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Ali Raza

EOS Value and Activity Drop as the New Fork Approaches

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EOS price, transaction volume, and dApp activity in the last several months saw a significant drop. Analysts seem to believe that the reason is the approaching hard fork, as well as the recent announcement of EOS social platform, Voice.

According to research published by a cryptocurrency and blockchain analysis firm, Brave New Coin, EOS has seen one of the most significant downward trends in its history. The drop did affect not only EOS’ price but also its transaction volume, as well as overall activities within its ecosystem. Even EOS’ dApps are seeing a significant drop.

The research that got published this Monday, August 19th, indicates that the cause of the drop might be the approach of the next hard fork of EOS’ blockchain. The hard fork itself was scheduled for September 23rd. In addition to that, the ecosystem recently saw an announcement of its soon-to-launch social platform, known as Voice.

The result is an 84% drop in EOS price, which kept going down ever since its historical maximum, reached back in April 2018. Back then, EOS exceeded $21. At the moment, however, its price stands barely above $3, with a market cap of $3,42 billion and a trading volume of $1.27 billion in the last 24 hours. EOS is currently ranked as 8th largest cryptocurrency, sitting between Tether (USDT) at 7th place, and Bitcoin SV (BSV) at 9th.

Further, it appears that EOS’ exchange volume in the last 24 hours ended up being dominated by EOS/USDT trading pair, with pairs with Bitcoin and Ethereum being close behind. Even so, analysts estimate that EOS’ trading pairs against USDT and Bitcoin have dropped by over 60%, and transactions per day continue to decline.

Not only that, but researchers believe that the real number of transactions might be even lower than reported, likely only one-fifth of the estimated 5 million.

EOS still leads over NEO

The number of transactions has been on a sharp rise since December 2018, mostly due to increased activity among EOS’ dApp users. The value of the average transaction is estimated to be at around $75, while the reported maximum was $38,000, likely also related to the increased activity within dApps.

On the other hand, the number of active addresses related to EOS transactions is currently at around 52,000. This was nearly half of the number of active addresses from January of this year when that number was near 95,000. Even so, EOS still sees significantly more activity than its primary competitor from before, NEO.

Speaking of the higher number of users, another report, issued by the company called AnChain.AI earlier this year, seems to indicate that 51% of EOS users were bots. They executed 75% of EOS operations in January, the report claims, thus allowing EOS to be one of the leaders in term of dApp activity. The bot activity was estimated to be responsible for $6 million worth of EOS’ daily volume from January 2019.

However, in recent months, the average volume of transactions seemingly went down. Analysts remain convinced that gambling and dApp exchange are still among the most popular activities; more likely since gambling is highly regulated in the majority of countries around the world.

The new reports only add to EOS’ troubles, which initially started last June, with the departure of EOS NY as a block producer. Not to mention the degradation by the Weiss agency’s rating, which made people wonder whether or not EOS is truly decentralized as it claims.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Ripple focuses on the bigger picture, here is what’s that

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One thing is for sure; Ripple seems to have a plan for becoming one of the leading cryptocurrencies of the future. Connecting with all the banks is just a means to an end. Here is how it is all likely to go down.

“Whoever is first to dominate the most important segment of a market with viral potential will be the last mover in the whole industry,” says Peter Thiel, an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal. Thiel’s wise statement comes from his book, Zero to One, published in September 2014, and written by Thiel and a student Blake Masters.

This particular quote is followed by an explanation of how PayPal managed to go big. The company did not want to acquire random users. Instead, they targeted those who would be the most valuable to them — those who would start depending on it. Their first goal was to focus on emigrants who left their home countries to work abroad and send money home.

Before PayPal, they depended on Western Union to do so. PayPal made it effortless, but the transactions were too infrequent, as Thiel explains. The company decided to take a different approach, which is why they started targeting eBay ‘PowerSellers,’ professional vendors who sold and bought goods on eBay auction marketplace. Soon enough, transactions surged, and PayPal became THE payments platform for eBay.

How do XRP and Ripple fit in?

What does this have to do with Ripple and XRP? Looking closely at what Ripple had been doing with the banks, it is clear that the company is making pretty much the same move when it comes to bringing cryptocurrencies to banks.

