The price of bitcoin registered a decrease of around 2% less. The cryptocurrency broke the $ 12,000 barrier again on August 17^th, but fell to the $ 11,000 range days later, according to Live Coin Watch.

During the week of August 15-22, the market shows a predominance of cryptocurrencies with falling prices. Less than half of the altcoins had growths that varied between 2% and 30%. The most appreciated cryptocurrencies are led by NEM (XEM), Decred (DCR), and Lisk (LSK). The news related to these altcoins has to do with the launch of a new platform in NEM, and a virtual event in the Decred community. Lisk, meanwhile, is releasing a new module for developers.

The top of the week is completed with Stratis (STRAT) and Siacoin (SC). The former stands out for its listing on Crypto.com, while Siacoin is referred to as the advancements of its Skynet network.

On the other hand, the price of bitcoin suffered a notable decrease of around 2% less. The cryptocurrency broke the $ 12,000 barrier again on August 17^th, but fell to the $ 11,000 range days later, according to Live Coin Watch. Even so, it has grown by 65% ​​in 2020 and has a better level of appreciation compared to the dollar. The currency weighted index (USDX) lost more than 8 points since last May.

Ether (ETH) also drops its price, after several weeks of growth. Its average drop is 10%. The price peaked at $ 440 on August 17^th and fell to $ 399 on the 19th. Fees on Ethereum have not dropped below $ 1 million per day since July 19^th. According to recent reports, peaks of up to $ 8,600,000 in commissions have been presented on the network during August.

NEM will launch a new corporate platform

In a statement published on August 21^st, NEM Group Limited made clear the tentative date for the main net launch of the Symbol update. It may be December 17^th when the new platform will be available to all audiences. The announcement crossed ways with the increase suffered by the price of the cryptocurrency, whose average weekly growth was 30%.

The price of XEM, NEM’s cryptocurrency, started the week at $ 0.062 and hit a high of 0.082 on August 22^nd. Meanwhile, the NEM team promotes a video on Twitter describing the characteristics of Symbol, a blockchain platform aimed at traditional companies.

Decred joins the debate on the legalization of cryptocurrencies

Within the group of the most appreciated cryptocurrencies of this week, Decred (DCR) is in second place with an advance of 28%. During this period, the company dedicated itself to promoting a virtual event; the main goal was discussing regulations and the legalization of cryptocurrencies.

The debate on Legal Perspectives of Cryptocurrencies took place on August 20^th. According to messages posted on Twitter in Spanish, one of the guests was Mauricio Ocampo, Founder of the technology company Techno Law Geek, in Mexico. Simultaneously, DCR went from trading at USD 16.80 at the beginning of the week, to a peak of USD 22.79 on August 22^nd.

Among the ideas that were discussed at the event, the democratization, traceability, and public records of blockchain platforms were discussed, considering them as the systems that will facilitate the legalization of the crypto industry. DCR’s market capitalization is $ 247.3 million, with daily trade of $ 10.7 million.

Jenson Nuñez

It stands out in this new information that many of the mining pools now identified have only just started operating and already amass large amounts of the hash rate of the Bitcoin network.

Part of the enigma around Bitcoin mining has been revealed. New information available on the site BTC.com, operated by the Chinese manufacturer Bitmain shows that all of the Bitcoin pools or mining pools are known. An analysis of the data indicates that 95% of the blocks mined in the last month were processed in China.

Until a few days ago, it was almost impossible to know who all the pool operators involved in Bitcoin mining were. Widely consulted sites like blockchain.com or blockchair.com still show a large percentage of “unknown” groups: around 15% and 5%, respectively.

Now, with the new data that BTC.com shows, it is possible to know who is mining 99% of the blocks on the Bitcoin network. From the well-known and long-lived SlushPool, from the Czech Republic, or F2Pool, from China to the most recent Lubian pools, TATMAS, or the one operated by Binance; the latter, all Chinese.

