#Blockchain 6 Philanthropic Projects That Accept Cryptocurrency

Posted on 31 January 2019 by Startup365

Much of the growing interest in bitcoin and other digital currencies has been focused on individual financial gain and buying lambos. For those who would rather utilize their digital assets to effect positive change in the world, however, there is also the ability to donate to charity using crypto. The following philanthropic projects all accept cryptocurrency donations.

Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Association to Fund Eatbch Charity

Non-Profit Crypto Donations

6 Philanthropic Projects That Accept Cryptocurrency

Given the enormous wealth creation from cryptocurrencies, it only seems right that some of those who got involved early, and were rewarded accordingly, should have a way to pay it back to those less fortunate. There are numerous global organizations accepting crypto donations and using them to make a positive impact. Developing economies have been opening up to cryptocurrencies and many charities have been trialing bitcoin donations.

There are a number of reasons why making aid and humanitarian cryptocurrency transfers is attractive for charities. For example, the speed of delivery and transparency of aid money as it moves down the value chain are attractive, as is the pseudonymity provided to those who would rather not publicize their benevolence.

Recent high profile charitable cause have been introduced by the likes of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who launched Givecrypto.org, which distribute funds to those who live in poverty. Armstrong has said he’s always believed in the power of cryptocurrency-funded philanthropy and his new nonprofit is all about empowering, educating, and elevating global communities.

The Bitcoin Cash Association launched an initiative where $1,000 worth of bitcoin cash is sent to the two Eatbch campaigns in Venezuela and South Sudan every month. The initiative has been feeding the hungry in Venezuela with food purchased with BCH donations. The group has since also started feeding people in South Sudan where citizens in the East African region are suffering from economic turmoil and a lack of daily nourishment.

The Water Project charity provides access to clean, safe and reliable water across sub-Saharan Africa and accepts donations in bitcoin core, bitcoin cash, ethereum, or litecoin. The Water Project also recognizes one of the most important aspects of cryptocurrencies: transparency. They provide an app that allows donors to see how funds are being used. You can even see how much cryptocurrency has been donated and what those funds have been used for specifically.

6 Philanthropic Projects That Accept Cryptocurrency — Red Cross in action.

The Red Cross is known all over the world. The group aims to alleviate human suffering, which they accomplish through multiple projects such as donating blood, being on location when disaster strikes, and training first responders in how to be prepared for emergencies. The Red Cross accepts cryptocurrency donations in the form of BCH and BTC. On the relevant Bitpay page you can donate bitcoin to support the Red Cross.

Save the Children is another nonprofit for philanthropists who are passionate about giving children around the world the opportunity to survive and thrive. The charity’s main focus is on health and education. The group has a presence in the U.S., Africa, Asia, Greater Middle East and Eurasia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. You can view the options to donate by clicking on the Bitpay page where, again, BCH and BTC can be used.

Watsi is building technology to finance universal healthcare by crowdfunding surgeries and providing community-based health coverage. Donors can virtually meet the people that need their help and choose specific patients to donate to their cause.

There are many more non-profit organizations accepting cryptocurrency donations to further their work. This trend has the potential to make a huge difference in the world. The fact that such high profile humanitarian organizations are accepting crypto donations is encouraging for both the adoption of digital currencies and the realization of the vital work they are doing.

Is there a non-profit organisation you are supporting that also accepts donations in crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.

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#Blockchain January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

Posted on 31 January 2019 by Startup365

The first month of 2019 has seen a slight decline in 30-day trading volume across many leading markets. Bucking the trend, however, were ETH, LTC, MKR, TRX, and ZEC, all of which saw a significant spike in trade activity. Stablecoins have continued to see an increase in trade activity, with ckusd and the Gemini dollar posting significant gains in month-over-month volume also.