Similarly to Thiel’s advice not to try to acquire random users, Ripple opted to target a smaller niche market segment. Bitcoin, for example, has no target audience, apart from people, in general. Its use cases and its brand have made it big, but for anyone else to come out of Bitcoin’s shadow, they must become the primary solution in a specific niche market segment, as PayPal did with eBay.

In this case, Ripple is PayPal, and traditional banks are eBay. The longer we observe the two firms’ methods, the more parallels emerge, which leads to an important conclusion — that Ripple aims at a much bigger picture than most other cryptocurrencies.

Most other coins just want to be available to anyone and everyone at the same time, which is too broad, too general. Ripple and XRP aim at banks and their already-established massive user base, which is not ready to shift to widespread cryptocurrencies.

With XRP in place, they could just keep going to the bank and make use of a better way of sending money internationally, without really having to understand the technology behind it. This is what is likely to make Ripple (XRP) big, even though the crypto community has several other coins that might be doing the same thing in a more decentralized way.

This, in turn, leads to another conclusion, which is that XRP might become for the crypto space what PayPal became for traditional finance industry. In other words, Ripple (XRP) will see a major increase in use and value at some point, which might be a useful hint to long-term investors and HODLers.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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North Korea’s use of digital currency might severely damage the crypto industry

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The United States is already infamous for the lack of love for Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. The country’s regulators do not seem to be doing much in terms of regulating the sector, and many questions remain unanswered. Crypto-entrepreneurs are discouraged from starting the businesses there, as many fear the things could turn south for the crypto sector in the USA at any time.

This negative stance towards digital currencies only worsened in recent weeks, especially after Facebook posted an announcement about its Libra coin. It is safe to say that nobody among the US government officials appreciated the news, and even the US President Donald Trump felt obligated to tweet about virtual assets, acknowledging them publicly for the first time.

President Trump clearly stated his distaste for cryptocurrencies, directly naming Bitcoin and Libra in his tweets, seemingly concerned about potential illicit uses. Criminals have indeed used crypto in unlawful activities such as cybercrime, ransomware, money laundering, and more. However, it does not appear that the negativity towards cryptocurrencies will stop anytime soon, especially not after the recent report from the United Nations.

The new report commented on the recent development of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction program.  According to the UN, the rogue nation seems to have recently found a new way to fund its criminal operation. They used hacking attacks against significant crypto exchanges where they stole the stored funds. The move is likely only to increase the gap between cryptocurrency and the US authorities, further convincing them that criminals only use crypto.

The future of crypto in the US looks grim

After Trump’s anti-Bitcoin tweets, the Secretary of Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, did pretty much the same. He voiced his concerns regarding digital currencies, stating that they might be used for supporting billions of dollars of illicit activity.

He highlighted some of the activities directly, including tax evasion, drug trafficking, cybercrime, extortion, human trafficking, and ransomware. After expressing their concerns, the high-ranking US officials only need a single example of crypto misuse to demonize digital currencies further. Unfortunately, the United Nations’ report has given them exactly what they needed.

The report of North Korea using cryptocurrencies stolen from the exchanges for financing their weapons program is a severe problem for the crypto industry especially after the report mentions explicitly that Pyongyang used cyberspace for launching sophisticated attacks on crypto exchanges and financial institutions, solely to steal funds and generate income.

The country has also been connected to exchange attacks in South Korea for quite a while. Now, according to the UN report, these attacks may have resulted in over $2 billion in stolen funds.

Because the US is already skeptical towards cryptocurrencies, as well as the fact that this is the time of high tensions when it comes to the country’s international policy — it is unlikely that the country won’t take any action. Of course, there are countless arguments against this ‘crypto is only used by criminals’ stance. But, it is also true that digital currencies made stealing money, laundering it, or moving under the radar quite possible.

The biggest fear right now is that regulators might be much quicker to ban crypto than they were to regulate it. Connecting cryptocurrencies to weapons of mass destruction definitely have its impact, and concerns are more profound than ever. This is not good for crypto space, and the damage it is causing may end up being irreparable.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Government Relations Head at Ripple: The US must deploy balanced crypto regulations

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Two of the Ripple officials created a video a couple of days ago where they discussed the vital topic of crypto regulation. The blockchain firm’s Head of Government Relations affirmed that the USA must regulate the cryptos fairly.

