockchain-Based ID Platform With UN Partnership

Two UN entities are working with a tech startup to provide Sierra Leone a blockchain-based credit and identity platform for banking services.

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SEC, CFTC Charge Bitcoin Futures Firm 1Broker With Securities Law Violations

The SEC and CFTC are suing bitcoin derivatives trader 1pool and CEO Patrick Brunner for violating federal law with a security swap scheme.

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Dell Eyes Blockchain Investment to Boost Business Growth

Dell subsidiary Dell EMC is looking into blockchain technology as a way to draw more customers to its server business.

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Crypto Money Market Compound Lets You HODL and Earn

Compound, a crypto money market, launched today on ethereum. Now hodlers can earn interest on their crypto.

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US Lawmakers Shoot Down Proposal for Crypto Task Force

The U.S. House of Representatives has reconsidered a proposed federal task force to investigate cryptocurrencies' use in financing acts of terror.

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Chinese Search Giant Baidu Shares Details of Upcoming Blockchain

Chinese search engine Baidu has published a new white paper outlining its upcoming XuperChain network.

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AT&T Launches Blockchain Solutions Targeting Supply Chain and Healthcare

The world's largest telecoms firm, AT&T, has launched a suite of blockchain services targeting diverse industries.

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Austrian Government to Notarize $1.3 Billion Bond Auction Using Ethereum

The Austrian government is planning to use the ethereum blockchain to notarize the auction of a bond worth around $1.3 billion.

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How I Lost My Faith in Private Blockchains

It remains to be proven if permissioned blockchains provide a real business benefit at all. Take it from one who used to advise banks on them.

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US Judge Sides With CFTC in Fraud Case, Ruling Cryptos Are Commodities

A U.S. judge has sided with the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission in a cryptocurrency fraud lawsuit, ruling bitcoin is a commodity.

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$6.3K: Bitcoin Sell-Off Could Resume Should Key Support Break

Bitcoin is still being squeezed into a tightening range, with support at $6,300 being a key level for the bulls to defend.

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Goldman Sachs Leads $25 Million Funding for Blockchain Startup Veem

Blockchain payments startup Veem has closed a $25 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs, it announced Wednesday.

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Chinese Banking Giant Issues $1.3 Billion in Securities on a Blockchain

A state-owned commercial bank in China has completed the issuance of mortgage-backed securities worth $1.3 billion using a blockchain network.

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IBM Expands Blockchain Partnership With Insurance Broker Marsh

Professional services firm Marsh is launching a commercial insurance verification program on a blockchain in partnership with IBM.

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Wednesday, 26 September 2018

Former UBS Bankers Net $100 million to Build a Crypto Bank

A Swiss crypto startup launched by several former UBS bankers has raised $104 million in a bid to establish a regulated cryptocurrency bank.

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Bitmain By the Numbers: An Inside Look at a Bitcoin Mining Empire

For the first time, the crypto community is getting a close look at Bitmain's financials.

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VanEck and SolidX Unfazed By the SEC's Latest Bitcoin ETF Delay

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently moved to delay their decision over yet another bitcoin exchange traded fund proposal.

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FedEx Joins Hyperledger in Blockchain Consortium's Latest Expansion

FedEx, Honeywell and 12 blockchain startups joined the Hyperledger consortium, the group announced Wednesday.

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SEC Seeks Court Sanction Against PlexCoin ICO Founders

The SEC is taking seeking further action against the founders of the Plexcoin crypto scheme, alleging they are not complying with court orders.

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US Dairy Farmers to Trial Blockchain in Bid to Track Milk Products

The Dairy Farmers of America will trial a blockchain platform to track milk products, the company announced Tuesday.

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Blockchain Startups Aim to Kill the Captcha With a New Anti-Bot Protocol

Datawallet and Enigma have partnered to create an alternative to all those annoying captchas – and hopefully reduce the prevalence of bot nets.

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Bitcoin Mining Giant Bitmain Just Officially Filed for Its IPO

Bitmain, the Beijing-based bitcoin mining giant, has officially filed an application, seeking to go public in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). 

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USD Coin Arrives: Circle's Crypto Stablecoin Is Now Trading

Crypto finance firm Circle has officially released its dollar-pegged stablecoin for limited trading, the company announced Wednesday.

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UN Food Program to Expand Blockchain Testing to African Supply Chain

The U.N. World Food Programme plans to test blockchain for tracking food delivery in East Africa, following a refugee aid pilot in Jordan.

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Bitcoin Price Volatility Hits Lowest Level In Nearly 2 Years

Bitcoin price volatility, as indicated by Bollinger band width, has hit the lowest level since December 2016.

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Crypto Payments Startup Bitwala Raises €4 Million in New Funding

Blockchain startup Bitwala has raised €4 million in new funding that will help develop a planned blockchain bank account offering.

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SBI Ripple Asia Wins Payments License for Blockchain Money App

A joint venture between SBI Holdings and Ripple has moved a step closer to launching its blockchain-based payments app for consumers.

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You Won't Have to Wait for This Ethereum Scaling Solution, It Works Now

Most ethereum scaling technologies are a far from completed, but OpenST says it's got a solution that's ready for the "here and now."

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Australia's Science Agency Claims Breakthrough in Global Blockchain Test

Australian federal body CSIRO says a blockchain network it developed has achieved 30,000 transactions per second in a global test.

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Tuesday, 25 September 2018

The Crowd Machine Crypto Token Theft: What We Know Thus Far

A crypto startup aiming to disrupt AWS has suffered a massive token theft. While few details are available, here's what we know and don't know.

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Coinbase Gears Up for Biggest-Ever Expansion of Crypto Asset Listings

Coinbase's new policy will speed the addition of assets to the exchange but may leave users in some places unable to trade coins available elsewhere.

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Crypto Firms to Congress: We Need Clarity on Blockchain Token Rules

More than 80 representatives from a variety of cryptocurrency projects and companies spent four hours calling for clarity around ICOs and tokens.

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Music-Sharing Startup Audius Gives New Details on Twin Crypto Tokens

Blockchain startup Audius has revealed details of its decentralized music network's two tokens and governance system in a white paper.

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Bitcoin Just Took a Step Toward Becoming a 'Multi-Network' Cryptocurrency

A long-in-the-works proposal heralded as the best way to bring sidechains to bitcoin has released its first code after three years in development.

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Google to Allow Ads for 'Regulated' Crypto Exchanges Next Month

Google has revealed that it will begin allowing cryptocurrency exchange advertisements in the U.S. and Japan, starting in October.

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Japan Regulators Seek Answers in Wake of Zaif's $60 Million Crypto Hack

Japan's top financial regulator is seeking answers from the operator of the Zaif cryptocurrency exchange.

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Mt Gox Trustee Has Sold $230 Million in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash Since March

The Japanese trustee for Mt. Gox has sold cryptos worth $230 million since March as part of the collapsed exchange's bankruptcy proceedings.

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Early Execs Leave Block.one, The Peter Thiel-Backed Crypto Startup Behind EOS

As Block.one was raising $4 billion from Silicon Valley and Wall Street, a group of executives decided to quit and build a bigger, better blockchain.

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Over 75 New Banks: JPMorgan Expands Blockchain Payments Trial

A blockchain payments trial launched by JPMorgan, Australia's ANZ and the Royal Bank of Canada has just gained over 75 new banks as participants.

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Bearish Cross Hints at More Losses Ahead for Bitcoin Price

A bearish crossover between key moving averages on the monthly chart indicates scope for a deeper drop in bitcoin.

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SBI Aims for Cashless Society With Mobile Payments Token Trial

Financial giant SBI Group has announced that it is testing a crypto token called "S coin" to enable retail payments over mobile devices.

