South America: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup 24th to 30th March, 2019

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South America

South America

Welcome to another weekly blockchain news roundup from around the world. Here we present to you all the latest Bitcoin news continent by continent and country by country.

Brazil

Central Bank of Brazil Looks for Blockchain System Upgrades With an Innovation Program: The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) has announced the launch of the second edition of the Laboratory of Financial and Technological Innovations (LIFT). The project looks to accelerate the development of technological innovation in the country’s financial system. Local authorities will select proposals for the innovations with the help of BCB and will collaborate with technology partner companies to create prototypes and solutions for the financial industry. The projects will also address some priority actions for the “BC+” Agenda, which aims at increasing banking efficiency, lowering credit, modernizing the financial system, and enhancing financial inclusion.

CoinBene Brasil Clarifies That It Was Not Hacked: Amidst the circulating rumours, CoinBene unit in Brazil clarified that there was no hacker attack on the platform on 26 March. The suspicions arose after the exchange suspended their operations without any prior notice. However, the company clarified that it was nothing more than a failure of communication with the users. Initially, the company’s Twitter handle announced that it was going through a maintenance period and said,

“In order to improve our users’ experience, CoinBene is updating its wallet platform on the 26th of March. During maintenance, portfolio-related operations will be affected, as will deposits and withdrawals. Trading will not be affected.”

But some members of the exchange claim that the ‘maintenance’ was initiated as a preemptive precaution to avoid any potential threats considering the recent attacks on three exchanges in Singapore.

Banco do Brasil Is Required to Keep Foxbit Accounts: Foxbit has finally won a milestone decision against Bradesco, Banco Inter, and Banco do Brasil, which are now required by law to keep Foxbit’s bank accounts open. It was reported that CAIXA closed the Foxbit account without following all steps recommended by the Central Bank, and the Brazilian court found this enough reason to rule in favour of Foxbit. Previously, Banco do Brasil closed Foxbit’s account citing unlawful company activities as the reason, and the lawsuit has been running since 2017. But this watershed moment will encourage more activity in the Brazilian financial markets, as it marks the first favourable decision for any Brazilian crypto company.

Educational Entities Launch the First Blockchain Course for Business in Brazil: The leading blockchain education institutions in Brazil, Mosaic University and Blockchain Academy, have announced their own one of a kind Blockchain Business course. The course will explain the blockchain landscape in Brazil and will go into in-depth concepts like smart contracts, self-executing computer protocols, and tradeoffs for blockchain infrastructures. It also touches concepts like the nature of tokens, crowdfunding models via blockchain, decentralised applications, and Web 3.0. The course is 100% online with a workload of 42 hours and requires no prior blockchain knowledge.

Argentina

Argentina Wants to Surpass Brazil and Take the Lead in Latin America Blockchain: The government of Argentina has made its intentions clear as it tries to take over Brazil and become a leader in technological innovation in Latin America. For instance, the government held a meeting of Secretariat of Science and Technology with the representatives of the private sector, scientific, and academic community to draw up the policy guidelines for the National Artificial Intelligence Plan 2020-2030. The goal of the meeting was “to define a plan throughout 2019 and insert it into the government’s Digital Agenda to develop a digital intelligence lab.” The government has also enacted several other groundbreaking initiatives such as the development of Artificial Intelligence and blockchain applications, and the Ministry of Production and Labor announced a partnership in Latin America with Binance Labs to financially support the development of blockchain-based projects.

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Leading Chinese Shipping Company Looking to Implement Blockchain Technology

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shipping company

The possible implementation of blockchain technology to finance upstream suppliers is being explored by the China Shipbuilding Industry Company Limited (CSICL), People’s Daily (official Chinese newspaper) reported on 27 March 2019. China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), one of the two biggest Chinese shipping conglomerates, owns CSICL.

A strategic cooperation agreement, concerning supply chain services, was signed between Shanghai Bank and CSICL. A blockchain-backed online supply chain finance platform will be developed by Shanghai Bank and CSICL for CSIC’s upstream suppliers noted the agreement.

Company’s ten major product sections will be covered by the said platform, including, automation distribution systems, marine engineering, gas meters, storage batteries, port machinery, shipbuilding, large steel structure fabrications, turbochargers, diesel engines, and tobacco machinery.

The said agreement is a part of Shanghai Bank’s plan to integrate new technologies into its system to improve business processes.

Previously, in October 2018, an online supply chain financial service platform, named Uplink e-Chain was launched for medium and small enterprises by Shanghai Bank.

Wide application of blockchain technology in various supply chains, especially in the shipping industry has been seen recently. Earlier this year, Zim (largest cargo shipping company in Israel) launched its blockchain-based platform for electronic bills of lading to all clients.

Moreover, a port operating system backed by blockchain, named Edge.Port will be developed by Infotech Baltika (shipping logistics company based in Russia) in collaboration with blockchain startup Iconic (based in Moscow).

Furthermore, a pilot of blockchain-based maritime trade platform (TradeTrust), funded by the Singapore government will be launched during the on-going year. Singapore’s Maritime Port Authority, the Singapore Shipping Association, Singapore Customs and Infocomm Media Development Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding back in January 2019 which led to the announcement of the pilot project.

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Russian Social Media VK Could Launch Own Crypto

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Russian media publication RNS has reported that popular social media platform VKontakte (VK) could soon be launching its own cryptocurrency.

According to an unspecified source, the company had planned a project to develop the cryptocurrency for use by existing users of VK. This would involve the creation of crypto accounts for all these individuals. However, the source also mentioned that no firm decision had arrived as to whether the coin would be launched.

VK had apparently made a presentation to RNS which demonstrated how users would be able to acquire some of these tokens as an incentive for spending time and completing activities on the VK platform. This way, users could earn, collect and then send those tokens between themselves and other users either as payment for services or products.

It would also be a simple way for users to tip each other, rewarding users for content that was interesting or comments that people liked. The tokens would even be exchangeable for fiat currency via its own payment provider, VK Pay.

VK Pay, launched in June 2018, has allowed VK users to send funds to each other via messages and a credit or debit card. Market researcher eMarketer once predicted that VK users would number over 40 million in Russia alone before 2019.

