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Monday, July 16, 2018
Rocking our world
$6.3 Trillion BlackRock is Allegedly Now Exploring the World of Cryptocurrencies
| July 16, 2018 | Read in Browser |
 QUOTE OF THE DAY  |
| “The governments of the world have spent hundreds and hundreds of trillions of dollars bailing out a decaying, dickensian, outmoded system called banking, when the solution to the future of finance is peer-to-peer. It’s going to be alternative currencies like Bitcoin and it’s not actually going to be a banking system as we had before 2008.” - Patrick Young |
Happy Monday! Wishing the entire Brew Crew a productive start to the week. In addition we have stickers to give away! Follow us on Twitter and direct message us if you would like to get Blockchain Brew stickers shipped.
Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team
| MARKETS |
| COIN | PRICE | 24H |
| | ||
| BTC | $6,608.72 | +3.91% |
| | ||
| ETH | $474.242 | +6.11% |
| | ||
| XRP | $0.463166 | +4.12% |
| | ||
| BCH | $769.182 | +6.83% |
| | ||
| EOS | $7.75538 | +8.61% |
| | ||
*Information as of 9:30 AM EST
| NEWS |
$6.3 Trillion BlackRock is Allegedly Now Exploring the World of Cryptocurrencies
DIVING IN
- Today, reported by Financial News, BlackRock is allegedly diving into the world of cryptocurrencies by creating a research team to explore the new industry
- This research team is set to focus on ways BlackRock can implement blockchain in its own business model as well as examine competitors' investments in cryptocurrencies
- BlackRock is currently the world's largest asset manager with $6.3 trillion in assets under management
OPINION U-TURN
- BlackRock has never been too fond of cryptocurrencies in the past
In November 2017, CEO of BlackRock Larry Fink discussed his distaste with Bitcoin:
"[Bitcoin] is a very speculative instrument. More importantly, it is an instrument that people use for money laundering."
- However, as more companies jump on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, more seem to join due to the fear of getting left behind
LOOKING FORWARD
- If confirmed, BlackRock's involvement would legitimize the cryptocurrency markets in the eyes of regulators
- As the world's largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider, BlackRock could be looking to lead the charge of Bitcoin ETFs once the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves it
| EXCHANGE |
Cobinhood Announces Fiat Trading
COBINHOOD
- Cobinhood is a cryptocurrency exchange that boasts no trading fees
- At the time of this writing, Cobinhood ranks as the 108th biggest cryptocurrency exchange, hosting more than $1 million in trading volume in the last 24 hours
WELCOME USD
- Cobinhood has announced that they will be adding crypto-fiat pairings, allowing their users to buy and sell crypto with USD and pay no fees
- USD deposits will not begin until July 20th
- The exchange has had to implement strict know your customer protocols to comply with regulations to support fiat trading
- Epay was disclosed as Cobinhood's partner to handless the payment processing
- Looking past the implementation of fiat pairings, Cobinhood is planning on releasing a decentralized exchange in the future
Cobinhood's founder, Popo Chen, is predicting a market turn around and explains it is a great time to add fiat:
"In several instances, the market is not reflecting tremendous progress being made at cryptocurrencies worldwide. Traders know there are opportunities abound for value, so it’s a very synergistic time to debut fiat trading on the COBINHOOD platform. There’s no doubt in my mind that many value investors were waiting on the sidelines until prices rationalized, and so the near term promises to be an exciting time for exchanges that can offer the liquidity fiat options provide."
| ADOPTION |
Credit Giant American Express Files for Blockchain-Based Patent to Improve Payments
NEW PATENT
- In a patent application released last week, American Express is exploring using a "blockchain-based system" to get "payment confirmation including a transaction amount and a merchant identifier"
- This system would aid American Express in creating transaction evidence to retain "transaction data, contract data, proof-of-payment data, identification data, and/or other information as desired"
- By casting a wide net, American Express could apply this technology in a variety of different use cases
American Express explained its vision for the new system in its patent:
"[System data] could unlock a hotel, rental or shared economy property door using the card (e.g., that was used for the payment) to look up proof of payment on a blockchain. [In addition] the system may be leveraged to provide ticketless access to venues (e.g., movie theater, sports event, concert, etc.) to a customer."
