Bank-friendly Ripple (XRP) still exists, to the surprise of many, the author included. Not only that, but it has continued its apparent strategic partnership initiative, partnering with Asian and Australian banks in conjunction with its stated goal of acting as a sort of Paypal mechanism for large interbank transfers. Four short weeks ago, the coin was sitting around a penny a pop. But with more enthusiasm building among traders, it has steadily risen, and today saw a spike of over 30%, rounding out just under 5 cents each.

Ripple has been getting a ton of attention

as of late, and not the negative kind like it once received for managing to get a $700,000 fine from the federal government and thereby underscoring the risk of having a known entity backing a cryptocurrency. Just a couple of examples of this are recent video in Bloomberg News and inclusion in a Bank of England program. Skepticism among more traditional cryptocurrency people still thrives. The centralization aspect and the inherent issue of being able to identify coin users as well as reverse transactions certainly is a specter of wrongdoing for many of us. But as one writer put it, “one man’s sh**coin is another man’s treasure.”

The fact that the Ripple project has continued to develop its platform and strategic partnerships continued to bring on talent, and continued to grow its community means that they are at least serious, not scammers looking for a quick buck. The “Paypal of banks” aspect is important, and paralysis in the Bitcoin community over a simple issue certainly gives any bank pause when it comes to partnering with cryptocurrencies. A recent report from IBM shows that over 90% of banks are investing in some form of blockchain technology.

Another factor of improvement for Ripple is the unofficial Swiss sector of its network. Something called PathShuffle has been introduced which aims to anonymize transactions in the same way that they are on the likes of the DASH network. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are both very young technologies, and the future is wide open. The first mover, Bitcoin, continues to have its share of problems, and as its drama continues it becomes easier and easier to envision a future where alternatives actually stand a fighting chance. The recent, impressive success of Ethereum is one example, along with  DASH, and perhaps Ripple will be up there with them, centralized though it is, serving its own corner of the market.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Cryptocurrency Exchange Review — Bithumb

The Bithumb Exchange in a Nutshell

It is always good to learn certain countries have more exchanges than most people would give them credit for. Korea is not necessarily a region people would associate with cryptocurrency exchanges, even though there are quite a few of them active in the country. One of those platforms goes by the name of Bithumb, a platform providing Bitcoin and Ethereum trading options. As one would come to expect from a Korean cryptocurrency exchange, the platform only provides exchange appears against the Korean Won. This applies to both Bitcoin and Ethereum for the time being. Unfortunately, there is no BTC/ETH trading pair, although it is possible that may be added in the future. Then again, providing a fiat-to-crypto gateway is a good place to start as an exchange.

Based on the statistics provided by Coinmarketcap, Bithumb is generating a lot of 24-hour volume for both Bitcoin and Ethereum. To be more specific, Bithumb generated over US$44.29m worth of trading volume for the ETH/KRW pair. Additionally, the platform saw US$13.46m worth of trading volume for the BTC/KRW trading pair. Both are quite impressive numbers for an exchange a lot of people have never heard of, that much is certain. If Bithumb can keep these numbers up, they will quickly become one of the largest Asian cryptocurrency exchanges.

It is also worth mentioning Bithumb provides users with an option to buy bitcoin gift vouchers. These vouchers are denominated in the equivalent value based on the current Korean won value. It appears the minimum value for such a card can be 10,000 KOW, which translates to a value of US$8.78. A very odd number, although it will make a lot of sense for the company. Moreover, Bithumb will also purchase existing gift vouchers from customers and converts this into an appropriate bitcoin value.