VK is Russia’s third most popular website, ranked by Alexa. Its founder, Pavel Durov, is considered a pro-crypto advocate and is widely respected for his work in developing messaging app Telegram, which focuses on privacy.

 

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KuCoin Review – Can I Trust This Cryptocurrency Exchange?

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KuCoin Review

KuCoin is one of the newer cryptocurrency exchanges to be found online and has grown in popularity since being founded in 2017. The platform is based in Singapore, but also has offices in China, Thailand, Bulgaria, and the Philippines. This platform supports a great range of cryptocurrencies and tokens including its native KuCoin Shares (KCS). Holders of KCS get access to some special features such as discounts and bonuses. We will discuss these features and much more, in the following KuCoin review.

Setup and Verification

Setting up an account on KuCoin is a pretty smooth process. First, you enter and confirm an email address, and after that, you will be able to create a password.

sign up kucoin review

To deposit money, Google 2-factor authentification or SMS verification needs to be set up and a trading password needs to be created. This is necessary to create a deposit address on the platform. Until recently fiat deposits were not possible, however, since partnering with Simplex, users are able to purchase cryptocurrencies with Visa and MasterCard in over 100 countries. The platform currently supports purchasing with USD and EUR only.

At the moment, SMS verification is available in 9 countries including the USA, Canada, China, UK, India, Indonesia, Turkey, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Users can fill out the optional KYC form as an individual or a company by entering some personal or company information. There is a limit for unverified users with withdrawals capped at a maximum of 2 bitcoins per 24hr period.

Purchase

The exchange platform itself is modern, clean and simple, making it easy to get around and understand. Choosing the desired trading pair will take you to the exchange platform which is pretty standard containing everything that you need, such as an order book, charts and so on.

trading kucoin review

KuCoin offers 4 types of orders: limit order, market order, stop limit order and stop market order. However, before making any purchase you need to create a trading password. This is a feature new to KuCoin – a six-digit password used for withdrawals, transactions, and API creation. You have to enter this password before placing a trade. Once you enter the password, you won’t be asked to do so again for the next 2 hours. It can be a little bit irritating, but it adds an extra layer of security.

KuCoin exchange supports almost 400 live markets and users can choose crypto trading pairs including BTC, ETH, KSC, NEO, DAI, SC, USDT, PAX, TUSD, and USDC.

Smaller withdrawal amounts are usually processed very quickly and can be completed in a few seconds, while larger amounts can take up to ten minutes. Deposits take about two minutes to be completed.

Fees

KuCoin offers low and transparent fee structure. A trading fee of 0.1% is charged, which is much lower than some of their competitors’ offering such as Coinmama and Bitpanda. Withdrawal fees and minimums can vary depending on the currency and amount. For example, when withdrawing Bitcoin or Ethereum, fees are just 0.0005 BTC or 0.01 ETH and minimum withdrawals of 0.002 BTC and 0.02 ETH apply. Additionally, for some currencies such as GAS and NEO, there are no withdrawal fees.

Cryptocurrency deposits are free, while Simplex charges 5% on fiat deposits.

It’s also important to mention that KuCoin keeps only 10% of trading fees. The remaining 90% is divided between the Invitation Bonus program and users that have KCS in their accounts. The main benefit of holding KCS is that the users have access to a Trading Fee Discount. Currently, each user that holds at least 1000 KCS will receive a 1% discount. The discount percentage increases in this ratio until it reaches a maximum of no more than 30%. This means that users holding 30.000 KCS will get the maximum trading discount of 30%.

Privacy and Security

KuCoin uses the latest encryption technology and their team takes all measures necessary to ensure user data and funds are kept safe. We mentioned earlier that no trade, withdrawal, or API creation is possible without a trading password. If a trading password is changed for some reason, withdrawals will be disabled for the next 24 hours after the application is approved. The platform also supports 2FA Google verification, which is strongly recommended. On the dashboard, you will find a history of your previous logins and you will receive an email every time you sign in. You can also check their regularly updated Account Security section for recommendations on how to avoid phishing attacks and measures you should take to ensure your account is secure.

According to KuCoin, the sensitive data exchanged between users and the platform is encrypted and protected with digital signatures. Moreover, all personal user information will be deleted or made anonymous as soon as such details are no longer relevant or required.

Customer Support

KuCoin’s customer support is outstanding. Their team is highly professional and will respond within minutes. Most of the things you need to know can be found in their FAQ section. However, if your problem requires assistance, you can contact user support via online chat which is available 24/7 or via their ticketing system. They are also active on Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, and Facebook where they can be contacted in about 7 different languages.

KuCoin Review Summary

As we have already heard in this KuCoin review, the exchange is still new and some people may be sceptical at first. But so far, KuCoin has proven itself a reliable platform, with a team of professionals there to meet customer needs. The simplistic interface is modern and easy to navigate, which makes it suitable for beginners. Fees are low in comparison to some of their competitors and their fee structure is simple with no hidden costs. The small number of accepted fiat currencies and limited SMS verification availability may turn some users off the exchange. However, as they demonstrated with their recent improvements and partnership with Simplex, KuCoin is upgrading the platform constantly. So it is likely we can expect more fiat options and better SMS verification availability in the near future.

If after reading this KuCoin review you would like to try out this new exchange, you can sign up here and open an account. Equally, you can have a look at our other reviews here.

 

Disclaimer: Bitcoin News does not provide any warranties towards the accuracy of the statements in the above KuCoin review. Any content on this site should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. It is your responsibility to perform your own research of the platform. Trading and investing in cryptocurrencies involves considerable risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor.

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Netflix and Airbnb Products Now Available Through Crypto-Purchased Gift Cards

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US media streaming service provider Netflix and online hospitality services site Airbnb are set to accept payments with gift cards purchased using cryptocurrency this month.

Bitrefill, a shopping platform with cryptocurrency payment options, has introduced a service enabling purchase of both Netflix and Airbnb gift cards, although at the moment such purchases are limited to US users.

The cards which come in denominations of $25, $50 and $100 are valid for 28 nights and can be purchased via the site using a range of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin. Bitrefill welcomed the chance to incorporate support for major sites such as Netflix, commenting:

“Great news — We’re excited to roll out support for a highly requested service: Netflix! Subscriptions with the world’s largest streaming service can now be purchased and renewed with Bitcoin, Lightning, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, and Dogecoin.”