The cryptocurrency industry is once again under the spotlight in 2019. Not because of the price recovery or the crypto winter, but because one of the world’s largest companies and most recognizable brands are joining the crypto space.

The crypto community from around the world has been speculating about the possibility of Facebook launching its own cryptocurrency for over a year, now. Each time Facebook announced that it is looking for developers, the community took it as a hint that their blockchain research is advancing.

Facebook finally admitted to making plans to launch its very own coin by publishing its white paper, announcing the coin’s name — Libra. The world reacted, and the interest in cryptocurrencies surged once more. However, there is still a noticeable lack of regulations concerning cryptocurrencies in countries around the world, and particularly in the US. And Ripple among all the cryptocurrency projects, in particular, has been working hard for proper crypto regulations.

The situation in the US is critical, as many are hoping that it would set an example by regulating cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. However, there is still a question of how such regulatory framework might affect the crypto and blockchain space?

Policymakers cannot bring such regulations easily, and there needs to be a balance between customer protection and fostering innovation.

In other words, the crypto sector must not be regulated too strictly, as it is a growing industry that needs space to evolve. This is not only the case in the US, but in the rest of the world, as well. Ripple seems to be having an excellent understanding of this very concept.

The world looks towards USA: American must set a proper example

The Global Head of Government Relations at Ripple, Michelle Bond, recently talked about this very topic with Monica Long, Ripple’s SVP of Marketing. They also touched upon what might be lying further down the road for the cryptocurrency sector.

YouTube video

Previously, Bond stated that every jurisdiction in the world is keeping its eye on the fintech space, and especially on crypto and blockchain industries. The US Senate hearings back in July attempted to evaluate what impact can be expected if digital assets were to be regulated. Their concern was how crypto regulations might affect the growth of the industry and its economic development.

Not too long ago, Ripple CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, as well as the co-founder and Executive Chairman, Chris Larsen, wrote an open letter to US Congress. They insisted that legislators need to support fintech policy that would foster innovation and classify cryptocurrencies in a way that would recognize their fundamental differences.

As for the global situation, there are numerous governments whose policymakers are collaborating to establish such regulations. Some regions already have crypto-friendly policies in places, such as Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Switzerland, and even the UK. These policies address the risks of working with cryptocurrencies, but they also leave enough room for innovation and further evolution of the crypto sector.

One example is the UK’s recent decision to classify Ripple’s XRP as a non-security — something which was very debatable in the coin’s past. The US SEC’s Hester Peirce recently noted that these frameworks could act as a model for other countries, and help those with less clarity in regards to the crypto sector make the right decision.

Undoubtedly, governments and their regulators are under a lot of pressure to regulate the crypto space. They have been receiving requests to do so for years now, and these requests will only get more common as the crypto industry matures and evolves even further.

The US seems to be in the heart of everything, as it is one of the most innovation-supporting countries in the world. As such, it can set an example and the tone that others could follow. This is why the US regulators must make the right call. That’s precisely what Ripple and the rest of crypto firms want, ‘right call.’

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Coinbase to expand its list of cryptos offered: 8 new altcoins currently under consideration

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A couple of days ago, Coinbase announced that it plans to review new coins and potentially add one or more to its list of offered digital assets. There are eight coins currently under review, including some well-known ones, such as Dash, Ontology, and Waves.

The largest US-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, announced recently that it plans to expand its list of offered cryptocurrencies even further. The new decision comes as a welcome surprise for the exchange’s customers, who got used to Coinbase only offering the safest trading and investment opportunities.

Initially, Coinbase only offered the most significant coins, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Now, however, the exchange seems to be ready to take the next step and provide its clients with additional options.

The exchange stressed that the new coins are only being considered at the moment and that there is no guarantee that any of them will actually get listed. Even so, the possibility itself is exciting to many. The exchange expressed an interest in eight new altcoins, including Cosmos (ATOM), Matic Network (MATIC), Algorand (ALGO), Harmony (ONE), Decred (DCR), Waves (WAVES), Ontology (ONT), and Dash (DASH).

Coinbase explained that it wishes to support all assets that meet the platform’s technical requirements, while at the same time, they comply with the current relevant laws. Before it decides whether to accept or decline a particular asset, the exchange will take a look at different factors and features, including compliance level, security, as well as the assets’ alignment with the platform’s own goal — the creation of an open financial system for the entire world.

