Bank Statements Suggest that Tether is Sufficiently backed by U.S. Dollars

Andres Chavez
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Bank Statements Suggest that Tether is Sufficiently backed by U.S. Dollars

In the midst of a controversial year regarding its cash reserves, the stable coin Tether (USDT) offered a comforting piece of news, at least according to a Bloomberg report: the company Tether Ltd., who administrates the dollar-pegged token, has enough dollars (USD) the current USDT supply in the market.

As of the moment of this writing, there are approximately 1.8 USDT tokens circulating out there, and Tether appears to have enough cash reserves to back that number up, according to some bank statements.

Over four separate months at least, Tether had enough US dollars to cover the coin’s supply. Sure, the piece of news does not nearly have the same validity as a full audit; it serves as a proof that there are more than words from Tether’s side.

Controversy is surrounding Tether since last year, following a series of legal situations and bank “reshuffles” that included rumors about intentional price manipulations just a few months ago.

Promising Statements

Tether, mainly used by traders and exchanges as a mean to move around value in an international plane, issues and backs up each token with $1. The statements read that Tether Ltd. had a combined fiat bank balance that equaled or even surpassed the circulating supply between September 2017 and July 2018, the last month in which such information could be had. The company also produced an additional $6.6 million in interest in the first six months of the current year.

According to bank statements from September2017, the firm had $452.9 million in banking accounts at Noble Bank, Puerto Rico, and Bank of Montreal; when there were 435 million USDT out there at that time. A similar situation presented itself in the following months up to July 2018.

Tether Ltd. and the crypto exchange Bitfinexreceived subpoenas from US law enforcement agencies at the end of last year. Both firms share the same CEO in the person of Jan Ludovicus van der Velde. Additionally, both were accused of manipulating the token’s price last months by “burning” USDT. The coin, which by design is supposed to be pegged with the US dollar in a 1:1 proportion, has seen its value fluctuate in the last few weeks.

A Bank Switch

During the tumultuous time, Tether changed its banking partner and gave its trust to Deltec while at the same time, illiquidity claims caused Bitfinex to come out and turn down reports of it having anything to do with Tether’s banking associates.

After switching financial institutions in October 2018, Tether published a Deltec letter on November 1st,which read that “the portfolio cash value of your account with our bank was US $1,831,322,828” as of October 31st.

As traders and investors hedge their losses, Tether and other stable coins have seen their popularity levels rise through the roof, in a moment in time in which Bitcoin (BTC) and the top altcoins are collapsing to all-time low levels, in some cases.

In the middle of October, in a moment in which Tether’ credibility was somewhat damaged because of all the allegations, it went as low as $0.92, but soon after, the company released a statement saying that “all USDT in circulation are sufficiently backed by U.S. dollars” and“assets have always exceeded liabilities.” Right now, USDT is trading at $1.01.

By Andres Chavez

Atari and Animoca Brands Unify Forces to Make Blockchain Versions of Popular Games

Andres Chavez
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Atari and Animoca Brands Unify Forces to Make Blockchain Versions of Popular Games

The adoption of the blockchain technology in the gaming industry is becoming a reality as we speak. Developers have identified the potential benefits of implementing the model at a time in which games are cementing their place as one of the top alternatives for entertainment.

Atari, one of the most widely spread game makers in the world, has announced a partnership with Animoca Brands, in the form of a licensing agreement. As a part of the pact, Atari will hold rights to create and publish titles such as Roller Coaster Tycoon Touch and Goon Squad in the majority of the planet’s nations, save Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Macau. They will be the blockchain versions of those mobile games.

The Animoca Brands Limited is a subsidiary of Animoca Brands Corporation Limited, which is a global developer leveraging popular brands, gamification, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and mobile technology to make apps.

Terms of the Deal

The agreement will run until March 31st, 2022, and according to the terms, Animoca needs to pay Atari a minimum guarantee against future profits of US$250,000, which will be payable with stocks of the firm, in exchange for the opportunity of having a license to develop and publish the mentioned titles.

If the gross revenues that the titles make surpass half a million dollar ($500,000) Atari will also be entitled to a revenue share, under the terms of the pact. Blockchain game development promises to take a new step forward, given the prominence and fame of the mentioned titles.

