Anonymous Currencies Might Limit Financial Access

November 23, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments



A recent report states that Bitcoin isn’t anonymous enough, and to an extent, the report is correct. While part of Bitcoin’s reputation has been built on the notion of privacy, the truth is that the blockchain records every transaction in real time, and nothing can escape its shuttering technology. In the long run, no matter how private Bitcoin claims to be, there always seems to be an open window to one’s financial history.

But one has to wonder if this isn’t a bad thing. Two of the cryptocurrency world’s most recent additions, Zcash and Monero, tout complete anonymity for those looking to remain duly private, but there seem to be issues emerging from the backend, and many investors and crypto-enthusiasts are having a hard time deciding where they stand.

First off, let’s look at criminal activity. Anonymity is often showered with praise, but when something is completely hidden like this, it can potentially give rise to back-door dealers looking for ways to exploit any lagging visibility. Monero, for example, is often labeled as the most popular cryptocurrency amongst drug purchasers on the dark net. Many regulators arguing against the notion of completely anonymous digital currency trading feel that the situation is likely to give rise to another Silk Road, only this time, things may be a little harder to shut down.

Zcash is another financial entity that claims to offer new waves of privacy. Again, good for some, criticized by others. Zcash recently hit new heights on cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, hitting the $2 million per coin mark, but many argue whether this was real or caused by error or platform manipulation. If that’s the case, there’s certainly cause to worry. It was this same kind of manipulation that fired bitcoin into the $1,000 range in 2013 prior to the sudden collapse of Mt. Gox.

Lastly, the likelihood that a government or legislative system would ever be willing to regulate or fully allow the trading of anonymous currencies is particularly slim. While this may sound positive at first (cryptocurrencies were designed to offer independence), access to digital currency for third world and developing nations could wind up limited in the near future. It’s precisely because Bitcoin isn’t fully anonymous that it probably has the highest chance of ever going mainstream and reaching acceptable terms on a global scale.

As consumers, we have to ask ourselves which we’d prefer – true anonymity, or higher monetary access? The independence these currencies claim to provide is what gives us such a choice in the first place.

Will Bitcoin Have Its Moment in the Trump Era?

November 13, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments


History tells us that no international monetary system lasts forever. And as Barry Eichengreen, the leading thinker in this arena, has repeatedly reminded us, those systems tend to collapse very quickly, whether it was the dominance of Rome's coins, the British pound's status as the common unit of international trade, or the various periods in which the world aligned around the gold standard.

The same will be true for the dollar's unofficial status as the international reserve currency. Its hegemony will at some point disappear and, when it does, the fall will be swift as the world scrambles for a new commercial anchor.

Below I will make the case that the trigger for this decline, whether it happens in the next four years or not, could well have been put in place last Tuesday. A Trump presidency could hold the right ingredients for a dollar collapse.
I will also argue that this time, when the dollar system collapses, it won't be replaced by another outdated fiat currency like the euro, yen or Chinese yuan. Neither will we go back to a precious metals standard, however much gold bugs hanker for it.
In the interim, we may anchor world trade to a transitional, multilateral combination of these paper and commodity currencies, but soon enough it will prove to be too unwieldy and out of touch with a changing global economy.

The fact is we now operate in a digital economy in which economic activity is increasingly decentralized, with transactions happening peer-to-peer and, when the Internet of Things is in place, machine-to-machine. That online, decentralized economic architecture will require a digital, decentralized system of monetary exchange that bypasses the inefficient financial intermediaries of a broken banking system.

The solution might not be bitcoin per se, but the distributed, network-run system of value transfer that it represents will, I believe, provide the template for the future model. It's one possible explanation for why the digital currency got a bump on Tuesday evening through Wednesday.