Coinbase also noted that it might be possible for users to see related frameworks and public-facing APIs while the process of examination of different coins is underway.

The most notable coins currently under review

Of course, Coinbase’s strict measures are not really a surprise for anyone familiar with the exchange for some time. Its asset listing process, announced last year, allows any developer to apply their currency and try to get it listed on the platform. The Exchange believes that this is the fastest way of adding new, reliable assets.

As for the coins that the exchange is currently looking into, a few stand out, including Dash, Waves, Ontology, and Decred.

Dash is a coin that is relatively similar to Bitcoin itself, although it is a Proof-of-Stake platform, which offers instant payments and more great privacy features. The coin is currently listed as the 15th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with a price of $106.02. It is also the first coin whose market cap is now below $1 billion.

When it comes to Waves, it is an open-source platform that allows others to create their own tokens, similarly to Ethereum. Developers can make new coins, store them, manage them, and more. It offers numerous features, including a DEX. It is a Proof-of-Stake platform, and it attracted multiple entrepreneurs in the crypto space. It currently ranks as 48th largest coin, with a market cap of $134.28 million, and a price of $1.34 per coin.

As for Ontology, this is a public blockchain platform that is dedicated to the creation of decentralized applications, or dApps. It ranks as 24th largest coin, with a market cap of $493.58 million, and a price of $0.925598 at the time of writing.

Finally, there is Decred — a fork of Bitcoin that focuses on consensus and governance, rather than on payments. It was launched three years ago, in 2016. Ever since then, it has been acting as a proposal platform for smart contracts, public use, cross-platform wallets, and more. It is currently the 30th largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $294.22 million, and a price of $28.84 per unit.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Can Ripple help as Western Union cuts staff due to low earnings?

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Western Union is one of the best-known and most successful financial services around the world, and many believed that this would never change. However, Western Union has started experiencing quite a bit issues recently, which might indicate that it is time for the company to change its mindset. And apparently, get on board with blockchain solutions such as Ripple, as MoneyGram did.

Western Union sees lower earnings in Q2 2019

Many among you may or may not know that Western Union trialed Ripple in the past, too. But they decided to move along without carrying any substantial tests.

So now, one of the biggest and most impacting changes is the drop in its stock price after a reported miss on earnings. Its new earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.45 per each share. Previously, analysts had predicted that the earnings would be somewhat higher, at $0.48 per share. While nowhere near the predicted EPS, it is even lower than the earnings from last year, when the EPS stood at $0.46 per share.

On the other hand, Western Union’s net income in the Q2 2019 was at $614.8 million, which translates to $1.42 per share. Last year, however, the figures were significantly lower, sitting at $217.6 million, or only $0.47 per share.

However, there were significant drops in revenue reported in the Q2 of this year, with revenue coming in at only $1,34 billion. While this is a considerable sum, it is below the last year’s revenue during the same period, which was at $1.41 billion.

That is not all; Western Union’s C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) revenues made 83% of the total revenue in the second quarter, which is still 1% below the reported basis. This comes despite the fact that transactions actually grew by 1%.

The strongest growth for the US-based financial services company (Western Union) that keeps ignoring to adapt the change (Ripple blockchain) with era came in Latin America, which helped offset the declines recorded in the US domestic market and the Asia Pacific region.

Meanwhile, Western Union’s C2C revenues increased, even going as high as 18% above the reported basis. This translates to 20% constant currency, while transactions went up by 15%. It should also be pointed out that Western Union represents 13% of the total C2C revenue, and that it is currently serving 70 nations around the world.

It is not so bad for all the WU branches, however, and Western Union Business Solutions revenue actually went up by 3% above the reported basis. This is also a 7% improvement on a constant currency basis. This is something that was driven the strongest in Australia and Europe.

Hikmet Ersek, the CEO and President of Western Union commented on the results, stating that they were stable for the second quarter, and saw strong growth, at least as far as the digital sector goes. Further, he pointed out that the results in international digital transactions were particularly impressive. Western Union also managed to attract more of the leading global brands with their unique capabilities, and they still remain on track when it comes to delivering on their 2019 outlook.

Western Union brings changes — but are they enough?