 For instance, the 58coin & 1thash group, launched in August 2019, boasts a processing power of 10.36 exahashes per second (EH / s), representing 8.12% of the total processed by the Bitcoin network. The same happens with the pool of the OKex brokerage house, which, having started operating in June 2019, already has 6.8 EH / s, more than 5% of the hash rate of the Bitcoin network.

Still, other newer pools also surprise with great processing powers. Binance Pool launched in April 2020, and Lubian, which started operations in May 2020, has hash rates in the order of 7.4 EH / s and represents almost 6% of the total network, each. The latter pool, despite being Chinese, surprised the mining community by having its operations in Iran.

In the Middle Eastern country, the cost of electricity is 1 cent compared to 30 cents in China, according to the pool managers. Besides, the Iranian government recently legalized mining and is pushing it even in the country’s power plants.

The most powerful pools are still Poolin (2018), with 19.5 EH / s and 15% of the power of the Bitcoin network; F2Pool with 17.76EH / s, 14% of the processing; BTC.com with 15.69EH / s (12.3% of the network); and Antpool with 11.84EH / s, which represent 9.28% of the more than 120 EH / s that the Bitcoin network now owns.

95% of Bitcoin Blocks are Mined by Chinese Operators

When analyzing the data from another perspective, it is observed that during the past month 96.5% of the Bitcoin blocks were mined by Chinese groups. Only 3.5% was mined outside the Asian country by SlushPool, which is striking knowing that this was the first mining pool in history, which mined its first blocks in January 2012.

By Jenson Nuñez.

To avoid the congestion and high commissions that have been registered in Ethereum, Tether integrates the stablecoin or stablecoin USDT to the OMG Network side chain.

Tether Inc. Company announced the decision through a blog post. The brief notes that enabling USDT value transfers on the OMG (formerly OmiseGO) network saves costs, drives performance improvements, and relieves pressure on the Ethereum network.

OMG Network CEO Vansa Chatikavanij mentioned the integration noting that Ethereum’s sidechain “supports thousands of transactions per second at one-third the cost of the same transaction on the mainnet.” This refers to the high amounts that have been registered in the network commissions since last July.

The idea of ​​integrating USDT to the Ethereum side chain is to help decongest the network; taking into account that tether has become one of the most used cryptocurrencies by merchants on the platform.

Using the Sidechain for Scaling

Using the sidechain is one of the most viable scaling solutions in the face of the congestion that Ethereum has been registering. Hence the choice of OMG Network, a second layer solution released in late 2019 after its establishment in 2017.

OMG is a decentralized platform for peer-to-peer transactions without intermediaries, which tries to facilitate financial services. It works based on Plasma, a framework developed to build scalable applications and off-chain solutions, among which is also the Matic Network.

The sidechain allows users to transfer ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens quickly. It makes it easy to do transactions through channels external to the Ethereum chain, compiling a group of operations, and then incorporating them into the network through input, and output channels implemented to support the operation of the protocol.

The operations that are executed in this second chain are periodically established in the Ethereum network. Based on this operation, the Bitfinex exchange will facilitate deposits and withdrawals of USDT through OMG. “This will allow users to arbitrage between various platforms as the network grows,” says Tether Inc.

With the integration to OMG, the stablecoin tether is now working on seven blockchains, including OMG Network: Ethereum, Algorand, EOS, Omni, Tron, and Liquid Network (Bitcoin side chain).

Ethereum Commissions Start to Decline

Beginning with the integration of USDT into the OMG sidechain, the transaction costs on Ethereum have started to decline recently after hitting an all-time high on August 13^th. For August 22^nd, the average rate is estimated at just over $2. The decline comes after having reached a peak of more than $ 7 per transaction.

During this same week, there is a notable drop in the prices of ether (ETH). According to Live Coin Watch statistics, the cryptocurrency has lost more than 8% of its value in the last 7 days. Simultaneously with the rise in commissions, ETH had been on the rise since July, reaching its highest values ​​until now in 2020, exceeding $ 440.

By Jenson Nuñez.

Little is known about the reasons that caused a woman so intelligent, and so capable of developing so much empathy, could use these attributes to harm millions of people.