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Sandboxes Aren't Enough: Blockchain Leaders Seek Regulation Relief

Even in blockchain-friendly jurisdictions, some say regulatory hurdles and old mindsets are holding back innovation and growth for the industry.

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Monday, 24 September 2018

Wallet Provider Blockchain Sues Crypto Startup Days Before ICO

Blockchain is suing Paymium for launching a token sale under the blockchain.io domain name, claiming the latter is misleading investors.

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In Wake of 'Major Failure,' Bitcoin Code Review Comes Under Scrutiny

In the wake of a severe code vulnerability, bitcoin developers are asking if current code review processes are enough to prevent further failures.

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Walmart Tells Produce Suppliers to Use Blockchain by Next September

Walmart will begin tracking leafy greens using IBM's blockchain technology starting late next year, the company announced Monday.

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Regulation News Moves Bitcoin Prices, BIS Report Says

A new report from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) contends that bitcoin markets are swayed by news events related to regulation.

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Coinbase Just Partnered With A Token Startup in Bid to Attract Pro Traders

U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase has teamed up with institution-focused crypto trading platform Caspian to boost its offerings for financial pros.

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The US Should Take a 'Leadership' Role on Blockchain, IBM Report Argues

A new report by IBM claims that U.S.-based blockchain developers are looking to the government for leadership on building and deploying the tech.

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Australia's Securities Watchdog Has Halted 5 ICOs Since April

Australia's securities regulator said late last week that it has halted five initial coin offerings (ICOs) in as many months.

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HODL No More? The Amount of Bitcoin in Active Wallets Is Near Record Highs

An increasing amount of bitcoin is held by active individual users, suggesting the market is ripe for transactional growth, according to Chainalysis.

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'500 Transactions a Second': Vitalik Says Zk-Snarks Could Scale Ethereum

A form of cryptography pioneered by zcash might help scale ethereum "by a huge amount," says founder Vitalik Buterin.

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$6.9K Is the New Price to Watch for Bitcoin Bulls

Bitcoin's narrowing price range means a bull breakout could occur if prices beat key resistance at $6,970.

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Juventus Soccer Club Is Launching a Crypto Token to Give Fans a 'Voice'

One of the most popular soccer clubs in the world is launching a crypto token that it says will boost fan numbers by allowing them to "be heard."

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Regulators Are Landing Punches, But There's a Long Crypto Fight Ahead

From ShapeShift's capitulation to KYC to the New York Attorney General's critical look at exchanges, officialdom is striking heavy blows. Stay tuned.

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Sunday, 23 September 2018

Crypto Exchange ShapeShift's CEO Says Move to Collect IDs Was 'Proactive'

Cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift's decision to require user ID wasn't forced upon it but a preemptive step to reduce legal risks, its CEO said.

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When Blockchains Go Down: Why Crypto Outages Are on the Rise

It used to be that downtime was unheard of on blockchain networks. As new protocols and new trade-offs emerge, that's no longer the case.

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Crypto Trading 101: The Moving Average Convergence Divergence

The MACD is one of the most widely used indicators for gauging trend strength and momentum. Best of all, it's also one of the easiest to master.

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Saturday, 22 September 2018

Momentum Is Building to Block Ethereum ASICs

Several ethereum miners and developers have come forward in the hope of halting ASICs from effectively operating on the ethereum network.

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Friday, 21 September 2018

The Latest Bitcoin Bug Was So Bad, Developers Kept Its Full Details a Secret

This week's major bitcoin bug was even worse than developers led on – it could have been used to effectively print more bitcoin.

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XRP Shot Up 75% During Friday's Bullish Trading Session

XRP surged over 75% today as it became the world's second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization for a brief period.

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Brazil's Largest Independent Broker Is Launching a Crypto Exchange

The parent company of Brazil's largest independent broker is setting up a cryptocurrency exchange, Bloomberg reports.

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US Congressman Drafts Bills to Aid Blockchain Development

U.S. Representative Tom Emmer plans to introduce three blockchain-focused bills to Congress in the coming weeks aimed at spurring development.

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Report Finds Cryptojacking Instances Jumped 400% In A Year

A report by a group of cybersecurity researchers found that cryptojacking instances jumped more than 400 percent in a year.

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Novogratz Says Crypto Market Showing 'Classic Bottom'

Michael Novogratz, the founder of the cryptocurrency asset management firm Galaxy Digital, believes the market has hit a bottom.

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Brave Browser Is Using Civic's Blockchain Platform to Verify Publishers

Privacy-focused internet browser Brave will use Civic's identity verification services to ensure that publishers are paid for their content.

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Bitmain CEO Announces New 7nm Bitcoin Mining Chip

Bitman has launched a new 7nm ASIC processor that it says will soon be powering a new range of its Antminer mining machines.

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Reports: Taiwan Police Arrest Cody Wilson Following Assault Charges

News reports claim that Taiwan authorities have arrested Cody Wilson after he was accused of sexually assaulting a minor in the U.S.

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US Navy Launches Blockchain Research in Mission to Improve Tracking System

A U.S. Navy command is exploring blockchain tech as part of a plan to reduce paper-based processes in tracking aircraft and weapons parts.

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Tether's Impact on Bitcoin Price Not 'Statistically Significant,' Study Finds

Issuance of tether (USDT), the controversial stablecoin, has had no meaningful impact on the price of bitcoin, a newly published academic study found.

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$6,700: Bitcoin Price Charts Bullish Reversal as Altcoins Surge

BTC has bounced back into bullish territory over $6,700 amid increased investor interest in altcoins.

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Venezuela to Adopt Controversial Petro Token in Global Trade

Venezuela's president is ordering the use of the petro in international trade, despite doubts the token will be widely accepted.

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California Bans Bitcoin Donations in Political Campaigns

Candidates for public office in California may not receive donations in cryptocurrency, the state's political watchdog has ruled.

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Thursday, 20 September 2018

'Turbo Geth' Seeks to Scale Ethereum – And It's Ready in Private Beta

Instead of tacking ethereum's transaction costs, developer Alexey Akhunov focused on the blockchain's state, and the software is ready.

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CVE-2018-17144 Full Disclosure

Full disclosure

CVE-2018-17144, a fix for which was released on September 18th in Bitcoin Core versions 0.16.3 and 0.17.0rc4, includes both a Denial of Service component and a critical inflation vulnerability. It was originally reported to several developers working on Bitcoin Core, as well as projects supporting other cryptocurrencies, including ABC and Unlimited on September 17th as a Denial of Service bug only, however we quickly determined that the issue was also an inflation vulnerability with the same root cause and fix.

In order to encourage rapid upgrades, the decision was made to immediately patch and disclose the less serious Denial of Service vulnerability, concurrently with reaching out to miners, businesses, and other affected systems while delaying publication of the full issue to give times for systems to upgrade. On September 20th a post in a public forum reported the full impact and although it was quickly retracted the claim was further circulated.

At this time we believe over half of the Bitcoin hashrate has upgraded to patched nodes. We are unaware of any attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

However, it still remains critical that affected users upgrade and apply the latest patches to ensure no possibility of large reorganizations, mining of invalid blocks, or acceptance of invalid transactions occurs.

Technical Details

In Bitcoin Core 0.14, an optimization was added (Bitcoin Core PR #9049) which avoided a costly check during initial pre-relay block validation that multiple inputs within a single transaction did not spend the same input twice which was added in 2012 (PR #443). While the UTXO-updating logic has sufficient knowledge to check that such a condition is not violated in 0.14 it only did so in a sanity check assertion and not with full error handling (it did, however, fully handle this case twice in prior to 0.8).

Thus, in Bitcoin Core 0.14.X, any attempts to double-spend a transaction output within a single transaction inside of a block will result in an assertion failure and a crash, as was originally reported.