Although clearly this is not the optimum way of making both Netflix and Airbnb payments due to the absence of both companies having their own crypto payments system, but it is a step forward, allowing US cryptocurrency users yet another way of accessing a popular service by spending their crypto assets.

However, as global interest in using Bitcoin as a payment method increases, some big names are already onboard accepting the digital currency, such as Microsoft, Subway, Overstock, Reddit, Playboy, and Virgin Galactic. Expedia, one of the world’s major travel agencies, allows you to pay for hotel bookings with bitcoins, with the possibility of users being able to pay for flights using crypto at some point in the near future.

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Bithumb Looses Almost $19 Mln in EOS, XRP ”Insider” Theft

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South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb suffered an attack that allegedly led to the theft of USD 19 million in EOS and XRP. The exchange addressed the circumstances of the hack on Twitter, on Saturday 30 March.

Bithumb details that suspicious activity was first detected at 10:15 on 29 March in the manner of abnormal withdrawals. All funds following this detection were secured via cold wallet storage, while users accounts have been temporarily blocked from making any deposits or withdrawals.

An insider attack

The exchange took full responsibility for the attack, claiming that it had only concentrated its security efforts on external attacks and this appears to have involved ”insiders.” It also apologized to clients for neglecting to verify members of its staff.

Despite this incident being the second hack that Bithumb has been subject to in less than a year, a statement from the exchange promised there would be no further security compromises.

During this latest attack, the EOS hot wallet sent consecutive payments totaling USD 12.5 million into the attacker’s wallet before the exchange realized what was happening. According to a report from the Block Crypto, an additional USD 6.2 million in Ripple was also stolen.

It has been speculated that the attack came as a result of Bithumb’s employee layoffs which has reportedly affected up to 50% of the workforce.

 

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Bitmain Reveals Next-Gen Antminer S17 Launch Date

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Major cryptocurrency mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain has revealed the launch date for its latest technology, the Antminer S17 series.

Comprised of three different models: the Antminer S17 Pro, Antminer S17, and Antminer T17, the series will go on sale internationally on 9 April. Bitmain claims the second-generation 7nm ASIC chips will save 28.6% energy consumption during the mining process. While the company says the S17 series will operate at a higher hash rate, they did not reveal further details regarding numbers.

The company noted that with heavy electricity costs in relation to Bitcoin’s current prices, the ”improved energy efficiency” of the new models will lead to a ”significant drop in costs,” improving the profit margin.

It was recently revealed that Bitmain would deploy 200,00 of its own mining devices to Southwestern China after an executive decision was made that it would be more profitable to do so than to sell them.

A poorly performing cryptocurrency market has influenced fiscally conservative policies for the company. Bitmain closed its Israel center in December and reduced its Netherland operations earlier this year in January.

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Can Animated Series ‘Bitcoin and Friends’ Make Bitcoin Fun Again?

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Can Animated Series 'Bitcoin and Friends' Make Bitcoin Fun Again_

A hand reaches out in the dim, a keyboard clack. Command lines flood up on a screen to the tinkling of electronic clatter. An orange sphere enters view, the command to awake received. No, wait, a coin. With a marking below his face perhaps interpretable as the ‘B’ alphabet.

A confused, shaky greeting is the first utterance from ‘B’ as its creator looms over him. A cryptic message is issued. Then he is abandoned. Left to discover who or what his nature is in an unforgiving world.

Yet ‘B’ is not without friends.

It’s a take on the first scenes from the trailer of “Bitcoin and Friends“, the fan-funded animated series from Uncle Chris Productions that tells the implausible story of Bitcoin went from obscure code to world’s most popular digital currency and geek darling of the internet. At least, that’s one way of looking at it.

For those who’ve seen it, it’s the opening of Episode 1: Tears of a Clown, freshly released to the public yesterday. It tells the story of a coin who wakes up alone in New Jersey amid the chaos of the 2009 financial crisis. After meeting ice-cream truck driver Jones, they go in search of his father.

What happens in the episode is a lot less sanitized than the previous description.

Making Bitcoin fun again

Producer Robert Allen told Bitcoin News that the guys behind the new series were from a diverse range of backgrounds, from video production to banking and “all united in our deep love of Bitcoin, comedy and cartoons”.

Asked about the inspiration behind Bitcoin and Friends, Allen said:

“The story of Bitcoin and crypto is so colorful that it was an obvious treasure trove of good comedy and compelling characters and stories, so we knew we had to do something with that. Definitely, it was a long time coming and it needed to be done. We hope the community feels the same and embraces what we are creating.”

Bitcoin, Bitcoin News is told (we asked), is also “100% binary” and has chosen not to self identify. Uncle Chris, creator and director, and the voice actor for the central character Bitcoin, hints at some of the other messaging in the show:

“In the pilot episode, we start at the beginning of Bitcoin in 2009 and wanted to show the frailty and uncertainty of those early days. Bitcoin will become more powerful and confident as the season progresses.”

The location of New Jersey, “a nice in between and cross-section of America”, was also deliberate: “We wanted to show the struggles of many in a rust belt town but also wanted to be close enough to NYC to have some scenes there as well.”

Wholesome fare for Bitcoiners and Nocoiners

The guys behind Bitcoin and Friends wrote the cartooon with the main aim of creating a compelling story and to entertain people. Bitcoin News asked if the people involved were actual Bitcoin users and supporters. Allen’s response was that it didn’t matter, and that people shouldn’t take themselves or others too seriously:

“…we hope to also educate non-crypto people about Bitcoin and related technologies and bring them into the space. We think it could be a good entry point for the non-initiated. We also hope the show will be a bit of a pressure release valve for the crypto community at large… We don’t think an actor has to be a Bitcoiner to be involved with the project. After all, how do you spread the word about Bitcoin if you only talk to other Bitcoiners?”

That said, there are some clear indications of where the loyalties lie for some members of the crew. The “core team” consists of Uncle Chris, Jumper Jake, Broccoli Rob and Berdian Torres, with some choosing to use pseudonyms as a homage to Satoshi.

Will Japanese school girls ditch Hello Kitty for Bitcoin and Friends?