So, why did Western Union saw such a significant drop in their earnings? Many believe that it might simply be due to the change of the methods used for sending payments. The people are getting used to having faster transaction speeds and lower fees; thanks to new systems, delivered by the cryptocurrency sector, Ripple in major.

https://twitter.com/stuart_xrp/status/1158030528840392705

One interesting situation is that of Moneygram, which did exactly that — it partnered up with Ripple, and has already started using the blockchain firm’s products to speed up transactions and cut back on the fees.

As a result, more people started employing its services, and many of the newcomers are likely former Western Union customers. This indicates that Western Union might have to change its ways soon if the leading financial services firm wants to remain ahead of everyone in the race. The world of finances is changing, rapidly, and WU must find a way to adapt or continue seeing losses in quarters and years to come.

The company is already experiencing quite negative consequences, as its biggest news of the quarter was the announcement of the workforce reduction. The company will have to let go around 10% of its workers.

Western Union announced job cuts, claiming that they are a part of its new global strategy that is supposed to improve efficiency, bring long-term revenue growth, and increase profitability. As for its plans for the future, the company seems to be encouraged by its cross-border money movement results, and so it plans to focus especially on its solutions and products in this area. But yes, it hasn’t confirmed any shift towards Ripple yet.

Ersek added that the firm is very excited about changing strategy, and they plan to start implementing changes as soon as possible. He stressed that the changes are being made from a position of strength and that they represent only the first step of a larger plan.

And, while the changes in the structure are supposed to bring a decrease in cost structure, it appears that the company has lowered its earnings expectations for the year. Previously, it expected to see prices of $2.66 to $2.76 per share, which was now reduced to $2.47 to $2.57. Meanwhile, the earnings per share were adjusted as well, moving to $1.70 to $1.80.

Consequently, change is what every business in the world needs to stay right on the top. It’s evident that if Western Union wishes to remain the number money transfer company, it will need to embrace the change. What change? We hear you ask — that’s Ripple.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Tezos soars 30% in a week as Coinbase Pro adds it to supported assets list

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Despite the halt in cryptocurrency price rise that took place earlier this year, coins remained relatively high-valued, especially when compared to their prices from the start of this year. This has made them attractive to traders and investors, and new listings on cryptocurrency exchanges are continuing as always.

The most recent development of this kind was reported only a couple of days ago when Coinbase Pro announced that it would add a new cryptocurrency — Tezos (XTZ) — to its list of supported assets. The exchange’s professional trading platform’s announcement was followed by a sudden surge of XTZ price, while investors and traders were thrilled to hear the news.

In their blog post, Coinbase Pro officials stated that the launch would take place in four stages. The first one will be transfer-only, followed by post-only, limit-only, and finally, full-trading mode. Each of the phases will be announced by Coinbase Pro via Twitter.

Coinbase is the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, as well as one of the biggest and most popular ones around the world. Its Coinbase Pro has an excellent reputation of its own, and its decision to list Tezos had quite positive results.

Tezos (XTZ)’s price sees a major surge

Similar to many other cryptocurrency projects, Tezos uses PoW to offer smart contract and provide protocol upgrades by generating activities of blockchain participants. Following the Coinbase Pro announcement, XTZ price surged from $1 on July 30th to $1.50, today, which is its highest price since June 1st. This is still not Tezos’ highest peak in 2019, as the cryptocurrency previously hit $1.78 in mid-May – but it still is not far off.

Even so, the fact that XTZ followed Bitcoin’s crash in June means that many who held XTZ managed to make a decent profit after the new development. The price soared by 16.4%, and Tezos holders were quick to cash out.

Since Coinbase Pro has a lot more users than most typical exchanges, this was a big deal for both entities. There is a lot more liquidity, which will allow the coin to avoid wild price fluctuations in the future, after the initial surge that came as a result of the hype. This is also not the first time that Tezos got in contact with Coinbase’s ecosystem, as XTZ ended up being among the coins that were accepted for Coinbase Custody service earlier this year, in February.

In the near future, Tezos is likely to receive at least two new trading pairs on Coinbase Pro — BTC/XTZ and USD/XTZ. According to the exchange, XRZ will be available in most jurisdictions where Coinbase itself has a presence in. However, this will not include the state of New York, at least not at first.