In Bitcoin Core 0.15, as a part of a larger redesign to simplify unspent transaction output tracking and correct a resource exhaustion attack the assertion was changed subtly. Instead of asserting that the output being marked spent was previously unspent, it only asserts that it exists.

Thus, in Bitcoin Core 0.15.X, 0.16.0, 0.16.1, and 0.16.2, any attempts to double-spend a transaction output within a single transaction inside of a block where the output being spent was created in the same block, the same assertion failure will occur (as exists in the test case which was included in the 0.16.3 patch). However, if the output being double-spent was created in a previous block, an entry will still remain in the CCoin map with the DIRTY flag set and having been marked as spent, resulting in no such assertion. This could allow a miner to inflate the supply of Bitcoin as they would be then able to claim the value being spent twice.

Timeline

Timeline for September 17, 2018: (all times UTC)

  • 14:57 anonymous reporter reports reports crash bug to: Pieter Wuille, Greg Maxwell, Wladimir Van Der Laan of Bitcoin Core, deadalnix of Bitcoin ABC, and sickpig of Bitcoin Unlimited.
  • 15:15 Greg Maxwell shares the original report with Cory Fields, Suhas Daftuar, Alex Morcos and Matt Corallo
  • 17:47 Matt Corallo identifies inflation bug
  • 19:15 Matt Corallo first tries to reach slushpool CEO to have a line of communication open to apply a patch quickly
  • 19:29 Greg Maxwell timestamps the hash of a test-case which demonstrates the inflation vulnerability (a47344b7dceddff6c6cc1c7e97f1588d99e6dba706011b6ccc2e615b88fe4350)
  • 20:15 John Newbery and James O’Beirne are informed of the vulnerability so they can assist in alerting companies to a pending patch for a DoS vulnerability
  • 20:30 Matt Corallo speaks with slushpool CTO and CEO and shares patch with disclosure of the Denial of Service
  • 20:48 slushpool confirmed upgraded
  • 21:08 Alert was sent to Bitcoin ABC that a patch will be posted publicly by 22:00
  • 21:30 (approx) Responded to original reporter with an acknowledgment
  • 21:57 Bitcoin Core PR 14247 published with patch and test demonstrating the Denial of Service bug
  • 21:58 Bitcoin ABC publishes their patch
  • 22:07 Advisory email with link to Bitcoin Core PR and patch goes out to Optech members, among others
  • 23:21 Bitcoin Core version 0.17.0rc4 tagged

September 18, 2018:

  • 00:24 Bitcoin Core version 0.16.3 tagged
  • 20:44 Bitcoin Core release binaries and release announcements were available
  • 21:47 Bitcointalk and reddit have public banners urging people to upgrade

September 19, 2018:

  • 14:06 The mailing list distributes an additional message urging people to upgrade by Pieter Wuille

September 20, 2018:

  • 19:50 A developer by the title earlz independently discovered and reported the vulnerability to the Bitcoin Core security contact email.


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SEC Moves to Make Decision on VanEck-SolidX Bitcoin ETF Proposal

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now weighing whether to approve the nation's first bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund.

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Enigma Delays Release of 'Discovery' Protocol on Ethereum Mainnet

The next stage in the privacy protocol's roadmap will no longer occur in Q3, according to the company.

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Quick Brew? BitFury's Coffee Machine Accepts Bitcoin Via Lightning Network

A Bitfury-led engineering team has created a coffee vending machine capable of accepting bitcoin payments through the Lightning Network.

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Just a Cycle? Big Bitcoin Miners Stay Positive in Face of Market Slump

Executives from several bitcoin mining firms have said at Consensus Singapore that they are not concerned by current low crypto prices.

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RBS Blockchain Team Jumps Ship to Build New Startups Using R3's Corda

A blockchain team from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has left to start a "venture studio" called Chorum from which full-blown startups an be spun out.

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Up 13%: XRP Jumps By Double Digits for Second Time This Week

XRP is a standout performer today in the cryptocurrency market as its price boasts double-digit percent gains for the second time this week.

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US Lawmakers 'Strongly Urge' IRS to Update Crypto Tax Guidance

U.S. lawmakers are calling on the Internal Revenue Service to provide clear guidance on how cryptocurrency-related taxes will be calculated.

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Bitfury Reveals New Generation of Bitcoin ASIC Chips

Bitfury Group unveiled a new generation of bitcoin mining ASICs on Wednesday, boasting greater efficiencies than previous models.

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One of Investors' Favorite Governance Blockchains Is Handing Over $20 Million

Investors are looking forward to Decred's new approach to blockchain governance – in part, because its devs are opening up $20 million in tokens.

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Bitcoin Price Sees High-Volume Recovery From Five-Week Lows

Bitcoin's rebound from the five-week low of $6,100 has saved the day for the bulls and kept range-bound trading conditions intact.

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Japan Lost $540 Million to Crypto Hacks in First Half of 2018

Japan's police agency has released data revealing that cyberattacks leading to thefts of cryptocurrency rose sharply earlier this year.

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Brazil Moves to Probe Banks After Crypto Exchanges Denied Services

Brazil's antitrust watchdog is investigating major banks for potentially collaborating to prevent crypto brokerages from gaining banking services.

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Coinbase Refutes Claims in New York Attorney General's Exchange Report

Coinbase and other exchanges have hit back at claims of vulnerability to market manipulation in a report from the New York Attorney General's Office.

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Leading Bitcoin Cash Developer Says Future Fork Unlikely

Cryptocurrency forks may slow down in the future, as argued by leaders of several crypto hard fork projects at the CoinDesk Consensus Singapore event.

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Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Messaging Giant LINE Unveils Ambitious Plan for Crypto Token Ecosystem

LINE has revealed new details of its plan to launch a crypto-token economy by the end of this year.

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Crypto Exchange Zaif Hacked In $60 Million, 6,000 Bitcoin Theft

Yet another Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange has been hacked, losing about $60 million worth of cryptocurrency, including 6,000 bitcoins.

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Ecash's Creator Is Back – And He Thinks He's Built the Fastest Cryptocurrency

Famed cryptographer and digital money pioneer, David Chaum, revealed he thinks he's built a "better" cryptocurrency.

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Bitcoin's Price Swings to Nearly $6,500 in Volatile Trading Hour

Bitcoin's volatility was on full display Wednesday when its price swung in a dramatic fashion.

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Coinbase Hires Fannie Mae Executive as Chief Legal Officer

Coinbase has hired former Fannie Mae executive Brian Brooks as its new chief legal officer.

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Bitcoin Core Developers Move to Fix Denial-of-Service Software Bug

An abnormally severe bug has been discovered in bitcoin's software, with possible ramifications for lightning users.

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3D Printed Gun Advocate Cody Wilson Charged With Child Sexual Assault

Cody Wilson, founder of the 3D printed gun company Defense Distributed and cryptocurrency advocate, has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor.

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Commodity Traders, Major Banks Back New Blockchain Platform

A group of commodity traders and financial institutions have unveiled a new blockchain venture.

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Europol Warns of Crypto Hacks and Mining Malware in Latest Report

Europol has warned against the rising threats of cryptocurrency hacks and mining malware in a new report.

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Texas Securities Watchdog Takes Action Against 3 Alleged Crypto Frauds

The Texas State Securities Board has taken emergency action against three crypto investment schemes it alleges are attempting to hoax local investors.

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US Banking Giant PNC Becomes Latest to Adopt Ripple's xCurrent

PNC Bank's Treasury Management division is to begin accepting cross-border transactions using Ripple's xCurrent product.

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Binance Reveals Plan to Launch Crypto Exchanges on Almost Every Continent

Binance CEO and founder Zhao Changpeng announced an ambitious plan to build 5-10 fiat-to-crypto exchanges in the next year.