One of the kings of mobile games, RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch has been downloading more than 19million times in a global scale and the number is sure to grow even further given the new alliance with ‘Foodgod,’ a reality TV star.

On the other hand, Goon Squad is very successful on its own right. It involves a world of mobsters, gambling, and card battles that can be thrilling and captivating. Collecting these cards may mean moving up the levels and putting together a criminal empire.

Aiming for the Second Half of 2019

Both titles are expected to be published by Animoca in the second semester of next year. Apart from the license agreement between the two parties, they also wrote a memorandum in which they compromised to look for further opportunities in blockchain gaming, developmentof products, and other fields.

Atari explains that it now identifies theblockchain technology as a potential game-changer in the video gaming industry.According to its CEO Frederic Chesnais, the company is “proud and delighted toenter into this long-term and strategic relationship with Animoca Brands, whichalso allows us to become a shareholder in one of the most exciting innovators in the world of decentralized gaming. We hope that this agreement paves the way to further cooperation with other Atari products.”

The other end of the pact, Animoca Brands’co-founder Yat Siu, stated his happiness to come to an agreement with one of the pioneers in the gaming industry. “This deal marks a special moment for me because I started my career working with Atari and using Atari computers. TheRollerCoaster Tycoon franchise is, like many of Atari’s properties, a true evergreen, having been around for two decades. Given the strategic and commercial elements of this incredibly fun simulation, it is a perfect candidate for blockchain adaptation.”

By Andres Chavez

Bitcoin SV’s Calvin Ayre Predicts BTC to Collapse all the way to zero in 2019

Andres Chavez
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Bitcoin SV’s Calvin Ayre Predicts BTC to Collapse all the way to zero in 2019

The current market downturn does not look like it is going to end anytime soon. On the contrary, Bitcoin (BTC) is yet to recover and reach, at the very least, the $4,000 threshold. It is disappointing after the world’s leading digital asset was worth almost $20,000 in January and $6,500 just a few weeks ago.

To be fair, the week has started off promisingly for Bitcoin holders: after days in the $3,200-$3,300 range, it has recovered 8.97 percent in the last 24 hours to reach $3,554.05. Other wounded cryptocurrencies, such as Ripple, Ethereum, EOS or Stellar, are also in greenin what seems to a bullish moment.

However, the cryptocurrency industry is still divided in two camps: those who think the cryptocurrency will swiftly recover to pre-crash levels, and those who believe that it will completely collapse. Calvin Ayre, a former Bitcoin Cash advocate, is on the latter group, at least according to his latest remarks.

Bitcoin is “Worthless”

He states that Bitcoin will collapse all the way to zero next year because it is “worthless.” However, he says, investors should not worry because Bitcoin SV (Satoshi Vision) will be there to pick up the pieces.

Although he does not have any proof, he thinks that right now, the price of Bitcoin is being deflated on purpose to push it out of the map. “Bitcoin — the technology and economic model — are alive and well with Bitcoin SV, and it is going to have an amazing year,” he stated.

Regarding the “original” Bitcoin (BTC), he provided an astonishing forecast: “I am predicting it to go to zero value [in 2019], as it has no utility,” Ayre told a famous British news site. “It does not do anything, and they intentionally are anti-scaling.”

Ayre calls the original currency an “impostor,” and expresses that Bitcoin SV is the real one. His partner in Bitcoin SV’s advocacy, Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright, strongly agrees, of course. “[BTC] is a sham Bitcoin. SV is what Bitcoin was, and is the only way it works.”

The polemical hard fork

Bitcoin SV is the result of a Bitcoin Cash fork(the other entity resulting from the split is Bitcoin ABC, or ‘AdjustableBlocksize Cap.) In turn, Bitcoin Cash was a fork of Bitcoin (BTC.) The current collapse came after BCH’s hard fork in the middle of November, and the market is yet to fully regain its feet.

However, Bitcoin SV’s pair warns investors and the crypto community not to think that the hard fork was an intentional attempt to negatively affect the industry, or Bitcoin: “(It) was a distraction, but the down turn is because the SegWit coin that is erroneously still called ‘Bitcoin’ now follows the old-fashioned financial trends. It is also because people wrongly focus onmarket cap, when it should be about scalability and actual usability,”according to Ayre.