Looking at the company information posted on the website, it appears the company is run by BTC Korea.com Co. Ltd. This company operates a bitcoin trading platform — this is Bithumb, evidently — headquartered in South Korea. It is difficult to find information about the people working for the company, though, as Bloomberg has no executive or board member information on their website. That is not necessarily something to be concerned about, although it is something the parent company may want to look into sooner rather than later. All things considered, Bithumb seems to be on its way to becoming a major cryptocurrency exchange in the Asian region. Although there is little information to be found about the platform, the company seems to be doing well so far. The high trading volume may raise some questions from industry experts, though. Always do your own research before trusting an exchange with your funds.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

OneGram & Dubai Trading Platform
In $0.5Bn 'Gold-Backed'
Cryptocurrency Venture

  

Islamic financial services and technology company

OneGram is partnering with GoldGuard, a Dubai-based online gold trading platform, that is building one of worlds largest gold vaults inside the Dubai Airport Free Zone, to create the first completely “gold-backed digital currency” globally. Each token represents a gram of gold and redeemable. At the company is fully compliant with Islamic finance requirements. Advisers listed include amongst others Sheikh Abdulkader Amor, CEO of Al Maali Consulting Group and an Islamic financial adviser, Adam Richard, CEO of Volt Markets, and founder of the Houston Bitcoin Meetup.

Currently the Islamic finance sector is responsible for managing around 1% of global GDP and growing at nearly 20% per year. With there being an estimated 1.8 billion (bn) Muslims worldwide according to a study in 2015 — equating to around a quarter of the global population of c.7.5bn today — OneGram is seen as a “Sharia-compliant method” for them to keep gold in a digital format that is both secure and digitally transferable, including across borders.

And, given that the number of Muslims in the world is expected to grow to 2.2bn by 2030, the new joint venture between OneGram and GoldGuard was being outlined today at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), in terms of its impact on “opening the doors for cryptocurrency trading to the Islamic world.”

Crowdsale Campaign

A maximum total of 12,400,786 OneGramCoin tokens (OGC) will be sold in OneGram’s upcoming initial coin offering (ICO) on May 21, with accounts able to be opened next week on May 8 when the gold can be purchased. At the current gold spot price, a sold out crowdsale would raise over $554 million (m), which would make it the largest cryptocurrency crowdsale goal in history.

Ibrahim Mohammed, the CEO of OneGram, commenting from Dubai said: “In recent years, the Middle East has seen incredible growth in fintech innovations including digital tokens and smart contracts.” He added: “With OneGram we are providing an opportunity for investors who care about Islamic financial markets and the security of commodity-backed investments to benefit from rapid technological advances in the blockchain industry.”

Islamic Markets & Cryptocurrency

Existing cryptocurrencies it should be noted have not been designed with Islamic markets in mind. Despite Muslims making up around 25% of the global population today, many Muslims simply cannot use cryptocurrencies due to their restricted legal status and high barriers to entry in many countries in the Islamic world.

According to OneGram, it aims to solve these issues by using blockchain technology to create a “new kind of cryptocurrency”, where each coin is backed by one gram of gold at launch. In terms of the joint venture, the team at OneGram team will manage the OGC protocol while GoldGuard will run the vault for physical gold.

Each transaction of OGC generates a small transaction fee, which is reinvested in more gold (net of administration costs), and thereby increases the amount of gold that backs each OneGram. Therefore, according to the pitch, each OGC increases in real value over time, and is touted as “making OneGram unique among cryptocurrencies.”

Gold Investments & Sharia Law

Historically gold investing has been problematic under Sharia law. While there is currently limited guidance for gold coins and bars, there is virtually no guidance on gold elsewhere in the financial sector. In most cases, trading gold futures contracts is forbidden by Islamic law as gold futures contracts are not backed by physical gold and one can end up paying or receiving interest on your trading account. The upshot is that most people who wanted to buy gold as an investment have purchased gold in its physical form through for example coins or jewelry

New Standard

Things are changing though. Back in December 2016, the Sharia Gold Standard, which OneGram complies with, was introduced by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), the World Gold Council and Amanie Advisors. As a result of this new standard, Muslim investors will now be able to take advantage of an increasing range of gold-backed investment opportunities, which hitherto had been non-compliant.

