A Company from the XIX Century Launches its Own Hardware Crypto Wallet

Andres Chavez
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A Company from the XIX Century Launches its Own Hardware Crypto Wallet

Cryptocurrencies are fantastic ways to hold and store value, but a common mistake people make is thinking that the platforms, companies and institutions that are now using them are new or recently created. That is not necessarily true: older, more traditional companies are now opening their eyes to the future and adopting digital assets, as well.

A perfect sample of the last remark is the fact that an Austrian printing business with origins in the early 1800s recently launched a cryptocurrency storage device, which is enough proof that digital assets can fit just about everywhere and anywhere.

A Hardware Wallet to Prevent Hacking Attacks

The project comes in the form of a hardware wallet, and the company in question is YOUNIQX Identity, a subsidiary of the old Austrian State Printing House (Oesterreichische Staatsdruckerei or OeSD,) based in Vienna, the country’s capital city. The OeSD is Austria’s secure printing business and its high-tech passport maker. It also provides other ID-related solutions and services.

The hardware wallet in question is called Chainlock. By design, Chainlock is far safer than online wallets, in the sense that it is better equipped and prepared to combat the single most crucial issue related to “hot” wallets: hacking attacks. Whilst making the announcement of the product at the start of the week, OeSD officials identified online wallets as a “great security risk.”

The crypto fever, now in full-on mode after the markets have shown marked recovery in the last couple of months, still has not quite reached its full potential or ceiling because of specific sectors of the community fearing hacking attacks that can make them lose all of their investments.

One Hundred Percent Offline

The Chainlock wallet is, according to the company, “100 percent offline,” which takes a very high percentage of the risk off the table. It provides customers with the opportunity to generate private keys in a high-security enclave that the Austrian State Printing House stated that cannot be accessed or viewed by any third-parties, not even YOUNIQX or OeSD staffers.

There is an app that can help the user control the wallet if he/she so desired, and if it is done that way, the company says that it is safe from unauthorized access to private keys on the web, WiFi and NFC. To alleviate some concerns, the firm has made sure that CryptoLocker and other forms of crypto-stealing malware cannot access the keys on the device.

The Chainlock hardware wallet is as small as a credit card: it is a little sliver of plastic that, according to the development team, can resist the rigors of heat and water, not to mention everyday use.

Bitcoin or Ethereum Options

The company also observed that, in the event of blockchain-based coins on the hardware wallet are forked, clients will stand to benefit from new tokens being created. The price of the product is €59.99 (a figure around $67) and, as of now, it is obtainable in bitcoin or ethereum options.

The Austrian State Printing House, or OeSD, was known to be a high tech paper printer, but in recent years, it has migrated its business and modus operandi to attend the high-tech identity and security services and items. That is why the company set up YOUNIQX, which has already developed a system dubbed as MICK, which stands for My Identity Check (a video-based tool,) and MIA (My Identity App.)

By Andres Chavez

As Facebook Struggles with Regulations, the Firm Warns Investors that Libra May Not See Daylight At All

Andres Chavez
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As Facebook Struggles with Regulations, the Firm Warns Investors that Libra May Not See Daylight At All

At the moment of unveiling the Libra coin and the Calibra wallet last month, Facebook informed the world that the plan was to launch the associated cryptocurrency in the first half of 2020. However, the company warned investors this week that the digital currency may never launch at all.

In its latest quarterly report, the social media giant stated, specifically in the risk factors section, that there are no guarantees that the Libra cryptocurrency “will be made available in a timely manner, or at all.” The piece of news was reported by news outlet CNBC.

A Series of Setbacks

The latest announcement comes as no surprise whatsoever, given the number of setbacks that the currency has had to comply with financial watchdogs’ regulations around the world, most notably in the United States of America, but also in specific European and Asian locations.

The social networking company recognizes the magnitude of the pushbacks that lawmakers and other regulating instances have applied, and seems to imply that they can cause the Libra coin to not launch at all in a worst-case scenario.

Several sectors around the world, most notably the US Congress and other countries’ lawmakers, have expressed varying levels of concern about potential issues with people’s privacy, specifically, Facebook’s management of user data, inter alia.