Bitcoin may have friends but he can’t finish his story without his fans. As a fan-funded production, Bitcoin and Friends are seeking donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. Rob (Allen) explained:

“We have several seasons outlined and hope that the show catches on so that we can continue to produce episodes. For those who enjoy the show, we ask that you please help us get the word out and donate to help us cover the production costs. Bitcoin is already famous, but we want school girls in Japan to replace their Hello Kitty gear with Bitcoin and Friends merch someday soon!”

Will there be a happy ending for Bitcoin?

“Are you talking about a reach-around?” Rob winks. “The story of Bitcoin is still being written, but we are hoping for a very happy ending.”

 

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Town in Ontario to Accept Tax Payments in BTC From Next Month

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Bitcoin (BTC) can be used to pay property tax from next month, the town of Innisfil, Ontario declared on Thursday. The municipality administration stated that the program will be launched on a trial basis for one year.

The town will join hands with Coinberry, a digital assets trading platform based in Toronto to offer digital currency payment option. The firm is registered with Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

From April onwards, the municipality’s website will offer BTC as a payment option to more than 36,000 residents of the town. As per the statement, other cryptocurrencies such as ripple (XRP), ether (ETH) and bitcoin cash (BCH) may also be included as a payment option in the near future.

The Coinberry Pay digital currency payment processing solution will be used by the residents to pay property taxes in BTC to Innisfil’s digital wallet.

In the next step, BTC will be immediately converted to Canadian dollars and transferred to the municipality by Coinberry. During the funds processing and conversion, Coinberry will strictly follow “the existing financial regulatory requirements”.

Expressing his views on the development, Lynn Dollin (Innisfil mayor) stated that cryptocurrency will grow in usage and popularity. Therefore, the municipality wanted to make sure that it is “ahead of the game”. It will help in giving an impression to the world that we are an innovative community, he added.

Previously, in November 2018, the US state of Ohio also announced that it accepts tax payments in BTC.

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Binance CEO CZ: Fake Volume Reports Are Useful for Crypto Industry to Move Forward

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In an interview, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, said that the recent fake trading volumes by many exchanges will, in fact, be useful for the crypto industry.

Zhao elaborated on the comment, saying that the recent reports of exchanges faking their volumes will force the industry to get more transparent. He also exonerated CoinMarketCap, which is one of the most popular crypto rankings websites, from the recent blame game:

“It’s not so much Coinmarketcap’s fault; everyone tried to blame on them [sic]. But CoinMarketCap has a very simple reporting mechanism where every exchange reports their own data to them, and they just show it.”

Zhao noted that potential penalties from CoinMarketCap, like delisting an exchange caught faking volumes, could help in resolving the problem for good and can encourage high transparency levels throughout the industry.

Cointelegraph conducted the interview in the wake of new research from the trading analytics platform, The Tie, which reported volume figures from 97 exchanges and concluded that a vast majority of the crypto trade volumes, around some 87%, may not exist.

The Tie’s co-founder Joshua Frank commented on the report and said that there is an easy way to identify a legitimate transaction and distinguish it from a fake one. He explained how users would usually not transfer more than 1 Bitcoin (BTC) (about $4,000) or sometimes even less, so transactions going above $20,000 are unrealistic and usually fraudulent.

Recently, cryptocurrency index fund provider Bitwise Asset Management also revealed a similar trend in their report with a focus on Bitcoin trading. The report stated that almost 95% of volume on unregulated exchanges seem to be fake or non-economic. Bitwise also accused CoinMarketCap of listing the suspect data and creating a false impression of the actual size of the BTC market. In the report, Binance was declared as one of the mere ten crypto exchanges that displayed “actual volume.”

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What Is DeFi and Where Does It Leave Bitcoin?

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<br /><br /> <br /><br /> The Bitcoin bull and bear market cycles are a pattern that produces significant developments — when the market is cold, people tend to focus on building the next wave of groundbreaking technology. One of the most interesting things emerging from this particular bear market has been a concept known as “decentralized finance,” manifested primarily by services that allow you to earn interest or borrow against your cryptocurrency holdings.What Is DeFi?Decentralized finance, or “DeFi” for short, is an umbrella concept describing any financial services that are built on top of public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It also encompasses all ICO activity, which, at present, mostly takes place on Ethereum.Stablecoins like Tether and Gemini dollar, which are essentially just IOUs for fiat sitting in reserves, do not qualify as DeFi projects by their inherent nature. Maker, on the other hand, includes both a collateralized lending system and stablecoin (DAI) that are both decentralized — making it more of a fit under the DeFi umbrella.Several systems have emerged that also offer DeFi lending services like Dharma Lever, Compound and Celsius Network. Other services, like dYdX and Nuo, allow you to short, hedge or margin trade. Prediction markets are also an emerging decentralized financial service, with Augur being the most relevant example. Consistent among all of these services, and all that decentralized finance has to offer, is that it requires no third party, bank or clearing house, and often is entirely permissionless.DeFi and BitcoinBitcoin itself, at the most basic level, may be considered the original decentralized finance project. People who use Bitcoin are already acting as their own banks (as long as they control their own private keys) and can permissionlessly exchange value with whomever they want, anywhere. While this the simplest form of decentralized finance, it may also be the most powerful. Bitcoin users are able to open up “bank accounts,” or new wallets, in seconds. They can securely store their wealth in a value that is protected by mathematics from random inflation and can spend this value however they want.The question of whether or not more sophisticated, decentralized financial services will migrate to Bitcoin is not a matter of if, but when. Over time, Bitcoin sidechains may be able to provide services similar to what we are seeing on Ethereum. Today, however, Ethereum is much better designed to handle DeFi services due to its complex smart contract capabilities.Nonetheless, new projects are already being envisioned on Bitcoin, like Bitcoin Hivemind. According to the website, Hivemind is a “Peer-to-Peer Oracle Protocol which absorbs accurate data into a blockchain so that Bitcoin users can speculate in Prediction Markets.”Why Is DeFi Growing?Decentralized finance is becoming popular for several key reasons, which are all parallel to the ethos of Bitcoin itself. There are no banks on which people need to rely, no trust is needed to interact with the other party, access is available 24/7 and settlements are relatively fast.And the numbers speak for themselves. As of March 2019, the amount of value locked in DeFi projects stands at $338 million, according to Delphi Digital’s thematic overview of DeFi. The research firm’s overview showcases the popular DeFi services, which they categorize by “DEXs,” “Lending and Borrowing” protocols and “Derivatives, Margin Trading, &amp; Prediction Markets.”Delphi also cited potential benefits of DeFi as being permissionless, censorship resistant, immutable, programmable and offering minimal counterparty risk. An important note, however, is that the report did not address the potential systematic risks of decentralized finance. Rather, it cited only near-term concerns, which touch on the notion that decentralized finance results in “non-existent links to physical/traditional assets” as well as “limited on-chain throughput” and “limited product/market fit.”<br /><br /> <br /><br /> This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

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Bitmain Announces Antminer s17 Date: Can It Turn the Company’s Fortunes Around?