OneGram's ICO

The OneGram ICO will take place on the GoldGuard gold exchange, which trades and regulates precious metals, and is licensed by the Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ) in the United Emirates (UAE), and one of the fast growing Free Zones in the region. The DAFZ is the governing body, which administers trade licenses and visas to international companies wanting to do business from Dubai within the Freezone. In order for investors to participate in the ICO, the initial step is to register with GoldGuard and purchase gold at live spot rates. Then the gold can be redeemed for OGC for a 10% premium.

This premium is expected as by purchasing OGC, the investor is not only purchasing an asset that offers the spot value of gold but also the future value of additional gold to be purchased from transaction fees. The ICO in OGC tokens will end when all coins are sold or after a maximum period of 120 days. If all the tokens do not sell out, there will be a new total supply of OGC equal to the amount of OGC sold in the ICO. It understood that subsequent to that no more coins will ever be issued.

At any given moment, an investor in these tokens is able to see the amount of gold backing their coin in the official OneGram wallet app and through the GoldGuard website. Your coins for gold or equivalent fiat currency can be redeemed through GoldGuard’s platform. Following the ICO, OneGram Coins can be bought and sold through any cryptocurrency exchange that lists OGC.

The Roadmap

According to OneGram’s roadmap, next month on June 30 the test network for OGC transactions is slated for launch. Following that in early July the intention is to launch multiple implementations of OneGramCoin block explorers, being described “with complete REST and WebSocket API’s, allowing our users insight into transactions propagated on the blockchain.” On August 7, the main network for OGC transactions is set to be launched, before OGCs will be distributed to investors in the ICO and listed on popular crypto exchanges on August 15.

Ibrahim Mohammed, CEO, OneGram, along with GoldGuard and leading Islamic finance scholars including Sheikh Abdelkader Amor were speaking today at a press conference hosted at The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC, to highlight the joint venture. Follow Roger, who has penned various investment stories over the years, on Twitter, LinkedIn, Forbes, Google+. He is involved with the Campaign For Fair Finance in the UK.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Users of 'Btc-e' cryptocurrency exchange reporting spike in email phishing attempts

   Bitcoin exchange 'Btc-e' was previously targeted by hackers in 2014iStock

Users of a popular cryptocurrency exchange called Btc-e are reporting a significant spike in email phishing attempts, a potential harbinger of a fresh spam or malware campaign being launched in an attempt to defraud the bitcoin community. The reports emerged this week (2 May) on the bitcoin sections of Reddit and Twitter, with many recipients posting images of the spam that appears to currently be in circulation.

The attacker is luring victims by asking them to "review attached Btc-e codes" and claiming they only have a matter of hours to redeem them. The emails contain a password and a Microsoft Word document. Sender names vary, with some to date including Pierce Cynthia and Parsons Dillon. One Reddit user wrote: "In the word document it claims to be an encrypted document (really just an image). To decrypt it you have to enter the code from the email. Once you do that it downloads a program that encrypts your whole computer."

Another claimed: "I got the same thing. Seems like btc-e.com has had a breach of their account details. [The attacker] had my email and username, passwords may have been taken too but likely hashed so it may be worth changing your password just to be on the safe side." According to one Twitter user with name "GasGeverij" — a self-described penetration tester — the slew of fraudulent emails may be part of a "well-organised spam campaign leveraging [the] new Office vulnerability bypassing Gmail and Yahoo filters". This is in reference to recent reports from cybersecurity firms McAfee and FireEye, which discovered a bug in Word that hackers could exploit by using attached documents to spread malware and exploit kits. Before a patch was released it put "millions of users" at risk.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Blockchain firm nChain appoints Jon Matonis as Vice President of Corporate Strategy

  

Bitcoin Foundation Executive Director Jon Matonis has joined blockchain company nChain

as the new Vice President of Corporate Strategy. Matonis will be supporting nChain's business growth by developing commercial relationships, and evaluating opportunities for strategic investments and acquisitions, the release said. In this position, he will also continue providing thought leadership on blockchain technology. Recognized as a leading bitcoin researcher, Matonis is a non-executive board director for various companies in the digital currency space.