“Libra has drawn significant scrutiny from governments and regulators in multiple jurisdictions and we expect that scrutiny to continue,” Facebook expressed in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC.) Compliance, then, is Facebook’s major hurdle towards the achievement of its project.

Market Acceptance

The document reads: “In addition, market acceptance of such currency is subject to significant uncertainty. As such, there can be no assurance that Libra or our associated products and services will be made available in a timely manner, or at all. We do not have significant prior experience with digital currency or blockchain technology, which may adversely affect our ability to successfully develop and market these products and services.”

One of the heads of the Libra project, David Marcus, has previously stated that the coin will be “a more efficient, low-cost and secure alternative” payment tool for those that cannot afford to perform money transfers with more traditional means and methods.

Lots of people have directed their criticism directly at Libra, including personalities such as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, among others. The situation has been similar in Europe, where French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and European Central Bank Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure have also hit the project with their comments.

Working with the Concerned Parties

A Facebook spokesperson told CNBC that the firm will work openly with all sectors that have expressed concern. “We know that the journey to launching Libra will be a long one and that we cannot do this alone. Engaging with regulators, policymakers, and experts is critical to Libra’s success. This was the whole reason that Facebook along with other members of the Libra Association shared our plans early.”

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated, in an interchange with analysts, a similar sentiment. He said that, in the past, the social media network “would have probably just showed up and tried to release a product on our own.”

“Now the approach on all of these fronts is to outline the ideas and the values that we think an eventual service should have, leave open a period of however long it takes to address regulators and different experts and constituents’ questions about this and then figure out what the best way to move forward is,” according to Zuckerberg.

By Andres Chavez

DOGE Goes Up 37% after Binance Listing

Andres Chavez
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DOGE Goes Up 37% after Binance Listing

Cryptocurrencies’ price behavior can change according to specific factors and circumstances. For example, it is evident that a fact that lowers people trust in these assets, such as a hacking attack to a known exchange, can negatively affect the value. In this case, one of the most popular altcoins has experienced a surge due to an external situation.

Dogecoin’s price has been climbing in the most recent hours since it was revealed that it will soon be listed in Binance, one of the most widely used and influential cryptocurrency exchanges in the industry of digital assets.

Binance Announcement: Users can Start Depositing DOGE

On a note in its website, Binance published the announcement: “Fellow Binancians, Binance will list Dogecoin (DOGE) and open trading for DOGE/BNB, DOGE/BTC, DOGE/USDT, DOGE/PAX and DOGE/USDC trading pairs at 2019/07/05 12:00 PM (UTC). Users can now start depositing DOGE in preparation for trading.”

After the announcement was made, the user base began to increase their holdings. The always reliable data of the CoinMarketCap site has all the details about DOGE’s most recent price increase.

The cryptocurrency, at the moment of writing this piece, was exchanging hands at $0.003801 USD, an 18.10% increase over the last 24 hours. However, it peaked at $0.004306, which represents an astonishing 37% surge.

CZ Lauds Dogecoin’s Colorful Community

Known crypto personality and Binance Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, made it clear that he views Dogecoin as one of the most popular digital assets in the field, which prompted the exchange to offer it among the options to trade.

To explain the listing to the world, CZ wrote on his official Twitter account that “this one is an exception, as there isn’t much new tech development (I guess it was never about the tech for this one). The users/community is large, and a famous “ex-CEO” (cough @elonmusk) helps!”

The Elon Musk reference comes because the Tesla and SpaceX founder wrote a tweet in April that said: “Dogecoin might be my fav cryptocurrency. It’s pretty cool.” He even, jokingly of course, modified his Twitter bio to “CEO of Dogecoin.”

The Dogecoin Project, from Up Close

Dogecoin is currently the 29th ranked cryptocurrency by market cap, with $456,998,619. The trading volume in the last day was $196,170,605, and there are a total of 120,219,215,287 DOGE currently in circulation.

Dogecoin (code: DOGE, symbol: Ð1​ and D) is a cryptocurrency that originated from Litecoin. It uses a Shiba Inu dog as a mascot, which comes from a popular online meme. Dogecoin was created by programmer and former IBM engineer Billy Markus, who was originally joking around with the Bells crypto asset.