PUBLIC V.S. PRIVATE
- One ongoing discussion is whether or not institutions who implement blockchain technology will create public or private ledgers
- Though a private ledger could aid in efficiency, it does not help the firm become more transparent
- As for American Express' patent, they did mention that "public networks may leverage the cumulative computing power of the network to improve security"
| RESEARCH |
Research Finds That 38% of South Africans Wish They Had Invested in Crypto
A survey completed by South African financial services company Old Mutual uncovered some interesting insights about how the country views cryptocurrency
OPINION ON CRYPTO
- The survey found that 38% of respondents who are aware of what cryptocurrency is, wishes that they had invested in them earlier
- While a significant amount responded that they wish they invested in crypto and 71% of South Africans have a positive opinion about crypto, not all of the country had the same opinion
- 43% of South Africans indicated that they view cryptocurrencies as scams like pyramid schemes
UNAWARE
- The report also found that 60% of South Africans have never even heard of cryptocurrencies, showing the room for growth for the space
- Only 4% of respondents indicated that they have a high level of knowledge about cryptocurrencies
NOT CURRENCIES
- The South African government has intervened on the cryptocurrency market and said that they are intangible assets not currencies
- Classifying them as an asset means that South Africans are required to report gains and losses as income on their taxes
- The country's central bank actually refers to cryptocurrencies as "cyber-tokens" because they don't think they are currencies
| GIVEAWAY |
IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!
That's right. It's giveaway time. This time we are giving away 3 copies of @cointradernik's newest book An Altcoin Trader's Handbook!
HOW TO ENTER:
- Click the 'Win Your Copy' button above
- Forward the Blockchain Brew newsletter to 3 new people
That's it! We will be tracking the results and announcing winners in the Friday, July 20th newsletter.
P.S. Don't miss this opportunity...this may be the easiest way to get a free book in your lifetime:)
| MORE BREWING |
- Top Swiss Stock Exchange Says It Is ‘Open’ to Offering Crypto Trading on Its Platform
- Bitcoin Price Spikes After Lowest Volatility Since All Time High
- ‘Bond Coin’: Thailand Plans Blockchain Token for Instant Securities Settlement
| TODAY IN CRYPTO |
Monero (XMR)
Riccardo Spagni will be a speaker at The Global Blockchain Congress (July 16 - 17, 2018).
aelf (ELF)
Aelf is hosting an exclusive invitation only event together with Michael Arrington and SIgnum Capital on the July 16th in Seoul.
Today in Crypto is powered by coinmarketcal.com
| COIN OF THE DAY |
 |
| Project Pai (PAI) |
|---|
| Project PAI is founded on the belief that every person in the world should have their own digital avatar, one that speaks, thinks, and behaves just like their self. |
| WEBSITE | TWITTER | REDDIT |
| MEME |
| SUBSCRIBE | FEEDBACK | ADVERTISE |
   |
| The above is not intended to be investment advice. |
| 1317 8th Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414. |
| If you don't absolutely love us, drop us, click here. |
| Copyright © 2018 Blockchain Brew, All rights reserved. |
Sunday, July 15, 2018
CEO of Polychain Capital Seeing 'Absolute Exodus' of Talent From Tech to Crypto
| July 15, 2018 | Read in Browser |
| QUOTE OF THE DAY |
| “Nothing's ever simple. I just don't want you to ignore possibilities out of fear. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith, believing that somebody's going to catch you.” - Nadia Lee |
Happy Sunday! It's also the day of the final World Cup match so cheers to all our football fans. Remember, our giveaway is still happening so make sure to follow the rules to enter!
Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team
| MARKETS |
| COIN | PRICE | 24H |
| | ||
| BTC | $6,356.30 | +1.59% |
| | ||
| ETH | $446.301 | +2.39% |
| | ||
| XRP | $0.444466 | +1.68% |
| | ||
| BCH | $718.87 | +3.13% |
| | ||
| EOS | $7.12654 | +2.35% |
| | ||
*Information as of 9:30 AM EST
| NEWS |
CEO of Polychain Capital Seeing 'Absolute Exodus' of Talent From Tech to Crypto
HIGH CONFIDENCE
- Yesterday, CEO of Polychain Capital Olaf Carlson-Wee exuded confidence about cryptocurrencies to Fortune despite the massive decline in value in the first half of 2018
- Carlson-Wee he chooses to focus on the long-term growth in his fund and isn't worried about the short-term bears
- His reason for this perspective comes from a positive outlook on the development progress in crypto outside of price
When asked whether the "crushing" of the current crypto markets is worrying, Carlson-Wee explained why he remains confident:
"Not at all. Having been in this full-time since 2011, I think it’s hard to communicate how much growth we’ve seen since then… what I pay attention to is not the month-to-month market price of these assets but rather the developer momentum around building novel applications – and today what we’re seeing is an absolute exodus from many of these major tech giants, Facebook, Google Linkedin Snapchat of really high-quality talent now starting cryptocurrency startups."
USE CASE HYPE?
- In addition to telling Fortune about why he remains confident in the market, Carlson-Wee also explained that scams aren't the only challenge with initial coin offerings (ICO)
- Though ICO scams are a huge issue with a recent report stating that 80% of all 2017 ICOs launched were scams, Carlson-Wee believes identifying ICOs with unique use cases is trickier
Carlson-Wee told Fortune about the ICO challenge outside of spotting scams:
"It's usually pretty easy to spot things that are outright fraudulent…the trickier thing is that among the top 5%, or even top 1% of projects out there – [it is] determining which architectures could be the best suited for new use cases. So a lot of what we think about is what really can be enabled in a novel manner through this technology, what are the novel, new behaviours a technology might enable."
| RESEARCH |
New Research Finds That Hodl May Not Be The Best Strategy
HODL MYTH
- The Hodl meme is extremely popular, people of the crypto world are constantly urging others to never sell their bags
- New research from Shrimpy indicates that if you are listening to the crowd and Hodling, you probably aren't getting the best returns
REBALANCE & DIVERSIFY
- Shrimpy's research shows that instead of Hodling your favorite coin it is best to rebalance and diversify your holdings
- Not only should you rebalance your portfolio, you should do it as often as possible
- Shrimpy also found that your portfolio's performance increases on average as the number of assets in it increase, so it is better to hold many assets than just your favorite
The results of their research is summarized in this table:
The median performance demonstrates that the higher the rebalance period with the higher number of assets presents the highest gains for rebalancing. Each value represents a percent increase OVER buy and hold. That means a value of 18 means the median of that group performed 18 percent BETTER than buy and hold. This demonstrates, even the absolute worst case performs better than by and hold, even after considering taxes.
| RESEARCH |
United States Ranks as 'Most Favorable' Country For ICOs, Report Finds
U.S. RANKED FIRST
- According to new research conducted by analysts associated with Crypto Finance Conference, the United States was ranked as the most favorable country to launch an initial coin offering (ICO)
- To decide the rankings, the researchers considered the top 100 ICOs in terms of funds raised
- Each country was then ranked by the number of projects that have been launched in each country
TOP 5 COUNTRIES
Below is a list of the top 5 countries with the most projects that appear in the top 100 ICOs in terms of funds raised:
- United States - 30 ICOs
- Switzerland - 15 ICOs
- Singapore - 11 ICOs
- Russia - 6 ICOs
- U.K., China, Cayman Islands - 4 ICOs
LOOKING FORWARD
- Though these rankings account for the success of ICOs launched in each country, it does not take into account regulations
- Currently, ICOs operating in the United States are being reviewed to see if they pass the Howey Test, a test to determine if the ICOs qualify as "investment contracts"
- With a heavy hammer weighing down on United States ICOs, many ICOs may plan to launch in a crypto safe haven instead to alleviate the legal headaches
| Q&A |
Q&A with Niffler.co
WEBSITE | TWITTER | TELEGRAM What is the story behind the founding of Niffler.co?