“Jon was immediately attractive to nChain. During his notable career, he has consistently led the integration of financial services and cryptography,” Arthur Davis, Director of nChain Holdings Limited, commented. “Jon's philosophy for the Bitcoin protocol and the network is fully in line with nChain's vision of on-chain scalability with decentralization, advanced native scripting for the construction of smart contracts, and a dedicated move away from monolithic software. We are excited to have Jon's deep industry experience on our team, and look forward to working with him to achieve our vision for the Bitcoin blockchain.”

Being the founding director of the Bitcoin Foundation, Matonis served as the industry's first nonprofit trade association. He also held senior roles with the Sumitomo Bank, VISA International, VeriSign, and Hushmail. Matonis created first and leading general price index for bitcoin ‘the Bitcoin Price Index (BPI)’ and enlisted seven regional chapter offices to the Bitcoin Foundation from countries such as France, Germany, and Bangladesh. “The resources and funding in place at nChain provide a unique opportunity to reshape the existing landscape of Bitcoin protocol influencers. I am excited to work with nChain to support the growth of the blockchain ecosystem for everyone's benefit,” Matonis said, accepting the new management position at nChain.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Venture capital 3.0:
The initial coin offering explained

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

TradeCoinClub

I have been laying low a bit lately while searching out and researching the best stuff online today, trying to fully and carefully apply whatever wisdom I’ve gained in some 13 years of working in this minefield.  And… I am SO happy to have MAJOR News for you! THIS may well be the best I have found, perhaps ever….

BITCOINS, YES –

Most knowledgeable online workers now prefer to use Bitcoins in business, for many very good reasons. Among the most knowledgeable, many have been looking for a TRADING PLATFORM for CRYPTOCURRENCIES and using Bitcoin, but there has not been anything genuine to date.  THAT HAS NOW CHANGED. 

WE CAN NOW –

–>> PASSIVELY EARN FROM FULLY AUTOMATED TRADING OF THE TOP TEN CRYPTOCURRENCIES.

–>> LEVERAGE BITCOIN AND EARN DAILY PASSIVE BITCOIN.

–>> DIVERSIFY PASSIVE BTC EARNINGS IN A POWERFUL NEW WAY.

–>> ACTIVELY EARN STILL MORE BTC BY REFERRING TO THE PLATFORM.

TCC: WHAT IT IS —

Trade Coin Club is an offshore registered company offering an automated trading platform for major cryptos.  Management is international and highly qualified. TCC trades in cryptos with licensed software that performs many millions of trades per day in ten of the major cryptocurrencies like Litecoin, Dash, BTC, etc. TCC itself works entirely with Bitcoins.

Globally in the launch and pre-launch in different regions. The company is full-function and earning and paying now.  This Site is sophisticated and well developed already and fully activated. TCC is uniquely well positioned in a high-demand global niche.  It is super-attractive for builders and leaders as well as for those who simply want to remain passive and leverage their Bitcoins into ever larger numbers.   Miners too will find it a highly attractive diversification that will likely earn a lot more strongly for them.

BENEFITS — PASSIVE:
Recent member reports indicate “trading” profits of around 20% monthly — in dynamic rising Bitcoins!  Set it and let it run.  Those returns are substantially better than “mining”.

ACTIVE:
Members who refer receive 10% on both levels one and two, and lesser amounts down to as many as 8 levels.  Plus referrers can earn 8 to 10% daily from a binary structure too.  And there are MORE referral bonuses. It’s rich, but it is also very smart.
Compounding of one’s choice of all or some earnings is available. Withdrawal of earnings is on demand.

Ride the BTC Rise: 
We are working 100% in Bitcoin, so as BTC rises we enjoy the full benefits of its rise — to who knows what heights!  This is in contrast to some online options that actually work in dollars and only use BTC for pay in’s and out’s.  In this as BTC rises your dollar based payout in BTC falls.