Also Read: European P2P Trade Posts Strongest Activity Since March 2018

ETH Sees 14% Gain in Monthly Trade Activity

BTC posted a 2% drop in 30-day trade volume, with $154.19 billion worth of bitcoin core changing hands during January. USDT trade also fell by approximately 2% this past month, with tether pairings generating $113.17 billion worth of trade during the last 30 days.

January posted the second-strongest month of trade for USDT pairings since the first half of 2018. ETH saw among the highest increase in monthly trade volume of the top cryptocurrency markets.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

ETH pairings produced $77.72 billion worth of trade during January, a 14% gain month-over-month. The preceding 30 days comprised the strongest month of ETH trade since May 2018.

LTC Trade Spikes While XRP Volume Slides

January saw EOS post a 15% decline in monthly trade activity, with EOS pairings producing $21.48 billion worth of trade during the last 30 days.

LTC saw its highest ranking in over one year for 30-day trade volume this past month, with more than $16.97 billion worth of LTC changing hands during January. The past 30 days saw a nearly 29% gain in month-over-month volume for LTC pairing, comprising the strongest month of LTC trade since the first half of 2018.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

XRP slid to rank sixth with $13.56 million during January. The month saw ripple post its lowest numerical ranking since August 2018, comprising a nearly 22% decline in month-over-month trade.

MKR, TRX, and ZEC Produce Surge in Monthly Trade Activity

MKR comprised the seventh most traded crypto asset during January, owing to an enormous spike in trade activity on Jan. 9 that saw 24-hour volume increase 1,799,900% from approximately $500,000 on Jan. 8 to more than $9 billion the following day.

TRX also saw a dramatic spike in 30-day trade this past month, ranking eighth with $7.62 billion worth of trade. TRX posted a nearly 157% gain in month-over-month trade volume.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

BCH posted the weakest 30 days of trade on record during January, ranking ninth with just $6.34 billion worth of bitcoin cash changing hands. January saw BCH post a month-over-month decline in trade activity of nearly 36%.

ZEC produced a significant gain in monthly trade activity, breaking into the top 10 with $5 billion worth of zcash changing hands during the last 30 days. January saw the strongest monthly ZEC volume since the first half of 2018, comprising a 32% rise in month-over-month trade activity.

QTUM and Dash Slip From Top 10

Despite posting slight gains in 30-day trade activity, both QTUM and dash fell from the top 10, ranking 11th and 12th with $4.92 billion and $4.19 billion in volume during January.

Ckusd posted its second strongest monthly volume since the first half of 2018, with the stablecoin ranking 13th with $4.17 billion in trade over the last 30 days. Ckusd pairings produced a month-over-month spike in trade activity of 48% during January.

Neo slipped one rank during January after a slight drop in monthly trade activity. Neo comprised the 14th most-traded cryptocurrency over the last 30 days, with neo pairings generating $3.6 billion worth of trade.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

ETC also dropped from the top 10, ranking 15th with $3.60 billion in 30-day trade. The month saw ETC volume drop by 15% month-over-month, comprising the weakest month of ethereum classic trade since 2017.

XLM posted its second strongest month since the first half of 2018, ranking 16th with $3.24 billion worth of trade during the last 30 days.

Stablecoins Continue to Rank Among Top 20-Most Traded Crypto Assets

January saw a continuation of the recent growth in stablecoin volume, with the Gemini dollar ranking among the 20 most-traded crypto assets for the first time with $2.89 billion worth of trade.

Paxos ranked as a top 20 most-traded cryptocurrency for the third consecutive month, gaining nearly 9% in month-over-month trade to ranked 18th with $2.23 billion.

January Markets Report: MKR, TRX and ZEC Among Top 10 by Volume

BSV saw a 46% drop in trade activity month-over-month, ranking 19th with $2.01 billion.

Trueusd also ranked among the top 20 cryptocurrency markets by trade volume for the third consecutive month during January, gaining 11% to rank 20th with $1.60 billion in trade over the last 30 days.