As traders ourselves and like everyone else playing in the space we've seen a huge uptick in the last year or so of friends and the general public looking to get into cryptocurrencies and crypto trading, but not knowing where to start. Most newbies are a little skittish to drop money into an exchange right away without having a clue what they're doing.
On the flip side, we also wanted a place where traders like us, your core audience of readers and other experienced traders could make money on a Patreon type model helping others learn as well and in that sense we like to think of Niffler.co as Coinbase meets Patreon, without the risk......
What is Niffler’s main mission and how is Niffler attempting to achieve this?
Great question...Mission wise, we truly believe that through gamification and rewards based education in a sandbox type environment comes mass adoption. How we achieve this is a two fold answer:
W/ newbies we allow them access to a live and real time simulated exchange while providing them with $100k in play money to trade with. This negates the risk of using their own capital on a real world exchange while still learning and possibly losing more then they are prepared to lose. Once they get good at it, they can rise to the status of a "trader" and get paid teaching and helping other newbies learn.
W/ experienced traders, the Niffler.co platform not only allows you to make money as well by helping others (view your trades, upload TA's, Trading View screenshots, links to your YouTube Channel etc etc), but also use their Niffler.co profile, ranking on the leaderboard, and their earned badges as a calling card to invite and monetize their followers on other channels they are on ie Reddit, YouTube, Twitter etc. Niffler also allows experienced traders the opportunity get a second opinion on their real world trades from other top traders by following their trades in real time as well allowing them to hone their skills, risk thresholds via comparison tracking etc. Experienced traders can also challenge each other 1v1, lay money on the line to see who's truly top dog.
What significant upcoming milestones should Niffler users be aware of?
The team is ramping up as we speak and we're currently taking pre-registers. Pre-registered users will get early Beta access, the ability to reserve their preferred trading handle, as well as getting an early adopter badge in their profile. Closed beta launch and invites will be sent out roughly around the last 2 weeks of August.
Launch is scheduled for the 1st week of September and our first "Top The Leaderboard Trader Challenge" for $1k starts October 1st, so get in early!
What are the toughest challenges your team has encountered so far?
The platform is fairly large and has a lot of moving parts as you can imagine. A big challenge surprisingly was Stripe integration in terms of allowing for the Patreon type model as well as some other unique custom payment solutions that make sure experienced traders as well as up and coming newbies who make it to the status of traders helping others get paid and get paid on a recurring basis. It's all sorted out now, but wasn't as easy as one thinks. We seriously owe one to some really great friends at Stripe for working on this with us.
Where do you see the crypto industry as a whole in 5 years and what role does Niffler play in that scenario?
We are all in and all firm believers in crypto and the good it can do for the world. In 5 years we would love to see more people having a deeper understanding of crypto than what we currently have at the moment. To get there, we feel that we have to do our part in achieving mass adoption through education. We know not every user on Niffler will want to become a top trader, however we do want to give our users the motivation to learn about crypto and be able to do that without risking their capital while also allowing the hard working, risk taking experienced traders an avenue to make money by sharing their knowledge.
To stay updated on Niffler.co and pre-register for their platform, click here.
| GIVEAWAY |
IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!
That's right. It's giveaway time. This time we are giving away 3 copies of @cointradernik's newest book An Altcoin Trader's Handbook!