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<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Cryptomining manufacturer Bitmain has revealed the release date for its next-generation Antminer S17 series. The S17 set of miners includes the Antminer S17 Pro, Antminer S17 and the Antminer T17.The Antminer S17 is the latest in the company’s line of fabless mining chips. According to the post, the chips, which are expected to go on sale from April 9, 2019, will provide an energy-efficient means of mining popular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and bitcoin cash.The miners will be fitted with the 2nd generation 7nm ASIC BM1397 mining chips which Bitmain claims would provide a 28.6 percent improvement in power efficiency.According to Yanxin, Bitmain’s product manager, the improved energy efficiency of the S17 miners will lead to &quot;improved performance compared to the previous generation chip&quot; and the increase in the &quot;hashrate density per unit space,&quot; which reduces costs for mining farms.A Fortuitous Launch Date?The timing of the S17 series launch appears to be following a strategic pattern. The Bitcoin halving is projected to hit in May 2020, just over a year after the new miners become available. The ASIC hardware producer used a similar strategy in introducing the Antminer S9 model in 2016.The halving sees to it that the reward given to a miner for mining a block is halved after the discovery of every 210,000 blocks (which takes about four years on average). It is expected that there will be a renewed bull run leading to the third halving, which will see the block rewards reduced from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.Bitmain’s planned launch of its next-generation S17 series miners wil allow it to capitalize on this expected bull run, which could be fueled by an increased desire to mine bitcoin (before the rewards are cut in half).Bitmain’s ChallengesThe Chinese crypto mining giant has been widely reported to be struggling in the last few months. The latest blow to the company was the expiration of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) filing, which was triggered by the lack of a hearing from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx).As Bitcoin Magazine reported, the listing rules from the Chinese financial regulator provide for a six-month consideration window and a closed-door committee hearing before approval is given to an IPO application.If an applicant doesn’t get a response from the regulator after this period, then the application automatically lapses.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

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What Does the Bitmain IPO Abolition Mean for Cryptocurrency Industry?

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Bitmain

Bitmain Technologies has abandoned its IPO enthusiasm after the company’s Hong Kong stock market proposal listing expired earlier this week, sparking debate on the future of the entire cryptocurrency market.

The company did say that it plans to reapply at an appropriate time in the future, saying that “despite the huge potential of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, it remains a relatively young industry which is proving its value.”

Bitmain IPO Abandonment

The bitcoin mining giant attracted $700 million from investors in Asia leading up to its much-anticipated initial public offering, which has spurred ...

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Zebpay Integrates Bitcoin Lightning Payments on Its Mobile App

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<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay now supports Lightning payments. The exchange announced the news via a blog post, where it claims to be the &quot;first major exchange&quot; to enable Lightning payments for its users.Per the report, Zebpay users can now login into their wallet and use their bitcoin balances to make micro-purchases for free.“Making Bitcoin technology widely accessible is a key component of our roadmap. Today, with the integration of the Lightning Network, we have taken yet another step in this direction,” Zebpay&#x27;s CEO Ajeet Khurana explained in the release.Wider Adoption of CryptoZebpay believes Lightning payments can drive widespread adoption of bitcoin across the globe by making it easier to make payments for goods and services without fees.The post reads:&quot;Zebpay would bear the transaction cost for all lightning transactions done from its wallet and continue to evangelize this technology.&quot;To start using Lightning, Zebpay users have to sign into their wallets and enable the Lightning tab. Lightning payments on Zebpay will work in quick, easy steps that involve either scanning or pasting the product&#x27;s invoice into the wallet to effect payment.Lightning payments through Zebpay are currently limited to 10 transactions a day for a total value of 0.002 Bitcoin (roughly $8 at current price). Khurana, however, believes the amount gets the job done for most purchases. In an email interview with Bitcoin Magazine, he said the exchange &quot;found that most Lightning stores can be served with this limit. There is no reason why Zebpay won&#x27;t keep revising and improving this based on how the ecosystem/tech grows. In fact, right after the first day of going live, we (Zebpay) doubled their limits.&quot;Lightning payments are available for users on both the Android and iOs app. Earlier this year, Zebpay expanded its presence in Europe, opening offices in Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Lithuania and Liechtenstein.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

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Bitcoin Accumulation is Heating Up

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Bitcoin Accumulation is Heating Up

Unspent transaction outputs (UTXO) for Bitcoin have reached an all time high, a marker that many observers are treating as yet another sign that people are once more accumulating the cryptocurrency. The year 2019 has been increasingly billed as the period of accumulation for Bitcoin holders, and this is just the latest in a series of growing indications that this is in fact the case.

UTXOs are simply outputs on the Bitcoin blockchain that have yet to be spent as inputs. The last time they were in a peak was towards late 2017 and early 2018 at the height of a frenzied Bitcoin market, and they hit rock bottom in mid-2018 but have been picking up since.

Twitter user fil₿fil₿ shows a chart showing the steadily rising level of UTXOs.

Earlier this year, it was noted that the top 100 rich list addresses for Bitcoin had been growing even bigger, a sign that the world’s richest bitcoin holders have taken the opportunity of low prices to add to their already significant holdings. The same was also observed with Ether, with Bitcoin News reporting on Diar’s research figures that Ether whales had increased their holding by four-fold since 2017.