For now, however, the cryptocurrency communities are celebrating the new move, and there was a significant increase in the XTZ price and trading volume, as mentioned. At the time of writing, the XTZ price sits at $1.46, after seeing a drop of 1.1% in the past 24 hours. The new drop comes as a correction to a sudden surge that came due to the hype, and the price of Tezos is likely to stabilize itself relatively soon.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Bitcoin price approaches $12k for the first time in weeks

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Not too long ago, after seeing a successful surge that brought it from $3,200 to nearly $14,000 in only a few months, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a significant drop that took it back to $9,600. For a substantial portion of June, and the entirety of July, the largest cryptocurrency was trying to grow back up. However, each attempt was followed by a drop that took it back to $9,600.

This changed with the arrival of August, which was followed by another sharp rise that seems to have finally allowed BTC to break significant resistance levels — and surge beyond $11,000 for the first time in weeks.

According to Bitcoin’s statistics from CoinMarketCap, the coin managed to go above $11,000 on Sunday, August 4th, at around 15:00 UTC. This was the first time that Bitcoin exceeded the $11k mark in around three weeks.

Before it surged past $11,000, BTC price was first stalled, as well as retested at the resistance level at $10,600. However, as soon as this level had fallen, BTC saw a breakout that took it to $11,000 and above. As we write this, the crypto king’s price sits at $11,759 after soaring by 9.91% in the last 24-hours.

Bitcoin BTC price surge
Bitcoin price comparison chart for yesterday vs. today.

The last day also saw a sudden growth in trading volume, which climbed up to over $4 billion in the previous 24 hours. Of course, BTC will need it to reach higher levels and to keep breaking resistance levels, as the next major one awaits at $11,880. However, the coin’s recent behavior and the investors’ reaction clearly indicate that this development is more than possible.

Bitcoin leading the rally yet again

Bitcoin’s new price surge caused the rest of the crypto market to rally as well. At the press time, there is not a single coin in the top 30 largest cryptocurrencies that is not trading in the green.

Coins such as Ethereum (ETH), Tezos (XTZ), TRON (TRX), and a few others have been the major gainers. Most coins among the top 10 are growing by 3-5% at this point, apart from Stellar, which is only seeing about 2% surge right now.

At the same time, the whole crypto market cap is surging as it went beyond $310 billion once again today. Currently, it sits at $305,114,494,715, and the positive momentum still carries it. The new figure was reached after around $10 billion-large increase over the last 24 hours, making August 4th one of the most productive day in the crypto industry in the past weeks, and even months.

AS for the future, it appears that the short-term outlook will be favorable to bulls. It is expected that BTC will be tested once more at $11,880. If the coin manages to break this resistance as well, it might be above $12,000 in a matter of hours. Presently, the coin still sees steady growth at around 8%, and it is driving the rest of the market up, as well.

The new bull run is certainly including almost everyone and even Ripple’s XRP — which some times resists such developments for a long time before joining others. After going up by nearly 3% today, XRP finally stands above the $0.32 price mark.

As for Ethereum, it still remains the world’s second-largest coin, with a current price of $233 and a growth rate of 6.3% over the last 24 hours.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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DigiByte-powered world’s first blockchain-based password manager goes live

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AntumID has finally completed the development of the first password manager that uses blockchain technology, Digibyte one, to improve its security features.

Thanks to DigiByte, password manager meets blockchain

The safe use of the internet and its benefits these days is not something that can be achieved easily. It usually involves a lot of tools and security apps such as VPNs, password managers, and alike. Even then, users boast no real guarantee that their passwords would remain safe.

Why? Because vulnerabilities and flawed code allow even for security tools to get hacked – that’s how the stored information get robbed.

However, blockchain technology promises much higher security. Combining security tools such as password managers with it significantly improves the odds of having the stored data safe. AndumID’s new announcement seems to open the doors, as the world’s first password manager that doesn’t have to save a password just went live on DigiByte blockchain as this month started.

The manager is already available for download, and it offers a free version for Chrome. The first-of-its-kind version of a password manager was created through the use of AntumID technology and DigiByte’s Blockchain technology.

It is called Digi-ID/AntumID DigiPassword Advanced, and it acts as an advanced chrome extension for the Digi-ID/AntumID App. All that users need to do is click/scan DigiPassword QR-Code through the app. The Chrome extension will ensure that the QR code gets generated based on the users-preferred site’s domain. The code can then be used for creating a unique password, or key, which can be used for various purposes.

