Friday, November 30, 2018

No one is safe 😱

November 30, 2018

SEC Fines Celebrities Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled for Involvement in ICO

SEC is out in force

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has had a very busy 2018 and has inserted themselves into the cryptocurrency space more than ever before.

The SEC is hell-bent on enforcing their regulation onto the new and evolving asset class of cryptocurrencies. Instead of making new regulations for crypto, the SEC has instead chosen to apply already established regulations.

Within just the past month, the SEC has penalized two initial coin offerings and forced them to return their raise to investors, as well as giving the founder of EtherDelta a slap on the wrist for operating an unregistered securities exchange.

Going after the celebs

In all of the craze that was the ICO mania of 2017, startups thirsty to catch the attention of investors turned to celebrities to endorse their offerings. Celebrities that had no connection with cryptocurrencies were all of a sudden posting about ICO's on their social media.

Immediately, most savvy investors were put off by this move as they believed that the best startups do not need a celebrity to promote their offering. But, celebrities have a massive influence and many people who did not know crypto were introduced to ICO's by these celebrities.

About a year after these social media posts were being spread, the SEC has fined Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled for not disclosing that they were being compensated for the posts.

Mayweather was paid a total of $300,000 to promote three ICO's and Khaled was compensated $50,000 for one.

As a result of not disclosing the fact that they were being compensated, Mayweather and Khaled were fined $614,775 and $152,725 by the SEC, respectively.

MYSTERY

Did Satoshi Just Re-emerge After 4 Years of Silence?

The plot thickens

Less than 24 hours ago, Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious figure behind the creation of Bitcoin, posted a message on the P2P Foundation website for the first time in 4 years.

The message was only one word long and read: "nour"

However, Nakamoto's account also added a new friend, Wagner Tamanaha, just before the post.

A hidden message

Now, conspiracies are popping up across the world to investigate Satoshi's possible re-emergence.

One quick google search of "nour" finds an Urban Dictionary definition saying:

"The most loving, affectionate and caring person you'll ever meet. Extremely smart, funny and sensitive. A bit lost, still figuring out what she wants in life and how to reach it. Stubborn and not willing to take other peoples advice. when she smiles she makes you forget all the problems you have, her hug will give you an assurance that you have never felt and will never do."

So is Nakamoto showing affection? Or speaking about something else?

Here are some other top contenders:

"Nour" is supposed to be a Arabic translation to the word "light," however, that is usually pronounced "noor."
Nakamoto's addition of Tamanaha as a friend is a subtle way to comment on open borders since Tamanaha identifies as a refugee.

Disclaimer: It could be garbage

Nakamoto's story is truly something like a Netflix sci-fi series. However, despite what conspiracy junkies may want to believe, this new "re-emergence" could be garbage because many believe Nakamoto's account was hacked in 2016.

Still, regardless if it is actually real, it sure is a cryptic message - just how Nakamoto would want it.

MINING

Computing Giant Intel Wins Patent for Energy Efficient Bitcoin Mining

Electricity monster

One of the biggest concerns about Bitcoin is actually its energy consumption. Since mining is an energy-intensive process, critics are worried that as the network grows, so will the amount of energy used.

This has been a largely debated topic between environmentalists and Bitcoin's supporters for a long time but things really started heating up when Bitcoin's total hash rate skyrocketed in 2018.

Intel steps in

Now, Intel believes it may have a solution to make Bitcoin mining more energy efficient.

In a new patent filing, Intel describes the process:

"Dedicated Bitcoin mining ASICs are used to implement multiple SHA-256 engines that may deliver a performance of thousands of hashes per second while consuming power of greater than 200 W. Embodiments of the present disclosure employ micro-architectural optimizations including selective hardwiring certain parameters in Bitcoin mining computation."

What the heck does that mean?

In short, it means it is cutting the unnecessary parts out of mining equipment. After doing so, Intel believes this new reorganization could help reduce overall circuit area and cut energy consumption by up to 15%.

EXCHANGE

Coinbase Announces Addition of Zcash to its Pro Platform

Another one

On Thursday, Coinbase announced that it will be adding the privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) to its listings - continuing its recent listing run.

Trading of ZEC is not yet live on Coinbase Pro and will not begin until sufficient liquidity is available on the exchange. Once trading goes live, ZEC will be available to everyone on Coinbase Pro except for New York residents.

The company did not announce when Zcash trading will open on its retail platform, but you should expect that shortly if past coin additions are any indication of how they will handle this listing.

⛓ What is Zcash? Zcash offers total payment confidentiality, while still maintaining a decentralized network using a public blockchain. Unlike Bitcoin, Zcash's private transactions hide the sender, recipient, and value of transactions on the blockchain. Only those with the correct view key can see the contents. Users have complete control and can opt-in to provide others with their view key at their discretion.

BITS

But wait, there's more...

Beijing-based cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain has launched a new cryptocurrency index as a benchmark for investors.
The ICO craze has calmed down and venture capitalists will likely still reign king.
The Japanese arm of computer giant Microsoft has partnered with nascent blockchain startup LayerX to "accelerate" uptake of the technology.

MEME