Despite all the positive signs for both Bitcoin and Ether, however, neither asset has been able to show strong bullish patterns in the market. At time of writing, Bitcoin is making a fresh surge towards $4,100 as it resumes another bid to break resistance levels at this current price zone, while Ether appears to be testing resistance just above the $140 mark.

 

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PR: Buzzex Global Crypto Exchange Announces Start of Trading Operations

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buzzex

Bitcoin Press Release: UK-based crypto exchange platform Buzzex has just announced the start of trading on its’ platform, alongside many developments, competitions, and programs.

Friday 29th March, 2019, London, United Kingdom – Buzzex is a new secure digital asset trading platform, built by a group of traders and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, which boasts some unique features. Built from the ground, it will allow traders to maximize their profits with every trade they make. The trading platform will open up with over 100 active coins and markets for traders to exchange digital currencies.

Introducing the Smart Order Routing System

Instead of an isolated liquidity source, Buzzex uses a smart order routing system to not only display orders in its own order book, but also display the best orders from other liquidity sources. This guarantees liquidity in all markets from day 1.

As more and more liquidity sources are connected, it will allow traders to maximize their profits from every trade by getting the best price to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, as well as ensuring fast execution of trades as orders potentially get filled from multiple sources. Find more information about the Buzzex Global Order Book here.

Buzzex Arbitrage Plugin

Qualifying traders will also be able to benefit from the arbitrage plugin. Launching 6 months after Buzzex opens its’ doors, it will analyze orders in the global order book and perform triangular trades on multiple exchange platforms simultaneously. This will allow traders holding coins on the Buzzex platform to grow the coins in their wallets without actually having to perform trades themselves. Find out all the details about the Buzzex Arbitrage Plugin here.

Buzzex Coins

Buzzex coins are the utility coins of the Buzzex platform. It is a masternode/proof of stake coin on its own blockchain that allows qualifying traders to get up to 100% discount on trading fees and earn part of the daily trading fees in BTC, ETH or USDT, by simply holding them in their Buzzex wallet.

Buzzex Coins also give holders voting power to decide which new coins get added to the platform. The first 6 months of trading, traders will earn BZX as fee cashback at a rate of $0.13 while trading on the Buzzex platform. Learn more about mining Buzzex Coins here.

$13 Million Trading Competition

To further distribute Buzzex Coins to active traders on the Buzzex trading platform, every coin will have its own mini-trading competition which will last for 6 months. Up to 100 million BZX ($13 Million value based on fee cashback) will be distributed to up to 4,400 traders.

Traders with the highest volume for each coin will win 20,000 BZX coins or more, automatically qualifying them to trade with zero fees and earn daily fees in all base currencies forever. Certain requirements need to be met in order to validate the competition of each coin listed on Buzzex. More info can be found here.

Coin Partner Program

Every coin project which is validated during the trading competition will be able to earn 1 million BZX to help grow their project. This can be used for development, or for marketing purposes. As an important note, only the first 100 projects of which the trading competition gets validated will be able to acquire the 1 million BZX by verifying coin ownership.

In times when coin developer teams are cutting down on costs, Buzzex wants to enable a system in which a trading platform gives back to the community to help grow the global blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem. Find more info about the Buzzex coin partner program here.

Traders interested in testing out the platform to reap all the benefits can join Buzzex today and start trading from one secure account on multiple order books. Buzzex’s aim is to provide the deepest liquidity in all markets, to offer the widest variety of digital assets, the best prices to buy and sell cryptocurrencies at any time and the fastest execution of orders to maximize trader’s profits.

Media Contact Details
Contact Name: Loreen Estillore
Contact Position: Director
Contact Email: support@buzzex.io

For more information, visit the Buzzex website: https://buzzex.io/pre-launch

Check out the Buzzex Ambassador Programme
Connect with Buzzex on Facebook
Connect with Buzzex on LinkedIn
Stay up to date with Buzzex on Twitter

This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. The Buzzex token sale is closed to US participants and participants of all countries in which ICOs are illegal.

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Op Ed: Answering 10 Common Questions About Cryptocurrency and Taxes