Change is coming
Why might Trump set this chain of events in play? To be sure, we don't know what changes the next president will introduce, but he has definitely stoked uncertainty around the direction of US policy. And uncertainty, the enemy of efficient markets, can often have a self-fulfilling effect.
That's an unsatisfying answer, however. So let's also break down some of the ideas that Trump has floated and how they might change the international perception of America's commitment to the dollar-based international system:

Rights determined by ethnic background
Trump suggests we should discriminate against external foreigners (Muslim visitors to the US), domestic non-citizens (undocumented Hispanic immigrants) and domestic citizens (judges deemed unfit to serve for being of Mexican descent.) This is not just a moral issue; it goes to the heart of whether the law is impartially upheld in the US.


Blockchain: Why the 'Big Guys' Can’t Win

November 06, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments


Matthew Spoke is CEO and founder of enterprise blockchain startup Nuco. He is a bitcoin and ethereum enthusiast, who has previously worked with Deloitte with the aim of advancing the use of smart distributed protocols.
In this opinion piece, Spoke looks at moves by tech industry incumbents to capture the emerging blockchain market, and offers a warning for the eventuality that they succeed. 

Chess pieces
There's a seemingly obvious marriage happening right now between two incredibly important Internet technologies, one that promised to make web businesses more scalable and organizations more efficient (which has happened to a large extent), as well as holding decentralization and disintermediation as the ultimate objective (on which the jury is still out).
Earlier this year, I wrote a piece about the "Race Towards Irrelevance" that seemed to be taking place among traditional organizations whose markets and business models stand to lose from the adoption of decentralized systems. Primarily, I was referring to some intermediary companies in the financial services industry who will struggle to redefine their value propositions as blockchains become more commonplace.

What I failed to include in my prior ramblings was that it's not only traditional industries and businesses who face this risk. Similar to the attention and investment that has poured into the "blockchain industry" from financial services firms, there are a number of global scale technology vendors positioning themselves to dominate this market – or, to a skeptic, centralize it.

I'm referring to "the cloud" and "the blockchain", two terms which should more accurately be used in the plural sense.

Decentralization is key
I'm not suggesting that cloud computing is not well suited to underlie blockchain infrastructures.

On the contrary, in many cases, there's an obvious match that allows for efficient scalability, robust node security and light weight onboarding, among other benefits. But (and this is a big but) these benefits quickly become irrelevant if we forget about the need for appropriate decentralization. Naturally, it's no surprise that the same companies who, to a large extent, brought us the mainframe and the PC, want a piece of the blockchain action. It's also no surprise that these same companies are already in the process of capturing large parts of the emerging blockchain market.

As the old adage goes: "nobody ever got fired for buying [insert big tech company here]."

In general, I think the entrance of big tech companies into this domain has had a positive impact. It has helped bring much needed credibility and reaffirm the importance of these new technologies. That said, as markets consider their adoption, we should encourage an objective analysis as to the appropriate implementation of this technology so as to achieve its intended outcome.
Although there are many reasons to trust the competency of  prominent technology vendors and the integrity of their systems, which have been proven for decades in other domains, let's keep in mind that the intended purpose of this paradigm shift is to eliminate the need for trust. Objectively, this means that a blockchain cannot be dependent on a single vendor's infrastructure or security.

The Umbra Marketplace

November 04, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments



Wіth thе аdvеnt оf сrурtосurrеnсіеѕ, рrіvасу hаѕ gоnе to lеvеlѕ wе wоuld nеvеr have thought оf juѕt ten оr twеntу уеаrѕ аgо- but dеѕріtе аll of that, thеrе are still issues wіth рrіvасу еvеrуwhеrе. Yоu nееd to tumble аnd mіx coins аnd mаkе nеw wallets juѕt to bе able tо ѕеnd аn 'аnоnуmоuѕ' trаnѕасtіоn that can bе trасеd rіght bасk to its ѕоurсе- whу not just hаvе a ѕіmрlе рlаtfоrm where all оf that is removed, and security іѕ ѕtіll there? Umbrа dоеѕ juѕt thаt, and іf you're interested іn a platform like it, ѕtісk wіth us.