GUIDANCE —

It is scant on the site at the moment, as it is so early in the life of TCC, so the guidance to signing up, getting set up and earnings, etc., is currently best obtained in Youtube videos and not so much in the back office… as yet

Learn more:
TCC Details and OVERVIEW Videos and PDF –

TCC Presentation and background by boss, Joff Fortune, short, 20 min:  https://youtu.be/NiI7Joi_kag

TCC office in Belize: https://youtu.be/JHEDZ3PXx5Y

TCC PDF manual:  http://dreameagles.info/TCC/TCC_Manual_2-23-17.pdf

My personal advice is to dig in and enjoy these resources.  But do not get bogged down and too delayed in your explorations.  There can be good benefits to making your move quickly.  Be sure to have some Bitcoins, and a wallet to use for business.  I am personally using Coinbase and Blockchain as my bitcoin processors.  There are several choices.

How to Proceed —
Let’s keep this smooth and simple and let the videos take care of the heavy lifting.  Use them to ease your way and to avoid simple errors.

Cost Notes:
Joining is free, so you can do that immediately. Minimum to participate actively is 0.30 BTC (0.25 plus a one time 0.05)  Other entry levels are at 1 BTC and the highest at 5 BTC from which one will earn the most the fastest.

Referring?  Edit this info page if you wish with your reg link.  Duplicate the process of sharing these resources if you decide to build teams, pass these instructions on.  (Note: You need to be upgraded to at least the lowest Apprentice level package to refer.)

REGISTRATION LINK -> https://office.tradecoinclub.com/register/chuck 
Be sure your sponsor is listed as: Chuck

INSTRUCTIONS VIDEOS, use these as detailed guides, follow these.

1. SIGN UP PAGE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8dFkcWlEF4&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

2. BUY YOUR PACKAGE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPnZaKO4mnA&t=633s

3. HOW TO ACTIVATE YOUR WEEKLY AUTOMATIC TRADE:
 https://youtu.be/sneX_yRH8Og

BECAUSE OF LEGAL DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS, WE MUST NOW SET OUR TRADES EVERY WEEK. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO LOGIN EACH WEEK BETWEEN SUNDAY 4PM PST AND MONDAY 3:59PM PST TO RESET YOUR TRADES ACTIVATION.

4. SUBMITTING DOCS CORRECTLY:

 (AT YOUR CONVENIENCE)  documents can be submitted later but before requesting withdrawals.
https://youtu.be/zVAM7jDlwOk

5.  Refer if you wish. 
Edit this email to make it your own, with care to the signup link, and share it with your favorite contacts and friends.

6.  WHY IS THE EXCHANGE RATE WALLET ONLY SHOWING HALF OF YOUR DEPOSITS?
https://youtu.be/E8D4MhTmowA

7.  HOW TO COMPOUND YOUR EARNINGS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mHr6jcHIfw&t=370s

8.  More info:
 http://www.tradecoinclub.info

9.  ENJOY A BETTER LIFE IN A RICHER WORLD. 

Once again…

REGISTRATION LINK -> https://office.tradecoinclub.com/register/chuck
Be sure your sponsor is listed as:  chuck

P.S. keep this page for future reference and edit it to suit your needs.  Thank you. 

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

TRADE COIN CLUB (TCC) :
A Platform for Trading and Earning Bitcoins Easily

Trade Coin Club (TCC)

is the world’s first licensed top 10 auto-trading cryptocurrency platforms. It is a membership trading platform to earn bitcoin with a high automated security system. It’s a membership club, created to revolutionize the trading market of digital coins. As it today 23^rd, February, 1 Bitcoin = $1,146 and 1Bitcoin is predicted to be up $2000 by December 2017

Why Should You Invest in TCC?

1) You earn daily in bitcoins which can be withdrawn and converted to cash immediately or left to compound for a month.

2) You earn daily without needing to refer anybody; but if you do refer, your earnings become magical.

3) Bitcoin has been approved as a Legal Tender in Japan & Philippines with more countries gearing up to do same; these announcements is causing and will yet cause the value of bitcoin to appreciate tremendously.

