Bitcoin Guru

Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes in South Korea have recently reached new levels on peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange LocalBitcoins, according to charts on BTC statistics service Coin Dance. According to the data, bitcoin weekly trading volumes have surged over the past two weeks, with the latest week recording a new high of around 219 million South-Korean won ($185,000). Founded in Finland in 2012, LocalBitcoins offers over-the-counter trading of local currency for bitcoin and operates as a P2P trading platform. The Finnish crypto trading platform is especially popular in Latin America, with Venezuela and Colombia having reportedly accounted for 85% of LocalBitcoins's trading volumes by February 2019. According to data from crypto analytics website Coinhills, the South-Korean won is one of the most popular national currencies trading against bitcoin. Accounting for around 20,000 btc ($173 million) in daily trading volumes against bitcoin, the won is ranked the third largest national curren...

China's Center for Information and Industry Development has released its latest rankings of 35 crypto projects that were evaluated over the past two months. While several top positions remain unchanged, Bitcoin has climbed up the overall ranking. New Rankings From China The Center for Information and Industry Development (CCID), under China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, released the 12th update of its crypto project rankings Thursday. The number of projects evaluated was unchanged from the previous rankings published in March. The center also announced that starting this month the rankings will be adjusted every two months instead of monthly. In addition to the overall ranking, the CCID published three others based on basic technology, applicability, and creativity sub-categories. EOS tops the list overall, followed by Tron, and Ethereum. The center started ranking Tron in February, debuting at number two overall and has remained at that position ever since...

Dutch authorities arrested a 33-year-old businessperson for allegedly defrauding investors through a crypto mining fraud. According to local reports, Dutch tax authority's investigative department, FIOD, made the arrest. The suspect was a director of two private limited companies, which he allegedly used for money laundering, fraud and forgery activities. The man started his company back in 2017. Through the company, the suspect received money from investors who thought they were buying computers for buying bitcoins. The suspect collected about €2 million ($2.2 million) from the investors. Investors were promised returns of 0.3 Bitcoin Core (BTC) per month (about $2,389 at current prices). Investors became worried when they failed to get the returns or their mining computers. Upon investigations, authorities discovered that the BTC mining machines were probably never even purchased. Initially, police had searched his house in November 2018 and discovered luxury goods such as bags, ...

An Israeli court has ruled that bitcoin is an asset, confirming the central bank's stance. The case involves the country's tax authority and the founder of a blockchain startup who argues that profits from the sale of cryptocurrency should be tax-free. The court has ruled in favor of the tax authority, endorsing the central bank's definition of currency. An Israeli central district court reportedly ruled in favor of the country's tax authority Monday, recognizing bitcoin as a financial asset and not a currency. Profits on its sale in Israel are therefore subject to capital gains tax. Judge Shmuel Bornstein simultaneously rejected an appeal by the founder of a blockchain startup who argues that bitcoin should be considered a currency, so the proceeds from its sale should not be subject to taxation. Globes daily financial newspaper reported Tuesday: The Central District Court in Lod accepted the tax authority's interpretation, and held that bitcoin is an asset and not...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently reviewing three bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), one of which was filed last week to track the prices of two cryptocurrencies. An SEC commissioner said at the Consensus conference on Monday that the time is right for a bitcoin ETF, as the commission is due to make a decision on one of them next week. At the Consensus 2019 conference in New York on Monday, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, also known as "crypto mom," discussed the regulatory environment for bitcoin ETFs. Expressing her dissatisfaction with the current law, she asserted that the SEC should do more to provide a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency including rules around safe harbor. Decrypt quoted her as saying: I thought the time was right a year ago — even longer than that … My first chance to comment on it was a year ago … Certainly the time is right, but there are still questions floating around the SEC that need to be answered as much as p...

Over the last few weeks, cryptocurrency markets have been on a tear accumulating considerable gains following the notorious 'crypto winter.' Since the recent price hike this spring, mining digital assets with next-generation miners has allowed participants to secure significant gains and even older mining devices are turning a profit. After the price of bitcoin core (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) started seeing significant gains miners that process the SHA-256 algorithm have started to pull in decent profits. The trend has changed since last December when news.Bitcoin.com reported on how only five SHA256 miners were profiting at the time. Now a large majority of devices are doing quite well and according to data at an average of $0.10 per KWh the top ten most profitable miners are clearing more than $10-15 a day per unit. The top 10 available SHA-256 miners and their 2019 profits per day. Picture shown is set at a rate of $0.10 per KWh. This includes mining devices such as the A...