Encrypted Mеѕѕаgеѕ
Mаnу рlаtfоrmѕ like Skype аll hаvе оnе major flаw- аnd thаt is the fасt thаt thе IP of thе реrѕоn you аrе chatting with саn easily be retrieved аnd uѕеd. Yоu dоn't wаnt a DDOS аgаіnѕt уоu, оr mаlісіоuѕ things wеrе dоnе, rіght? Umbrа mаkеѕ thіѕ еаѕу and ѕесurе with ѕеаmlеѕѕlу easy trаnѕfеrѕ- аll уоu need іѕ thе аddrеѕѕ and a private key frоm thаt аddrеѕѕ, аnd уоu аrе ready tо go. All transfers аrе heavily encrypted, ѕо there іѕ nо nееd fоr mіxіng, unlike Bitcoin. Nоtе that уоu can transfer your funds from a рrіvаtе аddrеѕѕ to a рublіс address and vice-versa; bу uѕіng thе public аddrеѕѕ trаnѕfеrѕ, you're gеttіng ѕlіghtlу bеttеr ѕuрроrt thаn wіth thе Bіtсоіn platform, but private іѕ an еntіrеlу different ѕtоrу.

Nоw that we've gоttеn thаt оut оf the wау, уоu саn еvеn mаkе ореn сhаnnеlѕ and groups wіth Umbrа- ѕіmіlаr to Teamspeak оr Mumblе. Yоu саn discuss whаtеvеr уоu wіѕh tо dіѕсuѕѕ on that platform, and everybody hаѕ ассеѕѕ- іt'ѕ all trаnѕраrеnt. Or if уоu wіѕh, you саn opt for private channels that are invite-only- thе роѕѕіbіlіtіеѕ аrе еndlеѕѕ. Yоu can even Direct Mеѕѕаgе wіth Umbrа- thеу рrоvіdе a great mеѕѕаgіng ѕуѕtеm fоr уоu to ѕеnd mеѕѕаgеѕ, аnd аѕ always, іt'ѕ соmрlеtеlу еnсrурtеd аnd соnѕtаntlу bеіng uрdаtеd fоr your соnvеnіеnсе.


Thе Currеnсу
As with аll сrурtосurrеnсіеѕ, thеrе hаѕ to bе thе main сurrеnсу bеіng used wіth transfers- іn thіѕ case, it's Shаdоwсаѕh- ѕіmіlаr to Mоnеrо, Umbrа'ѕ Shаdоwсаѕh uѕеѕ duаl-kеу addresses and rіng ѕіgnаturеѕ that аutоmаtісаllу 'tumblе' соіnѕ tо make sure transactions аrе соmрlеtеlу private- аll with a tоuсh оf a button. Like we mеntіоnеd before a few ѕеntеnсеѕ аgо, Umbrа hаѕ a рrіvаtе and public ассоunt- you саn ѕtаkе еаѕіlу wіth thе public ассоunt balance (note that thіѕ іѕ nоt соmрlеtеlу аnоnуmоuѕ; for соmрlеtе ѕесrесу, you mау want tо use thе private ассоunt) аnd ѕеnd ѕtеаlthу fundѕ tо whoever уоu wіѕh tо ѕеnd thе funds to.

And аll оf іt is transferrable wіth a touch оf a buttоn- you won't gеt stuck coins with Umbra! Aѕ ѕuсh, уоu wіll bе аblе to create digital mаrkеtрlасеѕ wіth thіѕ соіn using its аnоnуmоuѕ ѕеndіng features- juѕt lіkе wіth Mоntеrо; we expect this соіn wіll bе adopted оntо dаrk wеb mаrkеtѕ; іt'ѕ nоt a guаrаntее, but it's probably a gооd сhоісе fоr thоѕе ѕіtеѕ since this соіn іѕ ѕо рrіvаtе. If you want еvеn mоrе added security, bесаuѕе thеrе'ѕ аlrеаdу so mаnу bаѕіс fеаturеѕ іnѕіdе оf it, you саn еvеn furthеr еnсrурt dаtа to mаkе уоur ассоunt аnd mеѕѕаgеѕ even mоrе unсrасkаblе! Wіth so mаnу features аddеd іntо іt аnd ѕо mаnу wауѕ tо uѕе іt, Umbrа will bе a very uѕеful соіn іn thе futurе, especially fоr those whо lіkе keeping their data іntасt and unсrасkаblе.