The official website refers to the project as a “decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency that enables you to easily send money online. Think of it as ‘the internet currency’.”

Prominent names in the industry, such as John McAfee, Vitalik Buterin and Musk have previously showed their support to Dogecoin, regarding it as a likable and successful project.

By Andres Chavez

Norwegian Airline Will Accept Crypto Payments thanks to Exchange Founded by Its Owner

Andres Chavez
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Norwegian Airline Will Accept Crypto Payments thanks to Exchange Founded by Its Owner

One of the best things about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general, is that they allow people to provide anonymous payments for goods and services found over the web. Privacy is a very highly regarded trait and digital assets, and their decentralized nature let people enjoy it.

People buy all kinds of things online nowadays, and they are increasing their usage of Bitcoin and altcoins to pay for them. For web stores and services providers, diversifying payment methods is a crucial step that needs to be taken; especially including digital assets.

A Well-Known Local Investor with a New Plan

And now, Bjørn Kjos, who is a well-known Norwegian businessman and entrepreneur, and other family members with interests in Bitcoin will introduce a cryptocurrency exchange in the country in an effort to receive payments in crypto assets at their airline, Norwegian Air Shuttle.

The piece of news was reported this week by Dagens Naeringsliv (DN,) a Norwegian specialized business publication. According to the release, the mentioned trading platform is called the Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX) and the plan is to have it up and running by next month if everything goes smoothly.

Bjørn Kjos is not the sole family member with an eye for making big investments in the business world. His son, Lars Ola Kjos, made the headlines in the last couple of years thanks to his timely Bitcoin investment prior to 2017’s end of the year surge. He reportedly acquired NOK 3.5 million ($404,000) worth of the cryptocurrency at the time, in a moment in which it had not approached the roughly $10,000 that it was worth at the time of writing this piece.

First Norway, but Expansion Coming Soon

The Norwegian newspaper stated that said investment was made public through documents from Green 91, this is, a company owned by Lars Ola Kjos. He is, as of today, one of Norway’s most notable BTC investors, and will be a board member of the Norwegian Block Exchange, which is an initiative owned by the Kjos family.

The initial project for the cryptocurrency exchange only includes Norway, but the plan is to expand towards other neighbor countries after some consolidation has been achieved. In the autumn, the Kjos family intends to have the NBE serve as a payment method that allows users of the Norwegian Air Shuttle to pay for flight tickets with digital assets.

It is not yet clear; however, whether there will be additional cryptocurrencies, besides Bitcoin, that will be accepted as payment methods.

 A little more about the Norwegian Air Shuttle

The Norwegian Air Shuttle is not only Norway’s largest and most prominent airline, but it is also one of Scandinavia’s most widely known options to fly to several destinations. It was founded in 1993 and it is regarded as the continent’s third biggest budget airline.

It has operating bases in Alicante, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Barcelona, Bergen, Billund, Copenhagen, Dublin, Fort Lauderdale, Gothenburg, Helsinki, London–Gatwick, Los Angeles, Madrid, Málaga, New York–JFK, Oslo–Gardermoen, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Rome–Fiumicino, Stavanger, Stockholm–Arlanda, and Trondheim.

By Andres Chavez

Why Bitcoin Has Risen and Fallen from US $ 10,000

Willmen Blanco
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Why Bitcoin Has Risen and Fallen from US $ 10,000

Currently, the price of Bitcoin is above US $ 10,500 although on the week of July 17th it closed at US $ 9,700. The bullish trend seems not to have changed despite the correction of the last days.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced difficult days, falling from US $ 10,000 and returning to the original price just 24 hours later, to settle above US $ 10,500 on July 18th. It should be noted that the same thing has happened to other cryptocurrencies. However, it is necessary to know what has happened in the market.

To achieve a better understanding of these days of constant changes in the cryptocurrency market, it is relevant to know what market analysts think of this situation. It has been explained that, although there is a structural trend that seems to be bullish, circumstances like those experienced in recent days will be repeated; making special reference to the profit-taking events of which many investors could be protagonits. It has also been stated that many of those who entered the market from the minimum of US $ 3,000 could have left their BTC positions to parity currencies or directly to fiduciary money in order to take profits.