Do you think volume will grow or continue to decline for most cryptocurrency markets during 2019? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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#Blockchain PR: Marconi Introduces Developer Testing Network to Secure Complex Cloud Networks

Posted on 31 January 2019 by Startup365

Marconi Introduces Developer Testing Network to Secure Complex Cloud Networks

This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release.

San Francisco, California – Marconi, creators of the blockchain-based smart ethernet Marconi Protocol, today announced the launch of its Developer Test Network. Designed to enhance or even replace existing networking infrastructure, Marconi Protocol provides an easy way to build and secure distributed networks and networking applications across regions and environments, whether nodes are running on hardware in a data center, virtual machines or containers.

By building on Marconi’s Developer Test Net, network administrators have a sandbox to begin deploying and securing their networks, and developers can begin building their own compelling networking solutions, security applications or even other blockchain protocols. Today’s release of the Developer Test Network also includes multiple documented, out-of-the-box applications such as:

Multi-cloud deployments that enable network administrators to leverage the unique features, regions and pricing of different cloud providers
Firewalls for securing traffic from suspicious activity on a blockchain-based network
Load balancers that are easily scaled in the cloud and support any type of network traffic

“After building, scaling and managing multiple data centers and networks with thousands of devices at Google, I saw firsthand that the technology used to connect, bridge and secure connections globally was inadequate,” said Jong Kim, chief architect for Marconi. “We built Marconi so organizations can more easily setup, manage and secure complex networks across multiple clouds without extensive networking experience or specialized hardware.”

Currently 81 percent of enterprises now have a multi-cloud strategy, but many have struggled to handle the scaling and management challenges associated with having multiple clouds. However, the Marconi Protocol helps businesses remove networking complexity, creating an easy-to-manage service mesh with self-healing routing even when a node goes down. Security is built in through low-level mutating encryptions that secure all of the connections between each node.

A full explanation and history of Marconi Protocol is available on www.marconi.org, which includes more details about the product, quick start guides, use cases, sample code and additional developer resources.

About Marconi

The Marconi Protocol is a networking and distributed ledger protocol for creating robust networks and service meshes which can run powerful management and security applications on any platform or cloud provider. For more information, visit www.marconi.org. For the latest updates, please visit blog.marconi.org.

Press Contact Email Address
s@neji.io

Supporting Link
https://marconi.org

This is a paid press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

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#Blockchain Understanding Cryptocurrency Options – An Alternative Way to Trade Crypto

Posted on 31 January 2019 by Startup365

Crypto proponents have been excited by the launch of bitcoin futures and options, but many are unfamiliar with the fundamentals. Bitcoin options are a popular way to take advantage of a volatile market by strategically hedging some of the risk. To clear up the jargon associated with the most common form of derivatives trading, analysts here explain the role played by cryptocurrency options.

Also Read: Options Giant CME Launches Bitcoin Futures — Here’s What to Expect

What Are Cryptocurrency Options?

Understanding Cryptocurrency Options – An Alternative Way to Trade Crypto In traditional finance there are two types of options that can be bought. These are known as a ‘call’ and a ‘put’ option. A call option will give the holder the right to buy an asset at the strike price. A put gives the holder the right to sell an asset at a predetermined price.

Alexey Markov, a trader at United Traders based in Moscow, Russia, told news.Bitcoin.com that options are one of the most important tools in traditional markets and widely used for speculation by traders on U.S. sites. “Trading volumes on an option contract often exceed the volumes on the underlying asset, such as stocks for example,” he explained. “Also various options are used to hedge risks for those participants who have large portfolios on their balances.”

Markov explained the crypto market has not escaped that phenomenon, but it is worth noting that at this current stage of the market the demand for options is not very high. Primarily, this is due to the rapid decline in BTC/USD trading volumes.

Aditya Das, an analyst at market data firm Brave New Coin, told news.Bitcoin.com that cryptocurrency options are financial instruments or contracts that give holders rights to purchase or sell a cryptocurrency for a predetermined price at a future date. “Often, cryptocurrency options can intimidate new participants because of the use of idiosyncratic terminology that differs from legacy options market jargon that is already complicated,” said Das.