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<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Depending on what country you live in, your cryptocurrency will be subject to different tax rules. The questions below address implications within the United States, specifically, but similar issues arise around the world. As always, check with a local tax professional to assess your own particular tax situation.Are My Cryptocurrency Trades Taxable?Yes. Cryptocurrency is treated as property by the IRS in the United States. This means that it is subject to capital gains and losses rules similar to other forms of property like stocks, bonds, real estate and gold.You need to file taxes for your trades when you trade one coin for another or whenever you sell your crypto. Simply buying and holding cryptocurrency is not taxable; you only realize your gain or loss when you sell it.How Do I Calculate My Gains and Losses From My Crypto Trades?To calculate your capital gains and losses on your crypto trades, apply this formula:Fair Market Value – Cost Basis = Capital Gain / LossFair market value is simply how much an asset would sell for on the open market. Again, with cryptocurrency, this fair market value is how much the coin was worth in terms of U.S. dollars at the time of the sale.Cost basis is the original value of an asset for tax purposes. In the world of crypto, your cost basis is essentially how much it cost you to acquire the coin.For example:Let’s say you bought 5 ETH on Coinbase in January of 2018. You paid $2,000 for these ETH ($400 for each coin). After the market took a turn for the worse, you sold 3 of these ETH in July for $150 each.In this example, your cost basis for the 3 ETH that you sold is $1,200 (3 * $400). You sold the coins for $450 total. This is your fair market value.Doing the math: $450 – $1,200 = -$750.You incurred a $750 capital loss. You would file this loss on your taxes and it would reduce your tax bill. You would not owe taxes on the 2 ETH that you are still holding because you haven&#x27;t traded or sold them yet.Keep in mind, coin-to-coin trades are considered both a “buy” and a “sell” for tax purposes.A Coin-to-Coin Trade Example:So, let’s say instead of selling your 3 ETH for U.S. dollars, you traded your 3 ETH for X amount of bitcoin. In this case, you have still triggered a taxable event, but now your fair market value is a little bit harder to calculate. You need to know what the value of the 3 ETH was in USD at the time of trading to calculate your loss on the transaction.Using bitcoin tax software to crunch all of these historical numbers can be a huge time saver.What Do I Do With My 1099-K from Coinbase, Gemini or Another Exchange?A 1099-K is a form that reports credit card transactions and third-party network payments that you have received during the year. It is not an &quot;entry&quot; document, meaning you don&#x27;t need to attach or &quot;include&quot; it with your tax return.1099-Ks from exchanges like Coinbase report the total dollar amount of transactions that occurred from your account. This number can, therefore, be very large and not at all representative of how much money you put into Coinbase or how much money you owe or do not owe in Coinbase taxes. The IRS is aware of this. Tax documents from exchanges like Coinbase will also be completely inaccurate if you ever moved crypto into other wallets, exchanges or other platforms differing from the one that sent you the 1099-K.In order to properly report your crypto taxes, you need to capture your holistic crypto activity across all exchanges and platforms and complete a 8949 form.Can I Save Money on My Taxes if I Lost Money Trading?Yes. If you realized losses throughout the year from trading crypto, these losses can and should be used to offset other capital gains as well as up to $3,000 in ordinary income. Keep in mind, you need to “realize” these gains to be able to write them off on your taxes.What does this look like in real life?Let&#x27;s say you gained $20,000 in the stock market this year (this is a capital gain) and you lost $20,000 trading cryptocurrency. Your loss in crypto would completely offset your $20,000 stock market gain. Therefore, you would pay no taxes on your stock market activity. If you are at a 25 percent tax bracket, this form of tax loss harvesting would save you $5,000 in taxes ($20,000 * 0.25).Note, there are many other forms of capital gains that your crypto can offset.What if I have no other forms of capital gains?In the scenario, where you have no other capital gains, your losses simply offset your income up to $3,000.As an example, let’s say you started 2018 doing really well as a crypto trader. You made $5,000 trading BTC and ETH. Once August rolled around and the markets took a turn for the worse, you got hit hard and the value of your portfolio dropped significantly. You ended up selling out of all of your positions and took a $7,000 loss. From here, you would be able to harvest a $2,000 loss for the year. This loss would be deducted from your taxable income for the year. If you made $50,000 on the year in income, only $48,000 of that income would be taxable.Crypto Is so Complex. Will the Government Really be Able to Prove I Am Not Accurately Reporting My Taxes?It is actually not on the IRS to “prove” that you accurately reported. If audited, the IRS will require you to prove to them that you handled your money and cryptocurrency in the way you claimed on your tax return. The concept of “innocent until proven guilty” does not apply to the world of IRS audits.The IRS has also made it clear that it is taking cryptocurrency very seriously after it announced on July 2, 2018, that one of its core campaigns and focuses for the year is the taxation of virtual currencies.When Do I Owe Taxes on My Cryptocurrency?The following examples have been taken from the official IRS guidance from 2014 as to what is considered a “taxable event” for cryptocurrency. A taxable event is simply a fancy term describing the circumstances in which you incur a tax liability that you must report.Trading cryptocurrency to fiat currency like the U.S. dollar is a taxable event.Trading cryptocurrency to cryptocurrency is a taxable event (you have to calculate the fair market value in USD at the time of the trade).Using cryptocurrency for goods and services is a taxable event (again, you have to calculate the fair market value in USD at the time of the trade; you may also end up owing sales tax).Giving cryptocurrency as a gift is not a taxable event (the recipient inherits the cost basis; the gift tax still applies if you exceed the gift tax exemption amount).A wallet-to-wallet transfer is not a taxable event (you can transfer between exchanges or wallets without realizing capital gains and losses, so make sure to check your records against the records of your exchanges as they may count transfers as taxable events as a safe harbor).Buying cryptocurrency with USD is not a taxable event. You don’t realize gains until you trade, use or sell your crypto. If you hold for longer than a year, you can realize long-term capital gains (which are about half the rate of short-term gains.) If you hold for less than a year, you realize short-term capital gains and losses.Cryptocurrencies Change in Value All of the Time. How Do I Know What Value to Report to the IRS?Virtual currency wages, self-employment income or cryptocurrency trades should be reported using the full fair market value of the cryptocurrency at the time the payment was made. If you don’t have a record of what the fair market value of your crypto was when you received it, you can look up previous USD values manually or upload your trades into specific crypto tax calculators to automate the process.Will I Be Audited if I Don’t Report my Cryptocurrency Gains and Losses?Obviously, no one can answer this question for certain. Audits do not happen very often for average citizens; however, as noted above, the IRS has explicitly stated that the taxation of virtual currencies is one of its core campaigns and focuses for the year. Staying on the right side of the law and avoiding tax fraud is a safe way to go.Rest assured, it really is not that difficult of a process to report your crypto trades. If you have questions regarding IRS audits or your specific situation, it can be helpful to connect with a specialized crypto accountant.I Didn’t Report My Cryptocurrency Transactions During Previous Years. What Should I Do?If you did not report your cryptocurrency trades in previous years, you should amend your previous tax returns to accurately report these numbers. The IRS is retroactively going back as far as 2013 in audits against cryptocurrency non-compliance.My Employer Pays My Wages in Virtual Currency. Do I Need to Report This On My Taxes?Yes. Wages paid via cryptocurrency are treated as income for tax purposes. You will need to report this income by using the fair value of the cryptocurrency at the time you earned it. You can identify historical values automatically by importing your crypto income into crypto tax software.This is a guest post by David Kemmerer, co-founder of CryptoTrader.Tax. Views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Bitcoin Magazine or BTC Inc. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or accounting advice. Always seek guidance from a tax accounting professional when assessing your individual tax situation.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

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SimpleFX Review: Is it so Simple to Use ?

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SimpleFX Review - Is it so Simple to Use ?

SimpleFX has offered CFD and forex trading since 2014, giving users the ability to fund accounts with a range of cryptocurrencies. Traders on the platform have the ability to trade in a wide range of markets, including indices, precious metals, energy commodities and cryptocurrency CFDs. As the name implies, their aim is to be the simplest trading platform out there. We will explore whether this is the case in this SimpleFX review and find out if it offers beginner-friendly trading without compromising on professional CFD and forex trading tools.

SimpleFX the company

SimpleFX has been operating since 2014 and has headquarters in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The platform is AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliant and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant.  Currently, SimpleFX is very accessible and available in over 160 countries.