ShadowCash Specifications

  • Block time: 60's
  • Difficulty re-target: every block
  • Nominal stake interest: 2% (PoSv3 – static inflation annually)
  • Min. stake age: 8 hours (no max age)
  • P2P port: 51737
  • RPC port: 51736

Why Israel's Banks Will Unite Over Blockchain

October 31, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments

The general consensus is that there is huge potential in blockchain technology. Some say it may be as big as the Internet itself, doing for transactions of value what the former has done for transfers of information.

 

Blockchain could completely alter traditional industries, changing the face of financial transactions, legal contracts, verification mechanisms and even voting procedures. Where consensus is lacking, there possibly lie the future steps of blockchain.

What can we expect to see next? Our hunch: we are entering the phase of the institutionalization of blockchain, and it will be led by the financial system. Yes, by the banks.

The potential advantages to using blockchain are obvious. Most significant is the ability to remove the middleman, and allow for faster, cheaper and more secure transactions. This could prove to be economically beneficial to the financial system which facilitates billions of transactions every day.

 

No less important is the advantage it provides for developing countries, where trust in the authorities is relatively low, and especially for those which suffer from high levels of corruption. There, people are looking for different ways to realize their civil liberties, including voting, identity verification, registering land ownership, etc. Blockchain technology – direct, decentralized, and secure – provides a potentially unprecedented and private alternative to these.

 

Early adoptor

Arguably one of the most vibrant blockchain industries currently is in Israel. A combination of expertise in cryptography and Big Data gained in the world of security and defense, combined with a passionate and talented entrepreneurial ecosystem has led a growing number of companies to lead the way to the next big thing in the blockchain domain.

 

These companies include startups like Synereo (a decentralized communication platform), Simplex (a payments service working on enabling bitcoin purchases with credit cards), Colu (Colored Coins).

Yet, careful observation of the Israeli ecosystem shows that it comprises much more than early-stage startups. Major Israeli financial institutions, perhaps lacking the sheer magnitude and market share of their American and European counterparts, are showing increasing interest in various applications being developed by these younger companies.

 

Several banks (such as Bank Hapoalim, Leumi and Citi Bank) have launched accelerators with infrastructure designated to support early-stage initiatives. They offer much-needed funding, technical support and the opportunity to interact and collaborate with the banking system. This synergy could prove to be extremely valuable, as one of the major hurdles facing entrepreneurs in the field is developing products and solutions that could be adapted for, and used by, the highly conservative, heavily regulated environment such as that in which the banking system operates.

 

In addition, more investors are being drawn into the industry, incentivizing promising ventures and adding fuel to the growing excitement and expectations surrounding the field. Recently, we're also seeing increased involvement of lawyers and accountants in the sphere, discussing implications and working with their clients on some of the challenges associated with blockchain.

 

Regulation driven

One cannot ignore the resemblance between the current growth in the industry and the evolution of the Israeli cyber industry roughly a decade ago. What began as a small group of cyber startups soon became a deluge of hundreds of companies, providing innovative technology and multi-tier services around the globe. Similar, but not the same. Unlike the cyber industry, the blockchain industry is lacking crucial tail-wind from the regulator.

Almost two decades ago, the Israeli regulator came to the understanding that cyber was becoming a major new front. The main driver was the concern surrounding cyber-attacks on critical national infrastructure and security installations. The sharpest minds from the Israeli defense industry convened to discuss a national realignment to ensure Israel's ability to confront future challenges.