It is said that the results of the hearing of the representative of Libra, David Marcus, before the United States Congress on July 16th, 2019, could have influenced the fall of BTC. Although the majority of critics focused on Facebook and Libra, it is believed that the event could also have intimidated some investors who were positioned in BTC or other cryptocurrencies.

However, despite the drop in BTC prices of the previous day, it has been noted that US $ 10,000 is a key price and it has been assured that it is an important support. Trump’s criticisms on cryptocurrencies and Facebook’s Libra via Twitter could have also affected the price of BTC. Although the ecosystem thinks it is a victory, there are some investors who may think differently.

It is thought that the market could maintain a bullish trend, but corrections are necessary and logical, and there could be one that allows the price to continue climbing to reach new bullish levels. The bullish momentum is almost six months old, so it may be time to take this change seriously, since it has also been accompanied by significant growth in terms of trading volume.

On July 17th Bitcoin reached a price of US $ 10,549 per unit, with an exchange volume of US $ 25,378,319,289, being its main exchange markets CoinBene, Bit-Z and Binance, mainly against tether (USDT).

This price represents an increase of more than 7% between July 17th and 18th and the recovery of the price above US $ 10,000 per bitcoin. On July 17th alone, the price of Bitcoin had fallen below that figure for the second time during the month, after having exceeded this price gap in June.

The market in general is also going through a positive momentum with NEO (17%), LTC (10%) and BSV (10%) as the main winners among the first 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

By Willmen Blanco

France Will Have a New Legislation that Would Regulate Cryptocurrencies

Maria Rodríguez
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France Will Have a New Legislation that Would Regulate Cryptocurrencies

After some negotiations with cryptocurrency companies, a regulatory, legal and fiscal framework that supports the use of these currencies in France could be established

A few days ago, the French financial regulator announced that they are prepared to approve the operation of some companies dedicated to the marketing and use of cryptocurrencies.

In this regard, the Executive Director for Legal Affairs at the Financial Markets Authority, Anne Marechal commented that France will become the first country in the world that will have a regulatory, completely legal and fiscal mechanism that will help establish the operation of the crypto market in the country.

He also mentioned that this leads to a specific set of measures that will lead to certain advances in cryptocurrency. Therefore, they are in important meetings with several ICO facilitators (Initial Cryptocurrency Offers) to assemble a structure. In addition, there are other conversations with exchange companies that are dedicated to the exchange of these assets, as well as fund managers specialized in cryptocurrencies and platforms that support the custody of digital currencies.

It is not new that some European countries have made changes in their regulation by incorporating cryptocurrencies into the global financial market. Recently, adjustments and regulations have emerged in these countries due to the suggestions issued by the FATF, which gives a series of recommendations that would help different countries of the world to act according to the changes that cryptocurrencies bring to global finance.

According to data from some news portals related to cryptocurrencies, the United Kingdom has made some important changes to its regulations, in order to build a plan that helps prevent financial crimes related to cryptocurrencies, as well as reducing their inappropriate use.

Other countries such as Malta, Belarus, India and Canada have made constant efforts to constantly regulate cryptographic activity, but despite this, not everyone has adequate regulation of industry changes and they are unaware of their potential for the various other financial markets.

Some experts indicated that after the announcement of the launch of Libra by the social network giant Facebook, some countries have taken more measures to help keep the cryptocurrency’s financial markets regulated. Therefore, it has caused a great boost for the definitive legalization of digital assets in some countries of the world.

The new presidency of France in the G7 could help establish certain multidisciplinary working groups so that the central banks of the member countries form a legal strategy that is aimed at a better mode of action for better control of digital assets.

For this reason, the representative of the European Central Bank, Benoit Coeure, issued a preliminary report about the legal project for these assets, in the framework of a meeting of Finance Ministers incorporated into the G7, in the Country.

In the middle of last year, France conducted an important regulation of ICOs that allowed the government to collect millions of euros. But despite this, the crypto market has had great changes; as many currencies are not issued as happened last year, which has led to a drastic drop in revenue. It is for this reason that changes and regulations must be made constantly and, thus, the state could obtain a great benefit from these new technologies.

By María Rodríguez

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