However, citizens and residents of the following countries are unable to trade on SimpleFX: Algeria, Bahamas, Botswana, Cuba, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Monaco, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America, Yemen and anywhere else that doesn’t legally allow this type of trading or platform.

Account Setup

As we previously mentioned in this SimpleFX review, the platform allows users to trade using cryptocurrencies with a crypto account as well as with fiat currencies with a fiat account. Professional traders also have access to an enterprise account. Fiat currency accounts need to be verified and to do so SimpleFX requires a copy of a government-issued ID, some personal information and a photo.

Cryptocurrency accounts don’t require verification and are particularly attractive as you can trade in a 24/7 market, there are no charges for deposits, no minimum deposits and traders can leverage up to 1:500. You don’t have to decide between a cryptocurrency account or fiat account as SimpleFX conveniently allows users to open multiple accounts in different currencies. Note that fiat accounts will still require verification.

Before depositing funds to begin trading on SimpleFX, you also have the opportunity to use multiple demo accounts in different currencies to test out the functions and explore the platform.

Deposits

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the site you can deposit crypto and begin trading by going to the accounts page of the menu, selecting your country of residence and selecting one of the supported cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Litecoin or Ethereum.

Accepted fiat currencies include: US dollars, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, Japanese yen, Swiss francs, Danish krone, British pounds, Norwegian krona, Polish zloty, Indonesian Rupiah, Russian rubles, and the Swedish krona.

Deposit options for fiat currencies include: Neteller, Skrill, Rapid transfer by Skrill and Fasapay.

 

simplefx review deposits

 

All deposits, crypto or otherwise, are fee free and fiat transfer times are near instant. However, cryptocurrency transfers can take up to an hour to be deposited. There is also a minimum of USD 20 (or the equivalent in the chosen deposit currency) for most fiat deposit options. Cryptocurrency deposits have no minimums; however, all of this information is neatly and conveniently displayed when each deposit method is selected.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals are simple but there are a few things to take note of:

  1. Funds have to be withdrawn in the same way as they were deposited e.g. when you deposit with credit card, the withdrawal must be made via credit card.

  2. Withdrawals involving electronic payment systems, cryptocurrencies, and bank cards are processed within 24 hours. Bank transfers usually take between 3 and 5 business days.

  3. Bitcoin withdrawals must be a minimum of BTC 0.001, attract 0% fees with a BTC 0.0005 minimum.

  4. Fiat withdrawal fees and minimums depend on the withdrawal method but must be a minimum of between USD 0 and USD 10 with fees of 1% – 3%.

Trading and tools

As this SimpleFX review previously mentioned, we would like to find out not just if the platform is easy to use and navigate, but if it also offers professional tools for traders. SimpleFX uses MetaTrader 4, probably the most popular trading software in the world which can be downloaded for free if you do not already have it.

Trade types such as Stop Loss and Take Profit are supported as well as a range of graphing functions. Users can also trade over the SimpleFX app which is functional and well designed making it easy to use. Available for both iOS and Android, the app allows for a lot of trading functions and tools on the go.

Real-time quote streaming, support of multiple currency accounts, in-depth trading statistics, practical graphing layout and functions provide a professional and refined trading experience.  With over 6o currency pairs and the number of trading instruments totaling over 150, the range of symbols is diverse with something to match most traders’ interests and strategies.

 

 

On SimpleFX, there are no commission fees charged and spreads can be as little as 0.1 however can also be somewhat high depending on the symbol. Swap fees to hold overnight positions can also be high when compared to other trading platforms.

Customer support

SimpleFX is contactable via email, support@simplefx.com and via their live chat function which is accessible, after signing up or with a demo account, in the bottom left of the main platform window. They also have an FAQ page with some useful information should you want to check there first before contacting customer support.

Company address

Suite 305 Griffith Corporate Centre Beachmont,

Kingstown VC0100,

St Vincent and the Grenadines.

SimpleFX Review Summary

This professional and accessible platform is a good option for beginner, enthusiast and professional forex and CFD traders. As the name suggests, SimpleFX is not a trading platform that is complicated or difficult to use. As no verification is required when using cryptocurrencies to fund an account, setting up and getting started is very simple. There are also low or no fees when depositing and withdrawing funds. Spreads can be quite low, starting at 0.1 but can also vary widely. The MetaTrader 4 platform gives traders the ability to trade on a professional platform with a large range of tools however care should be taken when conducting this sort of trading and you should never trade more than you are prepared to lose, particularly when leveraging trades. If you are interested in trading forex and CFDs on SimpleFX, then sign up here. Equally, if you’d like to check out some other reviews of other cryptocurrency platforms and products then have a look at our other reviews here.

 

Disclaimer: Bitcoin News does not provide any warranties towards the accuracy of the statements in the above SimpleFX review. Any content on this site should not be relied upon as advice or construed as providing recommendations of any kind. It is your responsibility to perform your own research of the platform. Trading and investing in cryptocurrencies involves considerable risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor.

 

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Russia Forces VPN Providers to Censor Internet

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Russia Forces VPN Providers to Censor Internet

The Russian government has apparently issued a new decree that has forced several Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers in the country to actively adhere to a certain procedure of blacklisting websites, according to a NullTX report today.

The report cites a statement in Russian language issued by VPN provider TorGuard which claims that they had received a request from Russian authorities to begin blocking specific websites which are named in a national blacklist maintained by the government. Apparently, the same notice has been issued by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzorto) to other companies providing the same services in Russia, including HideMyAss, NordVPN and IPVanish.

Although it is unclear if failure to comply would result in any repercussion, TorGuard has simply chosen to derisk by shuttering its operations in Russia with immediate effect. In an official statement, it said:

“We have wiped clean all servers in our Saint Petersburg and Moscow locations and will no longer be doing business with data centers in the region. We would like to be clear that this removal of servers was a voluntary decision by TorGuard management and no equipment seizure occurred.”

The battle for control over the internet in Russia rages on, with this latest twist seeing the state seemingly gain an upper hand, already forcing at least one VPN provider to cease its services locally. Internet access is restricted in the country, and VPN services are a popular way for internet users to bypass these restrictions. Using VPNs are also recommended to maintain a certain level of privacy and to circumvent geographical restrictions in content.

 

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