 

Eventually the government adapted a combined approach, emphasizing the development of human talent, investment in technology, building institutions, allocating funding and providing a regulatory environment that allowed the industry to thrive. All together this has led to an unprecedented boost to the Israeli cyber industry, a push that Israel is still reaping benefits from to this day.

This is not yet the case with blockchain. Regulators worldwide remain skeptical of virtual coins that circumvent banks and government authorities, and seem prone to criminal exploitations. We've seen that SilkRoad, Mt Gox and the recent Bitfinex scandal has not done anything to defuse this stereotype.

 

But resistance may be more deeply rooted than mere concerns over criminal misuse and consumer protection: a decentralized alternative to centuries-old systems of centralized governance and control is not something any regulator will be able to swallow too easily. Likewise, Israeli regulators are still 'sitting on the fence'. Given that both future uses, and implications of blockchain, are unpredictable, this is to be expected.

 

However, the regulator provides an indispensable support system, including supervision mechanisms and an appropriate legal framework. Such regulatory backing can bolster consumer awareness, understanding and confidence in the new technology and accommodate the move of blockchain from fringe to mainstream. But who will lead the charge?

 

Meeting of worlds

Various businesses worldwide are already beginning to take note of the potential economic value in using blockchain technology in myriad applications. And as competition grows, an even larger circle is beginning to feel the pressure to follow suit. Although the movement is certainly expanding, this grassroots growth may not suffice to live up to the disruptive potential of blockchain. This is where the big banks come in.

 

Looking back at the major developments over the past year, there is no doubt that the ripest industry for blockchain is the financial system. The big financial institutions would have the most to gain – or lose.

 

It is, however, the most highly regulated industry. Therefore, authorities need to deepen their engagement with the various applications of the technology with the aim of creating an appropriate regulatory framework applicable for the technology, whilst increasing consumer confidence, but without undermining the economic model of the financial system.

And who is best qualified for that role if not the financial system itself? It has both the knowledge and capacity to conduct meaningful dialogue with the regulator on the one hand, and the economic incentive to cut down costs by using blockchain on the other. If that happens, we could soon find ourselves in an era of institutionalized blockchain, where cutting-edge technology meets conservative infrastructure to generate a wholly new and fascinating system.

Smart contracts for bitcoin

October 26, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments

 

As we approach the release date for the SEGWIT (Segregated Witness) update to the blockchain, we were pleased to see a complete update from the BitcoinCore team about how this update will affect the network, what will change and where are we going to proceed in the future.

 

For those of you who don’t know what SEGWIT is software that is used to produce transactions for which it separates the TxID transaction signatures from the rest of the data, thus Segregated Witness. This allows miners to place the transaction signatures outside of the block-chain.

 

Pros and cons

There are benefits that we will immediately be able to enjoy once the update has been complete. The first benefit is that malleability will be ultimately eliminated, and third-parties won’t be able to interfere with the transaction process, and transaction ID’s will be hidden from everyone, while at the same time allowing the transaction software to calculate the transaction without reference to the witness. This update will open up development paths for Bitcoin, by eliminating security holes and lowering the complexity of smart contracts for Bitcoin.

 

The second benefit is that capacity of transactions will modestly increase. New-style blocks can hold more data than current versions, which means that the amount of transaction data will increase per block. That doesn’t mean that witness data is stored off-chain, but rather following this soft-fork, the data will start being signed on the new-style blocks (which include the old-style block and extra space).

Overall this update will simplify things for developers to produce new features for Bitcoin use and it improves the efficacy of running full nodes. We are happy to see that long-term benefits will come out of this update.