Unsurprisingly, Ayre turned the blame on its rival camp, Bitcoin ABC. “There is no question that the hash dumping that the ABC conspirators did — in violation of the Nakamoto Consensus Rules that runBitcoin — destabilized the markets even more.”

By Andres Chavez

US Congressmen Seek to Regulate Speculation in the Cryptoactive Market

Maria Rodríguez
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US Congressmen Seek to Regulate Speculation in the Cryptoactive Market

The bills are directed to the financial regulators of that country. The idea is to propose new payment structures to replace the state system of money transmission

US congressmen Darren Soto and Ted Budd informed that they are preparing two bills that seek to reduce speculation in the cryptoactive market, as well as positioning the United States as a world leader in innovation in the sector.

The information was reviewed this week through a press release, in which members of Congress detailed that the projects called “Law of Consumer Protection of the Virtual Currency of 2018” and the “Law of Regulatory Competitiveness and the Market of Virtual Currency of the United States of 2018 “will ask the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), along with other entities, to design in a more agreed plan to achieve the regulation of cryptoactives, so as to provide protection to consumers.

These documents were drafted in November of the current year, as detailed in the official communication. Between these two, the”Law of Consumer Protection of the Virtual Currency of 2018″instructs the CFTC to describe how price manipulation occurs in the cryptoactive market to obtain real details about the management of this market.

In June, the CFTC initiated an investigation of the main US exchange bureaus to learn about the manipulation of the Bitcoin market and futures. At that time, a negative response was obtained from the community.

“That is why we must ensure that the UnitedStates is at the forefront of consumer protection and the financial well-being of virtual currency investors, while promoting an environment of innovation to maximize the potential of these technological advances. These bills will provide data on how Congress can better mitigate these risks while promoting the development that benefits our economy”, the statement issued by thetwo congressmen said.

Thoroughly

The bill encourages the CFTC to formulate recommendations to avoid negative manipulation of the cryptoactive market, which leads to fraud or tax evasion.

Additionally, the “Law on Regulatory Competition and the Virtual Currency Market”, for its part, asks the CFTC to clarify which cryptoactives qualify as basic products, probably to know the levels of priority and hierarchy, if necessary.

So far, and since October of last year, the CFTC recognizes cryptocurrencies as merchandise. However, since then this definition has not been clear on the part of several regulatory entities, such as the SEC.

Among other innovations of the bill, congressmen recommend the CFTC to compare how other countries’ regulations work and promote the government adoption of cryptoactives in the United States, to analyze the costs and benefits of creating a new government structure for the transmission of money that replaces the current one and that, of course, is as safe as possible, using the characteristics of blockchain technology.

To conclude, the congressmen signed a joint declaration in which they recognized the potential of cryptoactive technology to be an engine of the country’s economic growth, which is a point in favor noted by this current and growing international payment method.

By María Rodríguez

A new App will join Bitcoin and Lightning Network Nodes

Maria Rodríguez
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A new App will join Bitcoin and Lightning Network Nodes

A step-by-step guide simplify the process needed to create and add nodes on those platforms

Lightning Power Node Launcher is the name of the App that could facilitate the installation of Bitcoin and Lightning network. In order to achieve this, it requires a previous full synchronization on Bitcoin’s blockchain.

The Bitcoiner and Software Engineer Pierre Rochard was who created a step-by-step guide to install bitcoin and Lightning Network nodes (LN) through this new application.

The guide is used to configure both the main network and the Bitcoin and Lightning Network. The test was originally published at the end of November. It indicates the procedure and the requirements to install the nodes.

According to Rochard, the need for capacity to download and store is one of the reasons why there has been so much controversy surrounding the size limit of Bitcoin blocks. This is because the larger the blocks, the greater is the capacity required to synchronize and store the complete Bitcoin blockchain; which would leave out those who do not have that capacity.

Rochard developed the application and is who continuously make the corrections that it needs. The most recent version of this technology is 5.1.1, which includes bugfixes that prevented users from creating the LND portfolios. This platform was launched a few days ago.