Since it first aired in September 2019, the BBC podcast The Missing CryptoQueen has been on the trail of Ruja Ignatova, better known as the ‘crypto queen’, the woman behind a pyramid scheme known as OneCoin. She promised thousands of people a lot of financial benefits in exchange for them to invest in what she called a revolutionary cryptocurrency, but two years ago, Ruja disappeared without a trace.

The saga of the podcast The Missing CryptoQueen is the product of the investigation of journalist Jaime Bartlett and producer Georgia Cast. In the nine chapters that have been released until now, the documentary delves into the life of Ruja Ignatova and her fake cryptocurrency OneCoin.

Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin and was later able to part with it for the benefit of humans. He proved that technology with a good purpose is bigger than a person. But, it is also true that since the pioneer of cryptocurrencies emerged, there are people in the world who seek only personal benefits.

Little is known about the reasons that caused a woman so intelligent and so capable of developing so much empathy, could use these attributes to harm millions of people. But what the BBC podcast does tell you is that, when Ruja Ignatova appeared with her OneCoin proposal, there were (still are) the right elements in our society that open the door to scams.

In his story, Jamie Bartlet explains that technology creates incredible opportunities and possibilities for people who manage to understand the use of some developments, but it also offers the opportunity to exploit people who do not know it. So, when technology collides with certain human weaknesses, and when the old rules no longer work and innovation appears, then there will always be a Dr. Ruja Ignatova closer than anyone can imagine.

OneCoin is Still Alive

 One of the most amazing facts about the Missing CryptoQueen is that even though the FBI seeks Ruja Ignatova for scam and arrested her brother Konstantine, the organization that supports the operation of OneCoin, continues to operate. People continue to buy “educational packages” and thousands of them keep their hopes alive that it will soon open the exchange house where they can exchange what they believe is a cryptocurrency.

In episode 3, the podcast team was able to verify that OneCoin offices are operational in a building in Sofia, Bulgaria, where people work. The staff is completely responsible for the keeping and maintenance of the accounts of the people who pay for the investment packages. They keep the website that reports on the price of the supposed cryptocurrency active.

 They are also in constant communication with the independent associations that run OneCoin promotions around the world. People buy supposed OneCoin educational packages starting at 250,000 euros ($ 296,000) that include various supposedly mined cryptocurrencies. The product includes 7 PDF files that according to journalist Bartlett contain large plagiarized fragments of significant documents from the world of finance.

OneCoin promised that people’s lives would change from the moment they bought the largest packages. The Tycoon product could cost 5,000 euros ($ 5,936). Family and friends made collections, pooled their savings, sold some properties with the idea of ​​investing. “But people did not realize that with these coins it’s simply impossible to buy anything at all,” says Barttlet in episode 1 of the podcast.

By Jenson Nuñez

The social network and information platform for traders, TradingView, announced which were the most sought after financial assets on its platform during July in the United States. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) and shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) led the searches.

On the other, TradingView mentioned that users that are residing in the west coast states such as California, Washington, and Oregon are the most requested on Bitcoin, while in the Southeast, Forex is favored.

Until now this year, both Tesla and Bitcoin have given joy to those who invested in them. On the one hand, the share of the company led by Elon Musk increased its price by 284.48%. Its price at the beginning of 2020 was USD 427 per share and is currently trading at USD 1,650.

On the other hand, the first cryptocurrency had a price increase of 65.45%, going from USD 7,192 to USD 12,100 at the time of writing this article. TradingView stands out as curious and particularly interesting data that Apple, the largest company A publicly traded company, did not top the search ranking in any state.

All about Tesla and the use of Bitcoin

On various occasions, Musk spoke positively about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Despite this, he considers that, although “the structure of Bitcoin is quite brilliant”, it is not appropriate for Tesla due to the high energy consumption of mining.

“I think actually one of the downsides of cryptocurrencies is that computationally they require a lot of power,” Musk had said at the time. He also pointed out that, for him, “there has to be some kind of restriction on the creation of cryptocurrencies.”