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R3's Hearn and Brown Say Enterprise Blockchain's Day of Reckoning Is Here

Bitcoin apostate Mike Hearn and his R3 colleague Richard Gendal Brown view the enterprise blockchain game as, if not quite zero-sum, something close.

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Bitcoin Price Lacks Direction After Defense of $6,200

Bitcoin has again entered range-bound trading following a defense of $6,200 yesterday.

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Don't Blame Bitcoin Futures for Bear Market, CME Exec Says

Tim McCourt, managing director of CME Group, has said that bitcoin futures are not to be blamed for the slump in the crypto market this year.

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Swiss Crypto Startup Eidoo Announces Token Tied to the Price of Gold

Eidoo, the multicurrency crypto wallet and decentralized exchange, has announced a new token that's redeemable for actual gold.

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Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Trading Legend Don Wilson: Asian Demand High for Bitcoin Futures

Don Wilson, founder of DRW, the Chicago-based high-speed trading firm, discusses his history with cryoto assets and the trends he's seeing in Asia.

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UK Lawmakers Call For Greater Oversight of Crypto Industry

Citing market volatility and consumer risk, the U.K. Treasury Committee called for increased regulation of the cryptocurrency space in a new report.

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Singapore Central Banker: No Crypto Tokens We've Seen Are Securities

Damien Pang, head of the Technology Infrastructure Office at Singapore's central bank talks about the authority's insight on DTL and digital tokens.

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Bitcoin Core 0.16.3

Bitcoin Core installation binaries can be downloaded from bitcoincore.org and the source-code is available from the Bitcoin Core source repository.

Bitcoin Core version 0.16.3 is now available from:

https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-0.16.3/

This is a new minor version release, with various bugfixes as well as updated translations.

Please report bugs using the issue tracker at GitHub:

https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues

To receive security and update notifications, please subscribe to:

https://bitcoincore.org/en/list/announcements/join/

How to Upgrade

If you are running an older version, shut it down. Wait until it has completely shut down (which might take a few minutes for older versions), then run the installer (on Windows) or just copy over /Applications/Bitcoin-Qt (on Mac) or bitcoind/bitcoin-qt (on Linux).

The first time you run version 0.15.0 or newer, your chainstate database will be converted to a new format, which will take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour, depending on the speed of your machine.

Note that the block database format also changed in version 0.8.0 and there is no automatic upgrade code from before version 0.8 to version 0.15.0 or higher. Upgrading directly from 0.7.x and earlier without re-downloading the blockchain is not supported. However, as usual, old wallet versions are still supported.

Downgrading warning

Wallets created in 0.16 and later are not compatible with versions prior to 0.16 and will not work if you try to use newly created wallets in older versions. Existing wallets that were created with older versions are not affected by this.

Compatibility

Bitcoin Core is extensively tested on multiple operating systems using the Linux kernel, macOS 10.8+, and Windows Vista and later. Windows XP is not supported.

Bitcoin Core should also work on most other Unix-like systems but is not frequently tested on them.

Notable changes

Denial-of-Service vulnerability

A denial-of-service vulnerability exploitable by miners has been discovered in Bitcoin Core versions 0.14.0 up to 0.16.2. It is recommended to upgrade any of the vulnerable versions to 0.16.3 as soon as possible.

0.16.3 change log

Consensus

  • #14249 696b936 Fix crash bug with duplicate inputs within a transaction (TheBlueMatt, sdaftuar)

RPC and other APIs

  • #13547 212ef1f Make signrawtransaction* give an error when amount is needed but missing (ajtowns)

Miscellaneous

  • #13655 1cdbea7 bitcoinconsensus: invalid flags error should be set to bitcoinconsensus_err (afk11)

Documentation

Credits

Thanks to everyone who directly contributed to this release:

  • Anthony Towns
  • Hennadii Stepanov
  • Matt Corallo
  • Suhas Daftuar
  • Thomas Kerin
  • Wladimir J. van der Laan

And to those that reported security issues:

  • beardnboobies

As well as everyone that helped translating on Transifex.



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Bitcoin Core 0.16.3 Released

Bitcoin Core version 0.16.3 is now available for download with a fix for a denial-of-service vulnerability introduced in Bitcoin Core 0.14.0 and affecting all subsequent versions though to 0.16.2. We highly recommend users of all affected versions immediately upgrade to 0.16.3.

Security issue CVE-2018-17144: it was discovered that older versions of Bitcoin Core will crash if they try to process a block containing a transaction that attempts to spend the same input twice. Such blocks are invalid, so they can only be created by a miner willing to sacrifice their allowed income for creating a block of at least 12.5 BTC (about $80,000 USD as of this writing). This release eliminates the crash, allowing the software to quietly reject such invalid blocks.

For a complete list of changes, please see the release notes. If have any questions, please stop by our IRC chatroom and we’ll do our best to help you.



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New York AG Report Faults Crypto Exchanges for Manipulation Risks

The NY Attorney General's Office stated that many crypto exchanges cannot monitor abusive trading activity, and referred 3 for potential violations.

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Coinbase Hires LinkedIn Executive as New Data Chief

Coinbase has brought LinkedIn head of analytics and data science, Michael Li, on as its new vice president of data.

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High Times Quietly Removes Crypto Payment Option From IPO Website

High Times has removed bitcoin as a payment option for its IPO, just days after admitting it was accepting the cryptocurrency.

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XRP Price Bucks Bearish Market Mood to Hit 13-Day High

XRP is reporting double-digit gains today, despite a generally bearish trend across the wider crypto markets.

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Gemalto Taps R3 Tech for Blockchain Identity Pilot

Digital security firm Gemalto is teaming up blockchain startup R3 to pilot a new platform aimed to bring digital identities closer to the mainstream.

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This DEX Is Enabling Merchant Payments in Any Ethereum Token

Kyber Network is adapting the liquidity tool it uses within its decentralized exchange to allow businesses to accept payments in any ethereum token.

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Novel Botnet Hunts Down and Destroys Crypto Mining Malware

A newly discovered botnet is seeking out and removing crypto-mining malware, but why it has been created is still unknown.

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Bitcoin Price Outlook Worsens After Drop to Five-Day Lows

Bitcoin's drop to $6,200 on Monday has increased the odds of a move toward key support below $6,000.

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$1 Billion Blockchain Fund Founders Plan Japanese Yen Stablecoin

Founding partners of the $1 billion blockchain fund backed by a Chinese city government are planning to roll out a Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin.

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Digital Assets Don't Change Reporting Needs, SEC's Top Accountant Says

The arrival of cryptos doesn't alter the need to maintain proper accounting records, the SEC's Wesley Bricker said Monday.

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Monday, 17 September 2018

Palestinians Are Using Bitcoin to Transact Across Borders Amid Conflict

For a small community of users in the occupied territories, bitcoin has become an economic lifeline to the outside world. But it can do only so much.

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Ether Just Erased Half of Last Week's 35% Rally

The world's second-largest cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), erased half of last week's rally today amid a broader market sell-off.

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Cryptojacking Scripts Found on Local Indian Government Sites

Municipal government websites in Andhra Pradesh are running cryptojacking scripts, a group of security researchers found earlier this month.

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Ukrainian Parliament Proposes Taxing Crypto-Related Profits

The Ukrainian parliament has introduced a bill outlining taxes on cryptocurrency-related profits.

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Ethereum Dapp Bancor Is Expanding to EOS for Fast, Free Transactions

Bancor has announced plans to launch on EOS, expanding its decentralized token exchange protocol to a second blockchain.

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Cloudflare Launches Decentralized Web Gateway at Its First 'Crypto Week'

Cloudflare intends to announce a new cryptography-related product every day this week. The first: a gateway to access the InterPlanetary File System.

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Blockchain Can Help Solve Swathe of Environmental Issues, Says WEF Study

Research by the World Economic Forum and PwC has identified over 65 ways blockchain could address some of the most urgent environmental challenges.