HOW TO ENTER:
- Click the 'Win Your Copy' button above
- Forward the Blockchain Brew newsletter to 3 new people
That's it! We will be tracking the results and announcing winners in the Friday, July 20th newsletter.
P.S. Don't miss this opportunity...this may be the easiest way to get a free book in your lifetime:)
| MORE BREWING |
- What Crypto Really Thinks About Litecoin's Banking Ambitions
- First Bitcoin Two-Way ATM Installed, Malta’s Digital Transformation on the Go
- Greek Court Rules to Extradite Alexander Vinnik, Accused of Laundering $4 Billion in Bitcoin
| TODAY IN CRYPTO |
Today in Crypto is powered by coinmarketcal.com
| COIN OF THE DAY |
 |
| Mainframe (MFT) |
|---|
| Mainframe is the platform for decentralized applications. Resistant to censorship, surveillance, and disruption, the Mainframe network enables any application to send data, store files, manage payments, run tasks, and more. With the exception of a catastrophic asteroid event or an aggressive alien invasion, the Mainframe network is simply unstoppable. |
| WEBSITE | TWITTER | REDDIT |
| MEME |
| SUBSCRIBE | FEEDBACK | ADVERTISE |
| |
| The above is not intended to be investment advice. |
| 1317 8th Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414. |
| If you don't absolutely love us, drop us, click here. |
| Copyright © 2018 Blockchain Brew, All rights reserved. |
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Coinbase Announces 'Exploring' the Addition of 5 New Tokens to Its Exchange
| July 14, 2018 | Read in Browser |
| QUOTE OF THE DAY |
| “Success is the enemy of learning. It can deprive you of the time and the incentive to start over. Beginner’s mind also needs beginner’s time.” - Naval |
Happy Saturday! Don't miss out on us giving away 3 copies of @cointradernik's newest book An Altcoin Trader's Handbook to our newsletter subscribers! You must follow the rules listed in the section titled 'Giveaway' to enter.
Cheers,
Blockchain Brew Team
| MARKETS |
| COIN | PRICE | 24H |
| | ||
| BTC | $6,250.79 | -0.31% |
| | ||
| ETH | $435.259 | -1.08% |
| | ||
| XRP | $0.436498 | -1.3% |
| | ||
| BCH | $696.276 | -0.58% |
| | ||
| EOS | $6.95573 | -2.65% |
| | ||
*Information as of 9:30 AM EST
| EXCHANGE |
Coinbase Announces 'Exploring' the Addition of 5 New Tokens to Its Exchange
NEW ALTS
- On Friday, Coinbase tweeted an announcement that it will be exploring adding 5 new tokens to its exchange: Cardano (ADA), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Zcash (ZEC), and 0x (ZRX)
- Coinbase has long teased the idea of adding new tokens having not added a coin since adding Ethereum Classic in June and Bitcoin Cash in December
- These coins are not yet available and Coinbase did not provide a date for when they will start trading
- Due to regulatory reasons, Zcash will only be able to be deposited and withdrawn from transparent addresses
- For this announcement Coinbase is trying to be transparent as possible, after allegations of insider trading with how they handled the addition of Bitcoin Cash
In its blog post, Coinbase hinted at possibly adding more cryptos in the future, ending the post by saying:
Going forward, you should expect that we will make similar announcements about exploring the addition of multiple assets. Some of these assets may become available everywhere, while others may only be supported in specific jurisdictions.