 

According to the blog post that the BitcoinCore team released on June 24th, 2016, SEGWIT has been extensively tested by Bitcoin developers, and this was necessary because of the way SEGWIT changes parts of the Bitcoin system. One of the most important change happens to the consensus rules that full nodes use to agree on the current state of the ledger. That shift is the primary reason for such tests to be performed, because if we come to a position where the network stops agreement on the current state, Bitcoin transactions become dangerous.

 

Other notable changes happened to the peer-to-peer code that’s used by the network to distribute blocks and transactions. (This was all included in the 0.13.0 BitcoinCore Update, but it’s not going to happen be accepted on the main network until at least ver. 0.13.01) SEGWIT blocks and transactions are different from previous versions, so it’s important that the network is capable of distributing both SEGWIT and old-style data.

The complete update added about 7800 lines of code to the proprietary software, with the majority of lines relating to the SEGWIT capabilities. A large part of the code update related to the automated testing system, which enabled Bitcoin developers to test out the features on a separate network extensively, promptly called “testnet”.

SEGWIT was initially implemented by the Elements Project, led by Pieter Wuille. This initial implementation was happening in April through June of 2015. It was never intended for the main blockchain but is actually considered a side-chain. A few months later in October 2015, Luke Dashjr describes a method that allows SEGWIT to be implemented by using a soft-fork and they team up with Wuille to work on the implementation that is going to be completely compatible with the main blockchain.

 

The first version of this new code comes out in December 2015, close to the end of the year. (New year, new updates!) It’s implemented and tested extensively for the whole duration, ranging from the beginning of the year to August 23rd, 2016, when the BitcoinCore team launched the update.

 

Within this update, SEGWIT is completely implemented, but it’s sitting there in a passive state, only used for testing purposes. Like I mentioned before, it will become operational with the next update! The Bitcoin Core developers are finally convinced that implementation of SEGWIT will not cause any adverse effects and it won’t negatively influence Bitcoin, it’s value and reliability.

 

SEGWIT won’t change a lot about how you perceive Bitcoin transactions happening, well… There is one pretty perceptive change, but I’m sure you’re not going to mind it.

 

Transaction fees are going to get a little bit cheaper.

I’m sure we all can appreciate spending a little bit less on our transactions. But wait, what about Bitcoin smart contracts?

Yes, I’ve mentioned them. Well SEGWIT will not introduce any smart contracts, but it’s the first step allowing the development of the capability to support these.

 

It solves a crucial problem that currently is affecting the creation of smart contacts and script functioning. It opens up the doors to new development paths and creates new opportunities that were previously inaccessible due to security loopholes and visibility of transaction identifiers. In the future, smart contracts and scripts will use MAST, an acronym for Merkalized Abstract Syntax Trees.

 

A short description of MAST is that it allows the creation of conditional Bitcoin scripts to be utilized. For now, it’s being reserved for the extremely tech-savvy people, the developers to use these tools and potentially make them available to Bitcoin users. MAST is going to be available for use following the SEGWIT update in the future.

OKLINK MAKES US$100 MILLION OF CROSS-BORDER TRANSFERS FREE FOR GLOBAL REMITTANCE COMPANIES

October 20, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments



Hong Kong, 12 October 2016 – OKLink, the global blockchain money transfer network, announced today that it will subsidize all fees on the first US$100,000 of cross-border transfers for every partner on the OKLink network, up to a total of US$100 million. The initiative incentivizes money transfer companies to offer their customers the cheapest, fastest, and most transparent global remittance services.

Hong Kong-based OKLink empowers transfer and delivery companies to provide senders and recipients a superior experience on low-value transfers in their local currency. OKLink’s platform is built on the trust of the blockchain, using digital assets to settle among participants in an instant, secure, and transparent manner. It eliminates the need for pre-funding by settling every transaction in real-time using stable and native digital assets.

OKLink currently offers payouts in fifteen countries across Asia, the Americas and Africa.