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Galaxy, BlockTower Lead $16 Million Funding for Crypto Project Caspian

Caspian, a project aimed at giving crypto traders better tools, has attracted $16 million in funding from top industry investors.

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US Court Seizes Lambo, Crypto Millions from Dead Dark Web Kingpin

The U.S. Department of Justice has won the right to confiscate money and items Alexandre Cazes enjoyed from his dark web e-commerce empire's riches.

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$6,550: Bitcoin Charts Suggest New Target for Price Rally

Bitcoin's corrective rally seems to have stalled around $6,550, making it a key level to beat for the bulls.

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Tezos Token Makes Gains in Approach to Official Launch

The prospect of Tezos' official launch Monday has revved up investor interest in the project's XTZ token, pushing prices up 30% in a week.

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LG's Mobile Arm to Trial Blockchain Payments for Overseas Travelers

South Korean telco LG Uplus is to trial a blockchain-based mobile payment service aimed to let travelers save fees when shopping abroad.

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Mastercard Patent Filings Tout Blockchain for Immutable Data Records

A group of Mastercard patent applications outline how blockchain technology can be used to securely record transaction information.

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Sunday, 16 September 2018

Gas Ain't Gold: Why Ether's Price Could Tank Even If Ethereum Succeeds

Even if ethereum succeeds as a smart contracts platform, its cryptocurrency might still fail as a long-term store of value, writes Michael J. Casey.

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Proof of Use? Civil Believes This ICO Model Lets It Sell Anyone Tokens Legally

Amid regulatory uncertainty, the ICO industry has all but cut off retail investors. But will a new model open it up again? Civil is testing it.

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Open Heart Surgery: Inside Ethereum's Crucial Replacement of the EVM

The virtual machine that allows ethereum to compute everything in a decentralized way is getting a massive overhaul.

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Saturday, 15 September 2018

Coinbase's New NYC Office to Hire 100 in Wall Street Crypto Push

Crypto industry unicorn Coinbase has aggressive growth plans for its newly opened New York office, which caters to institutional clients.

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Grin Is Hard Forking Every Six Months to Keep ASICs Off the Network

Amid crypto's war on ASICs, the Grin community is taking a new approach – shut them out for a limited time with consistent hard forks.

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Friday, 14 September 2018

A Top-20 Crypto Exchange Is Replacing Tether With a Rival Stablecoin

Tether, despite questions surrounding its finances, remains the dominant stablecoin. Following a recent announcement, is that starting to change?

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No Longer Beta: $200 Million Tezos Blockchain Will Be Official Mainnet Soon

Starting Monday, the beta phase for the Tezos blockchain will be over.

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Circle Survey Finds Twice As Many Men Invest in Cryptocurrencies As Women

The survey also found that roughly 25 percent of millennials are interested in investing in cryptocurrencies over the next year.

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Brave Launches Legal Offensive on Google Ads Data Collection Practices

The startup behind Brave Browser has filed regulatory complaints against Google over the "massive" amount of user data exposed in online advertising.

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Ethereum's Constantinople Hard Fork to Activate on Testnet in October

Ethereum developers have confirmed an upcoming upgrade will activate on Ropsten around October 9.

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Ether Records Highest Daily Trading Volume in 12 Months

Ether's recovery from 13-month lows is being backed by daily trading volume not seen for a year.

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ECB Has 'No Plans' to Issue a Digital Euro, Says Mario Draghi

The chief of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, said Friday that the institution has "no plans" to issue a digital currency, Reuters reports.

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Medici-Backed Bitsy Launches User-Friendly Crypto Wallet to Boost Adoption

Bitsy, a Medici Ventures portfolio firm, wants to spur crypto adoption with the launch of an ultra-simple, beginner-friendly wallet.

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Korea Taps Samsung's Blockchain Tech to Fight Customs Fraud

South Korea's Customs Service is looking to adopt Samsung's blockchain tech to launch a decentralized exports clearance system.

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Bitcoin Price Takes a $200 Tumble After Eight-Day Highs

Despite a $200 pullback from eight-day highs today, bitcoin's recovery looks intact on technical charts.

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IBM, Hacera Create Distributed 'Yellow Pages' for Blockchain Networks

IBM has partnered to launch a yellow-pages-like directory allowing interested firms to look up and contact different projects in the blockchain space.

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R3's CordaCon Event Sees Big News, Packed Talks and Blockchain Converts

R3's annual Corda event appeared to be in rude health this year, with packed presentations and some notable news announcements.

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SBI to Roll Out Ripple DLT-Based Payments App on iOS, Android

Having revealed the plan in March, Japan's SBI Holdings says it will roll out a Ripple DLT-based payments app for iOS and Android this autumn.

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Thursday, 13 September 2018

Ethereum's Vlad Zamfir Claims Breakthrough In Blockchain Sharding

Ethereum researcher Vlad Zamfir has coded up the base architecture of upcoming scaling solution, sharding.

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Local Officials in Ohio Seek Proposals for Blockchain Identity Trial

Dublin, Ohio wants to develop a prototype blockchain platform that will serve as a decentralized voting and identity system.

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Indian Central Bank Argues Cryptos 'Not Valid' as Currency in Court Battle

The Reserve Bank of India has argued at the Supreme Court that bitcoin cannot be recognized as either money or currency.

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Back Over $200 Billion: 3 Reasons Crypto Prices Could Be Heading Higher

The cryptocurrency markets are rallying today with ether leading the pack. But will it last? Three signs give reasons for investors to be hopeful.

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Landmark Crypto Crime Case Ends With Jail Sentence for GAW CEO

The sentencing caps a saga that began in 2014 with allegations that GAW functioned as a Ponzi scheme by selling more mining power than it had.

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FOAM Is Live: Decentralized World Map Launches on Ethereum

A project that aims to build a more resilient, reliable GPS using smart contracts is up and running on the ethereum blockchain.

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A New Line of Powerful ASIC Miners Is Coming to Ethereum

Chen Min, formerly Canaan's chief chip maker, is releasing a line of ethereum ASICs through her new venture, Linzhi.

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Vault Launches Crypto Collectibles Wallet on Apple's App Store

Vault wants to boost crypto adoption with its new iOS wallet that stores non-fungible tokens and other crypto collectibles.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NbanT9

BitGo Receives Regulatory Approval to Custody Crypto Assets

Crypto security startup BitGo has received approval in the U.S. to act as a qualified custodian for digital assets.

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Constantinople Ahead: What You Need to Know About Ethereum's Big Upgrade

Constantinople, ethereum's next system-wide upgrade, is coming soon to a node near you. Here's what it means.

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Bitcoin Price Looks North After Passing $6.4K Resistance

Having found acceptance above the key hurdle of $6,400, bitcoin's corrective rally looks to be gathering pace.

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Mt Gox's Corporate Creditors Can Now File Claims for Bitcoin Refunds

Corporate creditors of the long-defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox can now enter online claims for refunds of trapped bitcoin assets.

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Blockchain Could Boost Trade Finance by $1 Trillion, WEF Research Says

Blockchain technology can help global businesses generate an extra $1 trillion in trade finance, according to World Economic Forum research.

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Japan's FSA Expands Crypto Team to Handle Exchange License Reviews

Japan's financial regulator is recruiting more people next year to handle the growing interest among Japanese companies in a crypto exchange license.

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Wednesday, 12 September 2018

10 Years After Lehman: Bitcoin and Wall Street Are Closer Than Ever

Bitcoin, born into the flames of the credit crisis, seemed like a rebellion against a broken financial system. Ten years later, is that still true?

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Manufacturing Giant Rostec to Manage Data on Waves Blockchain Platform

The Russian state-owned conglomerate will develop a blockchain to manage data on its vast holdings, which include car, helicopter and firearms makers.