KEEPING PACE
- Coinbase has been trying to make moves to keep pace with proliferating exchanges like Binance
- Operating in the United States is a disadvantage for Coinbase as there are much more strict regulations limiting Coinbase from expanding its business
- The SEC's Ethereum ruling was huge news for Coinbase and is probably the reason it was able to add these new tokens
Read Coinbase's announcement blog post
| ADOPTION |
Major League Baseball Partners With Blockchain Startup to Create Digital Collectibles
DAPP GAME
- Announced yesterday, Major League Baseball will be partnering with Lucid Sight to build a dApp game on Ethereum
- The game, MLB Crypto Baseball, is going to work similar to CryptoKitties on the erc-721 standard
- According to MLB executive vice president of gaming and new business ventures Kenny Gersh, CryptoKitties had a direct influence on the creation of the new game
PLAYING THE GAME
- The concept of the game is to collect digital avatars tied to specific events in real life baseball games
- To play, Ether can be transferred to MetaMask, a popular Ethereum browser wallet, then be used to purchase the digital collectibles
Kenny Gersh explained his vision of what MLB Crypto Baseball would look like:
"That is 100% one of the strategic goals of this initiative. Collecting items related to your team, engaging with your team in a new way. For me, say the Red Sox win the division in a couple months, I want to buy something that symbolizes that. These will be event-based things—those moments in sports that happen that you want to remember and cherish, and have a sense that you were there, even if only digitally."
LOOKING FORWARD
- Kenny Gersh mentioned that the game will roll out in stages and that though this first version is for tech saavy people only, newer versions will lower the learning curve
- With MLB attendance numbers declining last season, this game could bring baseball interest from a new demographic
| NEWS |
12 Russian Officials Charged with Election Interference Funded by Bitcoin
ELECTION INTERFERENCE
- The only thing thay may be even more crazy and controversial than the crypto market has been the drama surrounding President Donald Trump and the 2016 US Presidential Election
- Since President Trump's pre-election campaign, some have hypothesized that he was receiving help from the Russians whether knowningly or not
12 INDICTED
- On Friday, news came out that the US Justice Department has indicted 12 Russian nationals with interfering with the US election
- The 12 defendants are all members of a Russian federation intelligence agency which is a part of the Russian military
- This news comes as President Donald Trump is set to meet with Vladimir Putin next week
BITCOIN PAYMENTS
- According to the DOJ's announcement, the Russians indicted used Bitcoin that the Russian government allegedly mined to fund their actions
- Cryptocurrency was used to purchase accounts and servers that were used to hack networks where they were able to steal identities, emails, and documents
- The indictment claims that the defendents laundered more than $95,000 worth of cryptocurrencies to fund their operations
| GIVEAWAY |
IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!
That's right. It's giveaway time. This time we are giving away 3 copies of @cointradernik's newest book An Altcoin Trader's Handbook!
HOW TO ENTER:
- Click the 'Win Your Copy' button above
- Forward the Blockchain Brew newsletter to 3 new people
That's it! We will be tracking the results and announcing winners in the Friday, July 20th newsletter.
P.S. Don't miss this opportunity...this may be the easiest way to get a free book in your lifetime:)
| MORE BREWING |
- Bank of Thailand Considers Blockchain for Cross-Border Payments, Fraud Reduction
- Tezos Is Giving Away Grant Money to Crypto Developers
- Tether Circle Announces Trading App for Cryptocurrency Exchange Poloniex
| TODAY IN CRYPTO |
Today in Crypto is powered by coinmarketcal.com
| COIN OF THE DAY |
 |
| Primas (PST) |
|---|
| Primas is a platform for premium quality content based on DTCP (Distributed Trusted Content Protocol). Primas uses blockchain technology to ensure the credibility of content, uses economic incentives to accelerate the generation and circulation of high-quality content, and allows readers to see personalized, high-quality content through social recommendations. Traditional Internet applications can also use APIs to access Primas, immediately gaining access to the power Primas offers. |
| WEBSITE | TWITTER | REDDIT |
| MEME |
| SUBSCRIBE | FEEDBACK | ADVERTISE |
| |
| The above is not intended to be investment advice. |
| 1317 8th Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414. |
| If you don't absolutely love us, drop us, click here. |
| Copyright © 2018 Blockchain Brew, All rights reserved. |
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