With all of this information coupled with the fact that bitcoin is highly liquid, that is, easily converted to cash, I strongly advise all who can afford it to get onboard TCC investment without delay and don’t miss this golden opportunity. In case you don’t understand what TCC Investment really is, not to worry as I have attached in this email 2 videos that will help you if you would take the time to watch them to the end. Remember, what you don’t know, you don’t know and what You don’t know, You can’t benefit from.

Steps to Register for TCC

1) Click Here to Register

2) Call us on 07059546314 to get the current rate of Bitcoin and buy to sign up for a plan in TCC then you can be a part of the trading.

(3) You will need a minimum of 0.3Bitcoin to sign up for a plan in TCC

(4) After making payment, send your TCC Username & Password to cryptoprenuers@gmail.com for funding; but if you have a bitcoin wallet and can handle the funding yourself, then watch the videos in your back office and go ahead and fund.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor
559-474-4614

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Trade Coin Club Is Officially Live And Trading Crypto Currencies!

                                 

Trade Coin Club,

the first cryptocurrency exchange that is licensed and insured. It uses automated trading software is now up and running and generating massive profits for those who are depositing their bitcoins. Trade Coin Club is free to join. It does require a deposit of at least.30 bitcoins to start trading. Trade Coin Club is based in Belize and now has members in over 150 countries. It was started by Joff Paradise, a Germany born entrepreneur based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Paradise has run and owned several businesses including restaurants, casinos, health club chains, clothing lines and satellite networks in the Caribbean.

Trade Coin Club entered its official pre-launch in late January 2017. Thousands of traders have already been using the platform at the time. As the membership base continues to grow, Trade Coin Club etches out a unique niche in the crypto currency space with its revolutionary trading software.

Joining Trade Coin Club

The platform has an easy to use back office where you can deposit and withdraw your bitcoin, move coin within the exchange, set your trading levels, sign up new members and much more. There are three different levels of joining: Apprentice, Trader, and Senior Trader. Each has its own level of benefits and thresholds. The Apprentice level requires a bitcoin deposit of .30 to .99 to get started. The Trader level requires a 1 to 4.99 bitcoin deposit. And the Senior Trader requires at least a 5 bitcoin deposit to get started.

For those who want to refer others to the exchange, there is a very generous referral program attached. Although it is not required, you can refer others to the exchange for a generous referral commission that goes directly into your account. Adding these commissions to the exchange account can really increase your profits exponentially. This is how the exchange leverages the concept of compound interest with both interest and additional deposits.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor
559-474-4614

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

A New Crypto Coin Exchange Launches With Hands-Free, Automatic Trading!

  

A brand new crypto coin exchange named Trade Coin Club (TCC)

is up and running and generating massive profits for those who are depositing their bitcoin! This is the very first fully licensed, insured, brick-and-mortar crypto coin exchange and trades the top 10 crypto currencies of the day. The program uses high volume automated bot trading with proprietary algorithms so depositors don’t have to do ANYTHING other than sit back and watch their bitcoin account increase every day.

This new crypto coin exchange is revolutionizing the cryptocurrency space and people are flocking to it in droves to deposit their bitcoin. TCC already has members in over 150 countries at the start of the pre-launch in late January 2017! You can create a FREE account in Trade Coin Club. But it is a private club, where you have to be invited by a current member. (This allows Trade Coin Club to pay huge amounts of referral commissions to members, thereby exploding their crypto coin exchange trading profits.) Joining is completely free. You can create your free account and browse the back office by following the instructions here: How To Join Trade Coin Club. I can help you 559-474-4614

Could This Brand New Crypto Coin Exchange Be Your Ticket To Financial Freedom?

Many members who are getting in early are earning dozens of bitcoin totaling an equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars! If you have ever thought about what it would have been like to invest a couple hundred dollars into bitcoin when it was around a dollar a coin, then perhaps that missed boat has come back around. For more information and tutorials on how to earn bitcoin with Trade Coin Club, see my Trade Coin Club Tutorials page. And feel free to contact me with any questions about the program.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member