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Brazilian Soccer Club Seeks $20 Million In Upcoming ICO

The AvaĂ­ Futebol Clube is hoping to raise $20 million in the coming months with an initial coin offering.

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Binance Partners With Malta to Launch Security Token Trading Platform

Crypto exchange Binance is working with the Malta Stock Exchange to develop and launch a security token trading platform.

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Indian Government Approves Bank's Blockchain Research

India's top executive body has granted approval for the Exim Bank to conduct research into how blockchain technology may benefit the financial sector.

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Ether Shorts Hit Another Record High as Price Sinks

Ethereum traders continue to load up on short positions, having pushed the cryptocurrency lower by more than 30 percent in the last seven days.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2QpoGBh

Crypto Exchange Seed CX Raises $15 Million in Series B Round

Seed CX raised $15 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital. The exchange plans to expand its spot market and derivatives trading services.

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Below $50: Litecoin Price Clocks 12-Month Low

The price of litecoin (LTC) has nosedived to 12-month lows amid broad risk aversion in the crypto markets.

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Korean Financial Watchdogs Probing Blockchain Firms Over ICO Activity

South Korean regulators are contacting local blockchain startups as part of an investigation into initial coin offerings, according to CoinDesk Korea.

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Carbon Becomes Latest Startup to Launch a Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin

Crypto project Carbon has launched its own ethereum-based, dollar-pegged stablecoin dubbed CarbonUSD.

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Crypto Billionaire Di Iorio Seeks New Start for Jaxx as All-in-One Wallet

Despite some concerns about security, the new Jaxx Liberty mobile wallet could become an all-purpose crypto app.

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Huobi Eyes Japan Expansion With Acquisition of Licensed Crypto Exchange

Huobi Group is about to expand its trading services to Japan via a deal to purchase local cryptocurrency exchange BitTrade.

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Bitcoin Price Charts Hint at Recovery Rally Above $6.4K

Bitcoin could be in for a decent corrective rally if prices find acceptance above the key resistance of $6,400.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2OeBpW2

Softbank Completes Blockchain PoC for Cross-Carrier Mobile Payments

Japanese telecoms giant Softbank Corp. has completed a blockchain proof-of-concept that allows P2P mobile payments across different carriers.

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Is Bitcoin Charting a 2015-Style Price Bottom?

Bitcoin's price decline this year looks eerily similar to a long-term bottom seen in 2015, chart analysis reveals.

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OKCoin's Star Xu Questioned as Police Investigate Bitcoin Futures Allegations

OKCoin's founder Star Xu wasn't arrested, but was assisting police in Shanghai over a bitcoin futures dispute, reports clarify.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Qo6Q1F

Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Inside Bitewei: The $20 Million Bitcoin Miner Being Hailed as a Bitmain Rival

A startup seeking to rival mining giant Bitmain is gaining a reputation as a firm that could disrupt the balance in crypto's most lucrative sector.

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Major Crypto Companies Form DC Lobbying Group

A number of major cryptocurrency firms are forming the Blockchain Association to lobby Washington, D.C. lawmakers on regulations in the space.

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The Bank of Russia Says Its ICO Experiment Was a Success

The Bank of Russia has successfully concluded an experiment in conducting ICOs, though questions remain as to their legality in the nation.

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SEC Hits Crypto Asset Fund and 'ICO Superstore' With Penalties

The SEC announced twin agreements with two different cryptocurrency-related companies

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US Judge Rules ICO Frauds Fall Under Securities Law

A federal judge has ruled that a criminal case against an alleged ICO fraudster will proceed to trial, saying existing securities laws apply.

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Stellar Gets Another Boost With TokenSoft ICO Services Expansion

In the latest good news for the crypto project, TokenSoft says it is launching support for token sales built on the Stellar network.

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In First, FINRA Files Fraud Complaint Against Crypto Broker

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has filed a securities fraud complaint against a cryptocurrency broker.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2OahuHS

R3, Ripple Settle Legal Dispute Over XRP Purchase Option

Blockchain startups Ripple and R3 have resolved a legal battle that saw both firms filing suits in the U.S. over a contract dispute.

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Major French Soccer Club Plans to Launch Its Own Cryptocurrency

French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain is planning to issue its own cryptocurrency as a way to incentivize participation from its international fans.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2CHLXvt

Bitcoin Price Awaits Next Move as Trading Range Narrows

Bitcoin (BTC) is being squeezed into a tight trading range with neither bulls nor bears currently having the upper hand.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2x5ocr9

IMF Advises Against Crypto as Legal Tender in Marshall Islands Report

The IMF says the Republic of the Marshall Islands should reconsider introducing a cryptocurrency as a second legal tender over perceived risks.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2QokSk7

Ethereum's ASIC Rebellion Heats Up With New Effort to Brick Big Miners

Miners are discussing whether they can get a hardware change added to remove ASICs from an upcoming ethereum software update.

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Chinese Ministry Eyes Blockchain Tech to Boost Trust in Charity Sector

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs is planning a blockchain upgrade of the country's charity tracking system to bring more transparency to donations.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2x2SHhy

Monday, 10 September 2018

Nasdaq Said to Be Building Tool to Predict Crypto Price Movements

Nasdaq is said to be beta testing new cryptocurrency analysis tools geared toward institutional investors.

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Crypto Use Is A 'Fringe Activity' Among Terrorists, Says Think Tank

Cryptocurrencies are ill-suited for terrorist financing, a member of a think tank told the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

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Report: Nearly Half of ICOs Failed to Raise Funds Since Start of 2017

Nearly half of all initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2017 and 2018 failed to raise any funds, according to a new report.

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Ripple's Former Legal Chief Joins Crypto Payments Startup

Just days after leaving her role as Ripple's top legal officer, Brynly Llyr is taking on the role of general counsel at crypto payments startup Celo.

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Crypto Research Firm Adds Nobel Prize Winners as Advisors

Blockchain research firm and accelerator Cryptic Labs has just taken on two Nobel-winning economists as advisers.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NuhNjE

Back Below $200 Billion: Crypto Market Cap Sinks to 10-Month Low

The sell-off in bitcoin and the resulting risk aversion pushed the cryptomarket to the lowest level since November 2.

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Gemini Launches NYDFS-Regulated Crypto Pegged to the Dollar

Crypto exchange Gemini is set to issue a dollar-backed, NYDFS-approved stablecoin – the second to launch in New York today.

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Paxos Unveils Dollar-Backed Stablecoin Approved by New York Regulator

Blockchain startup Paxos has launched a regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin to facilitate instant transaction settlements for crypto investors.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2oVvJp9

'Crypto Assets Are Here to Stay,' Says EU Commission Vice President

The European Commission will conclude a regulatory assessment of crypto assets this year, because "they are here to stay," says an official.

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Bitcoin Retains Bear Bias Despite Recovery From 25-Day Low

Bitcoin's recovery from 25-day lows near $6,100 is likely a "dead cat bounce" rather than a bullish reversal, charts suggest.

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Interstellar Arrives: Visa, Citi-Backed Chain Acquired By Stellar Startup

An acquisition that finds two of crypto's leading entrepreneurs teaming to back the world's sixth-largest blockchain has been confirmed.

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WeChat Now Censoring Bitmain and Crypto Price Prediction Accounts

WeChat has just blocked an official sales channel for Bitmain miners, along with several accounts that analyse the crypto markets.

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Can Bitcoin Save Argentina?

A proposal to place a sliver of Argentina's central bank reserves in bitcoin is worth taking seriously, given the country's current dire straits.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2O3DmVf

Australian State Pilot Puts Driver's Licenses on a Blockchain

Australia's New South Wales government is turning to blockchain for a state-wide test of a driver license digitization program slated for November.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2x3Iwtk

Sunday, 9 September 2018

BitTorrent Courted EOS, Filecoin Crypto Creators Prior to Tron Sale

Tron and Neo weren't the only crypto projects interested in acquiring BitTorrent; in fact, CoinDesk has learned, five others were tempted to buy too.