Simply put, the new DigiByte blockchain-powered password manager will ensure that not just it stays safe but also a user’s password fields get entered entirely automatically. The app shows great promise, and many consider it the next step in reaching higher levels of safety and security online. Traditional password managers were already considered very safe, as long as a strong master password protects them.

With the use of blockchain tech ( technology that is immutable, hack-resistant, and fully decentralized), the security of password manager apps can only be better, as the user passwords are no longer stored on centralized servers.

Meanwhile, the blockchain processes are seamlessly integrated into the app – being utterly invisible to the end-user. This makes the app as user-friendly as any traditional password manager application. The user is no longer forced to remember different passwords for different sites, but it also doesn’t have to trust the company to store their passwords and respect their privacy.

AntumID is known for security apps such as their SmartLogin browser plug-ins, as well as their authentication app. The authentication app, for example, also requires the user to scan a QR code that would confirm their identity. Additional security measures for this app include scanning fingerprints, or merely using a traditional PIN code to access the app and its features.

This way of accessing and using the apps is generally perceived as more convenient, while the blockchain enthusiasts are pleased (especially DigiByte ones) to see the use of this technology for real-life applications. And of course, it is a good thing, especially now when most of the blockchain use cases remain theoretical.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Puerto Rico’s Crypto Dream About to Shatter

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The last week brought some disturbing news for the crypto community of Puerto Rico. The island was previously a massive crypto supporter, and one of the few ‘crypto havens’ around the world. But, all of that seems to be coming to an end now. The reason for that is the resignation of this US territory’s Governor, Ricardo Rossello.

Rossello was a big crypto supporter himself, and after allegations regarding mismanagement and corruption, it was announced that he will step down on August 2nd, three days from now.

While this is terrible news for Puerto Rico’s crypto community, the resignation did come as a result of mass protests. A large portion of the island’s 3.2 million population hit the streets after his obscenity-laced online chats emerged. For many, this was the last straw, and the demonstrations started. Apparently, this was a series of the most massive protests in the island’s history.

Political scandals, protests, and changes in Puerto Rico’s government aside — what does this mean for the cryptocurrency sector?

Many have voiced their opinions, such as Bryce Weiner, the co-founder of L.A.-based Altmarket cryptocurrency exchange.

Weiner believes that the island’s crypto utopia will disappear alongside Rossello. Not only is there a chance that a crypto-unfriendly individual will replace him, but the association with the politician will likely damage cryptos’ reputation.

Puerto Rico and the arrival of cryptocurrencies

As a territory of the US, Puerto Rico does not require people to obtain a visa to travel, or even go live there. Meanwhile, the island enjoys lower tax rates, introduced by Rossello. Also, it is much easier to set up financial institutions there than in any other part of the US. All of this made it quite popular among crypto enthusiasts and businesses.

Some of the more notable individuals who were drawn to Puerto Rico by this include Brock Pierce — a Mighty Ducks star; James Collins, the New York Mercantile Exchange’s former president, and others. The future of cryptocurrencies in Puerto Rico seemed quite bright. In fact, Videocoin founder Halsey Minor — also one of those attracted by Puerto Rico conditions — stated that this is a perfect opportunity to observe how an industry can catalyze a place.

Not only that, but there were considerable efforts that would have led to a much-improved life on the island. This included clothing for those in need, beach-cleaning initiative, help for agricultural projects, extra funds for startup support, and more.

However, the country still struggles with a recession, which has been going on for around a decade. Things have hardly changed with more significant crypto usage, and issues like bankruptcy, high unemployment rate, and other problems remain. Not to mention the struggle to fix the damage caused by Hurricane Maria.

In other words, the reduced taxes did not improve the quality of life, nor did they help the locals prosper. All they did was attract crypto users and the wealthy who aimed to avoid paying high taxes on the mainland.

There were quite a bit of crypto projects that came or saw the launch in Puerto Rico. The island has two crypto-friendly banks, led by an Italian family that has been in the banking business since the days of the Renaissance.

Still, the point remains — Puerto Ricans saw little to no improvements by these changes. Now that Rossello is being forced to step down, there is a possibility that the crypto dream in Puerto Rico might be over soon.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

Never miss our daily cryptocurrency news, price analysis, tips, and stories. Join us on Telegram | Twitter or subscribe to our weekly Newsletter.