How it Works

The expert explained that the bandwidth is one of the requirements to be considered to use this type of technology because it is necessary to synchronize completely with the Bitcoin’s chain to achieve the process and neutrine is not yet “mature” enough for the main Bitcoin network.

It is worth noting that Neutrino is a technology for light clients of LN thatallows users to do not administer a complete node, they can conducttransactions through this payment network.

“Your computer will have to download and store more than 210 GB of data from theInternet. Your bandwidth will be the bottleneck in this process, not your computer”, clarified the engineer. He also recommends a download bandwidth that is around 300 GB.

Rochard created a table to estimate the timing of the synchronization according to the type of connection and the download speed. This table allows users to know how much it could take to download the entire Bitcoin chain now, according to the Internet connection specifications of each of the users.

There exist others requirements. Rochard mentioned: around 7 GB of storage space and recommended more than 300 GB if the person wishes to have the Bitcoin transaction index.

As for the operating systems, both Windows and macOS are compatible. Linux is compatible too, but specialists recommend it only “if you are comfortable with the command line”.

Aftersynchronization, the Lightning Power Node Launcher comes into play, an application that allows synchronizing the main network and the Bitcoin test network to later start the Lightning Network Daemon and create an LN wallet in the computer.

Rochard is willing to help those who want to try using their guide and its application. He said that they can contact him through his email or his Twitter account. This same developer is the one behind the creation of a Microsoft Excel add-into send and receive payments in Lightning Network.

By María Rodríguez

The UAE Banking Sector Is Mulling the Possibility of Adopting the Blockchain Technology

Andres Chavez
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The UAE Banking Sector Is Mulling the Possibility of Adopting the Blockchain Technology

Blockchain adoption in the banking sector seems to be on the verge of getting a big boost in one of the world’s most financially stable countries. Although there is nothing official as of the moment of this writing, the United Arab Emirates Banks Federation’s Advisory Council is contemplating the application of the blockchain technology and its benefits to its member institutions, according to a publication from one of the biggest newspapers in the wealthy Middle East nation.

The UBF (as the UAE’s Banks Federation is shortened) is a nonprofit organization that encompasses the interests of 50banks in the nation. Their plan is to take advantage of the blockchain’s best features to optimize the KYC (know your customer) processes in each member bank.

Initiatives to Promote a Thriving Banking Ecosystem in the UAE

Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, who currently acts as the leading face of the UBF’ Advisory Council, states that the organization intends to promote and keep a “thriving banking ecosystem” with the announced plans.

“As part of our efforts aimed at creating and sustaining a thriving banking ecosystem, we have undertaken a number ofinitiatives and new endeavors, such as the adoption of blockchain into KYCprocess,” he said.

The UBF and the member financial institutions have also discussed things such as the United Arab Emirates’ digital transformationprogram and Emiratization, which is a government employment project to allocateregular, normal people in critical roles in the public and private sectors.

Optimizing Cross-Border Payments, Customer Onboarding, and more

In fact, the UBF, through it Digital Committee and its leader Aref Al Ramli, has already explored the potential advantages of using the distributed ledger technology to digitize several processes in the member banks of the organization. The Digital Committee’s arm wants to apply blockchain technology to things like cross-border payments, customer onboarding, compliance reporting, and other transactions and situations. The idea is seen with good eyes in the country and in the banking sector.

The United Arab Emirates want to, according to Al Ghurair, keep up with modern times, that indicates an increase in the use of emerging technologies such as the blockchain to satisfy the ever-changing customer needs and expectations. The idea is to put the banking sector right at the front of innovations.

Taking Advantage of the Leading Emerging Technologies

These emerging technologies, Al Ghurairexplains, have the potential of helping banks and other financial institutions to build new revenue streams, “which will in turn drive sustained business growth.”

The country is advancing leaps and bounds towards global blockchain adoption, starting with banks as the primary promoters of the initiative. Just a few weeks ago, Al-Hilal Bank (based in the nation’s capital Abu Dhabi) reported to the world the completion of “the world’s first sukuk transaction. ”Sukuk referred to a legal tool known as“sharia compliant” bonds, which lets investors enjoy returns whilst complying with the Islamic law, an essential part of the UAE culture.

By Andres Chavez

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