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SEC Suspends Exchange-Traded Bitcoin and Ether Investment Vehicles

A highly touted investment instrument that sought to appeal to U.S. investors looking for cryptocurrency exposure has just seen a setback.

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Crypto Trading 101: The Moving Average Crossover

Moving average crossovers, one of the simplest traders' tools, are best suited to trend following and momentum trading.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wXeBCN

EU Lawmaker Wants Standard Regulations to Allow 'Passport' for ICOs

One European lawmaker wants to standardize ICO regulations, thereby making it easier for projects to raise funding across the EU.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2MeI1lp

Saturday, 8 September 2018

The Big Legal Issue Blockchain Developers Rarely Discuss

If blockchain projects seek adoption by enterprises, their open-source license will have a material impact on the rate of adoption, say legal experts.

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This Tech Lets You Send Any Cryptocurrency to the Lightning Network

A new type of lightning tech for swapping different types of transactions is seeing new tests with real money on the line.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Nu35Jo

Friday, 7 September 2018

Energy Giant Engie, Maltem Back New 'Blockchain Studio' With $2.3M

French energy firm Engie announced Friday that it will help commercial customers build blockchain platforms with its new "Blockchain Studio" spinoff.

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Bets Against Ether's Price Hit All-Time High

The number of short orders placed on ETH/USD have reached a new high and is a clear reflection of bearish sentiment surrounding the cryptocurrency.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2QaDNyB

Ripple's General Counsel Exits Startup, Spokesperson Says

Ripple general counsel Brynly Llyr, who joined the firm in 2016 as its top legal officer, has left the firm, a spokesperson told CoinDesk.

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Quione Looks to Boost Crypto Liquidity With New Trading Platform

Crypto exchange startup Quione has launched a trading platform called Liquid that it says will bring much needed liquidity to the crypto markets.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wUZvxA

EOS Block Producers Move to Cut Costs for Users

Creating a new account on EOS is now easier after 15 block producers approved a protocol change making it cheaper and providing free RAM.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wVi3Oy

Opera Wallet Users Can Now Send CryptoKitties and Other Collectibles

Opera now allows users to send crypto collectibles, such as CryptoKitties, directly from its beta-stage in-browser crypto wallet.

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Are Big Crypto Token Sales Really Over? At Republic Event, Many Think So

At an event in New York on Thursday, crypto enthusiasts broadly agreed that the ICO, as it was during the hype cycle of 2017, is no more.

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$6K Ahead? Bitcoin Price Plunges After Brief Recovery

Bitcoin's short-lived corrective rally reinforces the bearish outlook put forward by the technical charts and indicates scope for a drop to $6,000.

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Payments Startup Wyre Acquires Bitcoin Smart Contract Developer

E-payment startup Wyre has acquired bitcoin smart contract developer Hedgy to broaden the scope of its offerings.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wP0tLN

Australian Watchdog to Apply Market Rules to Crypto Exchanges

Australia's securities regulator has said it plans to apply financial market rules to crypto exchanges and closely scrutinize ICOs.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NuEFQg

China's Supreme Court Recognizes Blockchain Evidence as Legally Binding

Blockchain can now be legally used to authenticate evidence in legal disputes in China, according to a ruling from the country's Supreme Court.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wL3WLi

Thursday, 6 September 2018

Crypto and Stock Trading Startup Robinhood Is Eyeing an IPO

Mobile investment app Robinhood that launched a zero-fee crypto trading service this year is now searching for a CFO as it prepares for going public.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2oOkcba

The Creator of Proof-of-Stake Thinks He Finally Figured It Out

Pseudonymous developer Sunny King, the creator of proof-of-stake, has a new approach for the consensus mechanism – and it revolves around hardware.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Nq4LUh

Winklevoss Brothers Win Patent for Crypto Key Storage System

Winklevoss IP, LLC has won a patent outlining how it may use air-gapped computers to protect cryptocurrency keys from theft.

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New York Man Pleads Guilty to $1.8 Million Ether Robbery

Louis Meza admitted to kidnapping and stealing $1.8 million in ether as part of a plea deal. He may be sentenced to 10 years in prison as a result.

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Uzbekistan Looks to Lure Crypto Exchanges With New Tax Benefits

Uzbekistan's government is looking to attract crypto exchanges with a number of tax and regulatory benefits, according to a presidential order.

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Survey: Nearly 80% of Americans Have Heard of Bitcoin

A YouGov survey of roughly 1,200 Americans found that 48 percent of millennials are interested in using cryptocurrencies as a primary form of payment.

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Stock Brokerage EF Hutton to Launch Crypto Reports for 'Confused' Investors

Stock brokerage EF Hutton is launching subscription-based cryptocurrency research reports aimed to educate "confused" investors.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2CopbsH

Circle Taps Former US Homeland Security Official as New Legal Chief

Crypto startup Circle has hired a former Department of Homeland Security general counsel as its new chief legal officer.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NjKH64

Grayscale Launches Investment Trust for Zen Cryptocurrency

Grayscale Investments announced Thursday morning that the new Zen Investment Trust is now open to accredited or institutional investors.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2CnRyHu

Iran's Recognition of Crypto Mining Prompts Local Bitcoin Price Spike

The Iranian government has recognized bitcoin mining as a lawful activity, briefly sending bitcoin prices to record levels at the country's exchanges.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NPAWJK

Bitcoin's Double-Digit Drop Negates Long-Term Bull Market

Bitcoin's 13 percent slide in the last 24 hours has neutralized the long-term bullish reversal suggested on the technical charts earlier this week.

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IBM Makes Another Blockchain Identity Play With Health Data App

IBM is working with Hu-manity.co, whose Android and IOS mobile app gives users a title of ownership, akin to a property deed, for their personal data.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2PK4OYN

Crypto Exchange Kraken Denies Rumor of Office Closure, Security Breach

Crypto exchange Kraken has denied a rumor that it is shutting down operations in a Canadian office, but did not comment on alleged staff layoffs.

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Chinese City Is Using Blockchain to Track Convicts on Parole

Convicts on parole in the southern Chinese city of Zhongshan can now find themselves being tracked over a blockchain network.

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How to Make Public Blockchains Safe for Enterprise Use

In order to make public networks secure enough for enterprise use, two key things must happen, says EY's Paul Brody.

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Coinbase to Offer New Crypto Trading Pairs for British Pounds

Crypto exchange Coinbase has announced it will begin rolling out new order book trading pairs for British pounds on Sept. 7.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2oKke3u

Wednesday, 5 September 2018

Belgian Government Issues Cryptocurrency Fraud Warning

Belgium's top financial regulator has issued a new warning about cryptocurrency scams.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Q98aW7

Ether, ADA Crypto Prices Hit Lowest Levels In Over 1 Year

Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell to its lowest price of 2017 on Wednesday.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wL0z7o

High Times Now Says It's Accepting Crypto Payments For Its IPO

Despite previously telling the SEC it would not accept cryptocurrencies, High Times is accepting both bitcoin and ethereum for its IPO.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wHYj1t

Twitter CEO Tells Congress It's Exploring Blockchain in Bid to Fight Scams

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told a Congressional committee Wednesday that the social media company is exploring blockchain solutions for its platform.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NRHBTO

Think Tank Report Argues for Standardized Crypto Rules Within EU

A Brussels-based think tank believes the EU should enforce standardized regulations on cryptocurrencies for each member nation.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wNVZ8Z

TransferGo Opens Payments Corridor to India Using Ripple Tech

Payment provider TransferGo has announced it is launching a remittance corridor to India that uses Ripple technology for near real-time transactions.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Q6Lfuo