Jack C. Liu, Chief Strategy Officer at OKLink, said, “The world's financial transfers run on antiquated technology built nearly half a century ago. Slow, costly, and favoring large sized transactions, these qualities are in contrast to the emerging payment needs of today’s ever-connected global economy. OKLink believes in a future where small-value cross-border transfers will be as simple, fast, and cheap as a text message. “We are thrilled with the reception OKLink has received from industry leading companies and we hope to support their growth further with this incentive promotion.”

Starting from today, participating companies on OKLink will be able to service individual payouts at the mid-market exchange rate for the first US$100,000 of transactions. Transactions under US$500 will qualify for the subsidy. Eligible companies must sign up by December 31, 2016 and have until March 31, 2017 to complete the free transfers.

Coinsecure, Coins.ph, Rebit, MOIN.Inc, Coinone, Coinplug, Coincheck, Bitoex and BitPesa, are among the early companies to join the OKLink network and take advantage of this initiative.

A selection of quotes from OKLink partner companies is provided below.

Mohit Kalra, CEO of Coinsecure in India, said, “India holds the largest share of remittances around the globe with over US$70 billion of inward remittance in 2015 at an average fee of 6 percent.  What Coinsecure and OKLink plan to do - is going to be phenomenal.”

Ron Hose, CEO of Coins.ph in the Philippines, said, “We are very excited to allow our existing user base of over 500,000 customers in South East Asia to remit funds to Japan, China and South Korea using OKLink's platform, supporting our joint vision of providing cheaper cross-border payments and remittances across the region."

John Bailon, CEO of Rebit in the Philippines, said, “Rebit first pioneered using Bitcoin for remittances. We’re very excited to join the OKLink network, whose resources and influence will create a strong alliance of companies committed to making Blockchain remittances work for any customer, anywhere in the world.”

Ian Suh, CEO of MOIN.Inc in Korea, said, "OKLink has developed a new and revolutionary way to solve problems in the traditional money transfer system. MOIN is very proud to be a partner of OKLink. The partnership will enable Korean people to send money abroad cheaper, faster, and more conveniently. OKLink is going to become the future of global remittance, connecting the world much closer."

Wonhee Shin, CTO at Coinone in Korea, said, “This is a very meaningful milestone for blockchain technology, which is closely watched by regulators and practitioners from all over the world. Finally the technology has moved away from the concept phase and into the real usage phase.”

Joon Sun Uhr, CEO of Coinplug in Korea, said “Coinplug is very excited to work with OKLink in building the next generation global settlement network. We expect the market to grow significantly in micro-sized overseas remittances and we are preparing to be a dominant early mover with this partnership with OKLink.”

Koichiro Wada, co-founder of Coincheck in Japan, said, “We are excited to partner with OKLink. We believe blockchain based remittance will have a huge impact on the finance industry especially for people who do small transactions on a regular basis.”

Titan Cheng, CEO of Bitoex in Taiwan, said, “OKLink is an important partner for money transfer companies in Asia. Bitoex has more than 5000 locations in Taiwan. Our partnership with OKLink will help us expand the scope of our global remittance offerings and bring an unparalleled customer experience for the 600,000 expatriates in Taiwan."

For any questions about the program, please contact partner@oklink.com.

- Ends -

About OKLink
OKLink is a Hong Kong-based global blockchain money transfer network that gives every remittance and payment company the same cost advantage, global reach, and speed that took Western Union many decades to build. The company leverages the trust of the blockchain to connect and enable transactions between transfer and delivery companies worldwide using blockchain anchored digital assets and multi-signature technology.

Launched in August 2016, OKLink is growing rapidly with a payout network that is currently available in fifteen countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. OKLink is a part of the OKCoin family of companies.  OKCoin is the largest digital asset exchange in China. The company raised US$10 million in its Series A round. For more information, please visit oklink.com or follow the company on Twitter @OKLink.