About the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a payment method, Musk explained that he sees them as a potential replacement for cash, but doesn’t believe that Bitcoin will ever become the most important financial base.

Some consider that Bitcoin has the total potential to become a good system to adopt in other of the projects and companies that Musk leads, such as SpaceX. He claims that the colony that could inhabit Mars will live under a decentralized system in which people can make it on their own without a final establishment based on centralized entities.

About TradingView

TradingView is a social platform for traders, as well as an analysis and charting tool. Users can also carry out buying and selling operations directly on the site. Almost all cryptocurrency exchanges incorporate TradingView charts. This platform thus becomes one of the main interfaces to monitor the price of cryptocurrencies in real-time.

TradingView is online stock-picking software and screener for both beginners and experienced active traders. It incorporates extensive cloud-based charting tools for research and gives users the ability to share and collaborate with other active traders online.

 The downside is that most large brokerages are not yet directly integrated with TradingView, so you will have to place trades separately with your brokerage of choice.

TradingView was released in June 2012 as a social platform for active traders and featured its scripting language that allows users to customize charts and indicators. It continues to be a popular choice among active traders and financial software companies because of its versatility.

Users can learn new concepts, research market fluctuations, and possible chart outcomes, collaborate with other traders, chat, ask questions, and practice trades with the TradingView platform on any device.

By Jenson Nuñez.

The ransomware gang’s main goal is to force the company to resume negotiations with the posts on its data breach site.

The ransomware band REvil (Sodinokibi) made a statement on which claims that have hacked and stolen 1 TB of data from Brown-Forman, a company established in Kentucky, the United States of America, that is in charge of the manufacture of many brands related to alcoholic beverages such as Jack Daniel’s, Woodford and Old Forester.

The info saw light on August 15^th through a publication in the specialized medium Bleeping Computer. The note indicates that the ransomware operators announced that they had hacked into Brown-Forman’s computer network, after spending more than a month checking up user services, cloud data storage, and the overall structure of the company.

Brown-Forman spokesman confirmed the attack, assuring that they managed to stop the hack and that they were working with authorities and security experts to solve the situation as soon as possible.

“Unfortunately, we believe that certain information, including employee data, was affected,” said the spokesman, adding that they do not know the amount of data stolen and that there are no active negotiations with the hackers.

According to the statements offered by the company to the media, the company was able to avoid data encryption and blocking through REvil malware, known as Sodinokibi or Sodin. As such, Brown-Forman still has access to the information on their network.

If you don’t pay, we filter

On the other hand, some of the stolen data is being published on the REvil ransomware data breach site, created on the dark web and called Happy Blog or “Happy Blog”. It is part of the strategy to pressure the company to pay for the ransom.

“REvil posted a series of screenshots with directory trees, files with names that seem to support their claims, and internal conversations between some employees. The photographs show documents dating from 2009. The hackers contacted Bloomberg’s reporting team, saying they expect the company to pay the ransom. “We still believe in the prudence of Brown-Forman and we are waiting for them to continue their discussion on a way out of this situation,” they declared.

The ransomware gang’s main goal is to force the company to resume negotiations with the posts on its data breach site. They claim to have a lot of details about the company’s corporate clients that could be to investors and competitors.

There is knowledge of what the demands of cybercriminals are and it is unknown if they requested payment in bitcoin (BTC), as is the case in most cases of ransomware.

REvil is also responsible for the hacking perpetrated between August 3-9 against the Mexican bank CIBanco. Through this attack, they claim to have stolen information that is being published on their data breach site.

The theft of data and other worthy info and its publication on sites dedicated to filtering is one of the strategies that most ransomware operators have been deploying in 2020.

An investigation published in CryptoNews recently includes the list of a dozen ransomware that have created data breach sites in recent months, among which is REvil. The goal is to force victims to make bitcoin payments in exchange for deleting all copies of the data and not using it in the future. In case they do not receive payment, they will automatically auction the information to the highest bidder.

By Jenson Nuñez