XYZ: Ethereum Is Getting Another Popular Domain Name

The Ethereum Name Service has added support for .xyz domains, meaning users can now claim the URL for their wallets or other products on ethereum.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Q4o0RT

Goldman Sachs Said to Have Sidelined Plans for Crypto Trading Desk

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has reportedly dropped plans to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk, for now at least.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2oJyHNi

Ripio Rolls Out Crypto-Powered Loans Across Latin America

Ripio is driving mainstream adoption among the unbanked of South America, offering crypto loans in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2ChJEz8

Blockchain Startup Founded By Deloitte Vets Unveils Supply Chain Platform

A blockchain startup run by former Deloitte execs plans to launch a new platform built on ethereum and quorum to streamline supply chain processes.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2LYCWxC

Polychain Leads Blockmesh Developer Spacemesh's $15 Million Fundraise

Blockchain developer Spacemesh has raised $15 million as part of its quest to develop a new kind of consensus algorithm called proof-of-space-time.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2PEkSuN

Bull Trap? Bitcoin Price Slides Below $7K Despite Strong Indicators

Bitcoin is reporting losses a day after a bull breakout – a move that looks similar to a bull trap seen in July.

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Civic to Spend $43 Million In Tokens In Aggressive User Expansion

Civic needs a network of users, so it's offering free KYC for business partners and funding the effort with its reserve of tokens.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NjB33l

PBoC's Digital Currency Lab Launches New Research Center Outside of Beijing

The Digital Currency Research Lab within China's central bank is expanding to Nanjing to enable wider deployment of blockchain and other fintech. 

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2PG4Lgw

R3 Rejected in Attempted Takeover of Settlement Coin Blockchain Project

Blockchain tech provider R3 tried to take over one of the most well-known bank blockchain projects this June. The only problem? It didn't work.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2oGOa0D

ASX Probes Penny Stock Seeking to Raise $15 Million in an ICO

The Australian Securities Exchange is questioning an IT firm behind a listed penny stock seeking to raise $15 million via a token sale.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NfkyoS

Tuesday, 4 September 2018

EU Lawmakers Weigh 'Standard' for ICOs Under Crowdfunding Rules

Members of the European Parliament convened with experts on Tuesday to discuss a proposal for standardizing ICO rules around the EU.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2LXQfyg

Crypto Exchange ShapeShift Is Moving Away From Its No-Account Model

Crypto exchange ShapeShift is launching a membership program for its users. While voluntary at first, it will soon become a mandatory feature.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Ng7BLG

Philippines Regulators Prepare to Publish Crypto Trading Rules

The Philippines SEC is planning to release new trading rules for cryptocurrency exchanges in the coming days.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2LYh7Oz

Robinhood Crypto App Adds Candlestick Charts Due to Popular Demand

Mobile trading app Robinhood is rolling out candlestick charts to "better inform" users when trading or tracking cryptocurrencies and other offerings.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2PwyEQa

Litecoin Price Nears $70 to Hit One-Month High

The price of Litecoin (LTC) recorded its highest price in a month on Tuesday as the broader market picks up the bid.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Ndcbdv

British Maritime Society Builds Blockchain Tool for Ship Registration

Lloyd's Register is demoing a blockchain tool for recording information about ships for underwriters and merchants at this year's SMM fair.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Q5be5J

PBoC-Backed Blockchain Trade Finance Platform Enters Test Phase

A blockchain trade finance platform spearheaded by the People's Bank of China has entered the testing phase ahead of an official roll-out.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Nh87sL

Not Just Tron: Neo's Failed $170 Million Bid to Buy BitTorrent Revealed

It turns out that more crypto companies explored buying BitTorrent than just Tron. Not previously reported, Neo Global Capital made a much higher bid.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2N8UQT9

IBM Debuts Stellar-Powered 'Blockchain World Wire' Payments System

IBM is taking its long-in-the-works blockchain-based payment system out of beta, with the launch of a product called Blockchain World Wire.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NeJL2R

Bitcoin Indicator Turns Bullish for First Time in 8 Months

Bitcoin's weekly MACD indicator has risen above zero for the first time since January, confirming a long-term bearish-to-bullish trend change.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NcStP2

South Korea to Double Blockchain Trials in Public Sector Next Year

The South Korean government is literally doubling down on its efforts to trial blockchain in the public sector for 2019.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NOuSBv

RAM It All: Rising Costs Are Turning EOS Into a Crypto Coder's Nightmare

With lightning speeds and zero fees, EOS blows other blockchains out of the water for user experience. For developers, though, it's proving costly.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wHFhIo

Crypto Wallet Abra Opens Door to More European Users

Crypto wallet provider Abra is integrating SEPA payments, allowing European customers to directly deposit funds.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wA79OL

Monday, 3 September 2018

ASX Postpones Roll-Out of Blockchain Settlement System to Q2 2021

The ASX has pushed back the launch time of a blockchain-based network to Q2 in 2021 that is set to replace its current CHESS settlement system.

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There's a Problem With Crypto Funding – And Vitalik Just Might Have a Solution

A new paper by Vitalik Buterin and other researchers proposes a novel way to finance the public goods a decentralized ecosystem needs.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wFvemB

Walmart Explores Blockchain for Connecting Automated Delivery Drones

Walmart's patent efforts have showcased how the retail giant is investigating blockchain, this time it's a project that sees a way for drones to talk.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2N91ZTm

Former Estonian Prime Minister Becomes Blockchain Startup Advisor

Former Estonian prime minister Taavi Rõivas is joining cryptocurrency startup Lympo as the chairman of its supervisory board.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NevDGE

Google Now Provides a Big Data View of the Ethereum Blockchain

Internet search giant Google is providing a Big Data window into ethereum after adding the network to its analytics platform BigQuery.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NLDTeB

The Power of Private Blockchains Is Beginning to Show

Is it time to rethink private blockchains? The World Bank's "blockchain bond" success has reinvigorated that question.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wD7ijr

Bitcoin Price Faces Minor Drop as Bulls Run Out of Steam

Bitcoin could be in for a minor price pullback as the short-duration charts are flashing signs of bullish exhaustion.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2wECnn5

Alibaba, IBM Top Global Blockchain Patent Rankings, Says New Research

Major Chinese and American firms are leading a global blockchain push, with Alibaba and IBM having filed around 90 patents each relating to the tech.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NHZQeo

Nano Was August's Top-Performing Big Crypto Despite Its Record Low

Nano shone bright on the back of strong volumes in August, despite an all-time low experienced mid-month.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2NcEw3t

Japanese City Trials Blockchain Voting for Social Development Programs

The Japanese city of Tsukuba has tested a blockchain-based system that lets residents cast votes to decide on local development programs.

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2oyZkEt

Sunday, 2 September 2018

Microsoft Is Slowly (But Surely) Connecting Blockchain to Main Products

The software giant's Azure cloud division is building bridges between its blockchain services and other, widely used infrastructure and platforms.

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Venezuela's Petro Cryptocurrency Is a Gift to Future Generations

The petro cryptocurrency may be one of the most ill-conceived blockchain projects. But it just might speak to exactly why the tech is gravely needed.

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The Fight Over Masternodes: The WTF New Way to Earn Money With Crypto

There's a battle going on and it displays how popular masternodes have become. But wait, what's a masternode? And how can you earn money with one?

from CoinDesk https://ift.tt/2Pwubx5

Saturday, 1 September 2018

Crypto Trading 101: The Fibonacci Retracements

CoinDesk unpacks and explains Fibonacci retracements, a tool used to predict potential price support and resistance, for crypto traders.

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Bitcoin's Next Big Software Upgrade to Feature New Language for Crypto Keys

A new version of Bitcoin Core is coming, including a new key language and more. CoinDesk assembles the earliest and most interesting details.

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