HitBTC Cryptocurrency Exchange Intensifies EUR & USD Depositing

October 11, 2016 Harry DeVries 0 Comments


EE, October 11, 2016 at 13:57 BST

October 11, 2016 a well-established cryptocurrency exchange, HitBTC, publicly increases support for EUR and USD depositing. From now on, all new registered users can easily pass the verification process, deposit fiats on their accounts, and proceed to cryptocurrency trading.

While there’s a number of cryptocurrencies, paired directly with USD or EUR, including most popular Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, a whole set of more peculiar digital currencies can also be traded. Altogether, the exchange provides more than 20 trading markets, continuously listing new, promising digital assets.

By enhancing support for fiat currencies, HitBTC is aiming to attract professionals, engaged with conventional types of trading, like stock markets, forex trading, commodities, etc. Here are the words of Paul Clarkson, product manager at HitBTC: “After three years of hard work, we’re finally ready to bring mainstream traders to cryptocurrencies, and vice versa. Сryptocurrency trading is a young, sharp, and fluctuating, yet quite established field. Like any other markets, cryptocurrencies are influenced by a plenty of factors, and follow certain patterns that can be analyzed and used professionally for making profit. Therefore, we’re making steps towards traders, so that they can capitalize their knowledge in a relatively new, promising niche.”

Despite the fact that blockchain technologies and assets arise and gain traction on an annoyingly regular basis, digital currencies still haven’t crossed the gap between the tech-savvy community that plays around with blockchain technologies, and the real business world that needs cryptocurrencies to fulfill its specific needs. This is especially the case in sphere of trading, where most exchanges prefer to remain a niche playground for cyberpunk enthusiasts, rather than build a solid trading platform, which requires investments, legalization, and support for traditional financial instruments.

Conversely, HitBTC aims to reach the mainstream financial market, by growing into a gateway between cryptocurrencies and traditional finance. The most important components of this process are:
●     Transparency. HitBTC is a registered trademark, owned and operated by Beta Business Solutions Inc. The exchange platform and business providing tools are leased under a platform as a service (PaaS) model.
●     Due diligence. HitBTC implements KYC to identify and verify its clients. KYC allows to build bridges between virtual currencies and real fiat trading. Every registered user can verify their account to start depositing EUR/USD, and trade virtual coins for traditional currencies.
●     Dependable API. The API provides the most functional access to HitBTC facilities. It gives access to the market data, allows performing trading operations, provides funds management, and more. The API is robot-friendly and can be used for algorithmic trading.
●     Support for the FIX protocol. Unlike any other crypto exchange, HitBTC provides support for the Financial Information eXchange protocol. While FIX is a de-facto standard for trade communication in the global equity market, it hasn’t been implemented for cryptocurrency trading before now.
●     Special offers for market makers. HitBTC provides special contracts for both individual market makers, and companies that know how to rule the markets. Market making is also possible through the HitBTC’s APIs.
●     Advanced reporting. The exchange team is focused on creating useful trading tools, hence, all traditional reports like profit and loss report and trade analysis are featured on HitBTC, and can be used by every user.

Paul Clarkson continues, “Besides having a professional team of developers, we have a well-organized team of financiers, and outsourced trading experts. The massive financial expertise allows us to make our product mature for penetrating the traditional financial market. As for development, we are especially proud of our support for FIX, which is unprecedented for bitcoin exchanges.”

As HitBTC is already finished with core development, it is now ready to engage newcomers with 0% depositing fees that can be requested by all new verified users from October 6 to October 20, 2016.

About HitBTC
HitBTC is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, providing trading services for individual traders since 2013. The HitBTC trading platform is known for its advanced matching engine, multi-currency support and friendly customer service. Besides trading between cryptocurrencies, HitBTC provides proper markets for exchanging cryptocurrencies for fiat currencies, namely USD and EUR.


The innovative and technological nature of HitBTC is expressed in a stable dependable API, which satisfies the needs of algorithmic traders. Moreover, HitBTC provides support for FIX protocol through FIX trading and FIX Market data end-points.
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