Binance suffered a large scale security breach late today, according to a statement. Hackers managed to obtain API keys, two-factor-authentication codes and other information. In addition, 7,000 Bitcoin ($40 million) were withdrawn in a single transaction. The hackers used multiple techniques, including phishing attacks and computer viruses to get at Binance and its hot wallets, where it keeps funds to manage the day-to-day operation of the exchange. The hackers were unable to access the Binance cold storage—the off-line wallets where the majority of funds are kept. Likewise, individual user wallets were not directly affected. CZ Binance✔ @cz_binance  Have to perform some unscheduled server maintenance that will impact deposits and withdrawals for a couple hours.  No need to FUD.  Funds are #safu. Though trading will continue, the $40 million hack means Binance will halt withdrawals and deposits for a week, while performing a security audit. According to the statement: "The hacker...

An unconfirmed bitcoin transaction occurs when a given transaction fails to receive a confirmation on the blockchain within 24 hours. All bitcoin transactions must be confirmed by miners. They need a minimum of three confirmations to be considered fully confirmed. There are two main reasons your bitcoin transaction may end up remaining unconfirmed. If the transaction is very recent, you may need to wait a little longer before receiving confirmation. Currently, even at its very quickest, it takes at least 10 minutes to confirm a BTC transaction. The fee for the transaction was not entirely included or was too low. One simple rule applies when it comes to bitcoin transactions: the smaller the amount, the lower its chances of a successful confirmation. If you choose too minimal a transaction fee, it may not get confirmed by miners. If, after 24 hours, your transaction remains unconfirmed, here's what you need to do. REVERSING YOUR UNCONFIRMED BITCOIN TRANSACTIONS Make absolutely sure ...

US entrepreneur turned presidential candidate John McAfee has invited infamous Bitcoin SV supporter Calvin Ayre for a face-to-face meeting following accusations he was a "conman." CRAIG WRIGHT TO MCAFEE: 'I WANT YOU IN COURT' The latest episode in the ongoing drama involving Bitcoin SV proponents, McAfee announced on social media that he was staying meters away from Ayre's Antigua residence. The summons comes after Craig Wright, one of the co-founders of Bitcoin SV who alleges it to be the 'real' Bitcoin, gave an interview to Australian media network Finder. During the debate, which lasted over 90 minutes, Wright accused McAfee of "building a career out of being a conman." "Please sue me, Mr. McAfee," he said, alluding to current mass lawsuit he and Ayre are orchestrating against anyone who disputes claims Wright created Bitcoin. "…I want you in court." While not addressing Wright directly, McAfee took issue with the content o...

On April 25, the Mt. Gox civil rehabilitation trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi published a new announcement concerning the deadline for the rehabilitation plan. According to the letter sent to Mt. Gox creditors, Kobayashi has delayed the proceedings for another six months due to "undetermined" claims. Following the announcement, bitcoin security specialists Wizsec published a scathing critique of the Coinlab claim for US$16 billion and alleged that it was "the elephant in the room causing this delay." Mt. Gox Civil Rehabilitation Proceedings Delayed Another 6 Months The Mt. Gox proceedings have been delayed once again according to the court trustee's latest letter to creditors, which says claimants now have to wait until Oct. 28, 2019. Nobuaki Kobayashi detailed that it is "not possible at this moment to make appropriate provisions in a rehabilitation plan." Moreover, Kobayashi also mentioned the court still has to deal with "undetermined rehabilitation ...

On April 30, the global cryptocurrency payment processing firm Bitpay announced its partnership with the tax-related financial products and services provider Refundo. The collaboration will give U.S. residents the ability to receive all or a portion of their federal and state tax refunds in crypto. Federal and State Tax Refunds Using Blockchain Payments U.S. taxpayers now have the ability to get all or a portion of their federal and state tax refunds back in bitcoin core (BTC), according to the latest announcement from the Atlanta-based company Bitpay. The firm recently partnered with Refundo, a leading tax service provider founded in 2011. Refundo provides taxpayers with professional financial services alongside refunds, advances, and refund transfers. The company says the partnership with Bitpay allows for a transparent and seamless experience during tax season. Refundo believes the underbanked could benefit from a refund experience tied to crypto because it could help bridge the gap...