He explained that an ‘upside profits’ contract is equivalent to a European-style call option, right to buy, whereas a ‘downside profits’ contract works like a European-style put option, right to sell.

Where Can Investors Trade Crypto Options?

Das explained how cryptocurrency options are generally designated between bitcoin-settled and cash-settled trading markets.

According to Das, Bitmex is the most popular bitcoin-settled market currently, with Okex and Okcoin being popular alternatives.

He observed that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is the most popular cash-settled cryptocurrency options platform, with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) being a lover volume alternative. “The soon-to-be-launched Deribit ‘vanilla’ options platform has also been gaining attention because it advertises cheaper fees, and fewer maintenance shutdowns,” said Das.

Alexey Markov, meanwhile, highlighted Deribit and Ledgerx as other exchanges that give the opportunity to trade options. “Both offer ‘put and call options’ only for BTC. Currently, the earliest and latest expiration date available on these exchanges is 1 day and 238 days respectively, which is not bad, but at the same time the liquidity leaves much to be desired and the spreads are quite wide,” said Markov.

Looking ahead, traders are confident that with the growth of the overall capitalization of the cryptocurrency market, an increasing number of derivatives will also be developed, including options. These will give traders greater power than ever to buy and sell bitcoin where and how they want.

What are your thoughts on futures and options? Let us know in the comments section below.

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#Blockchain Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed

Posted on 31 January 2019 by Startup365

Espinoza Ruling Reversed, Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money

In 2016, Judge Teresa Mary Pooler of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida made headlines for a ruling she made during the Michell Espinoza trial. Judge Pooler ruled Espinoza could not be charged with illegal money transmission offenses because bitcoin was not considered legal tender. However, a motion filed with the Florida appeals court has overturned the decision and Espinoza may face the state’s trial courts for an alleged crime back in 2014.

Also read: A Look at Openbazaar’s Multi-Currency Wallet and Vendor Listings

Bitcoin Was Not the Equivalent of Money According to a Florida Judge in 2016 – the State Disagrees

Five years ago Michell Espinoza was arrested for illegal money transmission for selling bitcoins to Miami police officers and other federal law enforcement officials. The February 2014 arrest of Espinoza and Pascal Reid was the state’s first big case that involved illegal money transmission and laundering charges coupled with bitcoins. However, after two years of legal battles, Espinoza’s charges were ultimately dismissed by Judge Pooler and in her dismissal verdict she detailed bitcoin was not considered money.

Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed

“Bitcoin[s] may have some attributes in common with what we commonly refer to as money, but differ in many important aspects — While bitcoin[s] can be exchanged for items of value, they are not a commonly used means of exchange,” Judge Pooler’s ruling explained on July 22, 2016.

Pooler’s verdict continued:

It is very clear, even to someone with limited knowledge in the area, that bitcoin has a long way to go before it is the equivalent of money.

Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed — Michell Adber Espinoza (left), and Pascal Reid (right) were arrested in February 2014 for illegal money transmission and money laundering charges. In 2016 a Florida Judge dismissed the case on grounds that bitcoin was not money.

Judge’s Ruling in the Espinoza Case Reversed and Requires Further Action

After the dismissal two weeks later in August, the state of Florida gave its notice of appeal towards the dismissed charges in an effort to reverse the decision. The dismissal appeal made its rounds through the district court system and two years later the appeals court overturned the ruling and Espinoza may still stand trial. The appellate court’s filing on Jan. 30 explains that Pooler’s understanding of the state’s money transmission statutes wasn’t up to snuff and the state took issue with most of the dismissed charges.

“The trial court erred in dismission Count 1 (illicit money transmission) because Espinoza acted as both a money transmitter and a payment instrument seller and, as such, was required to register with the State of Florida as a money services business,” it ruled.

Furthermore, the state of Florida and prosecutors believe bitcoin is in fact money as the filing continues by emphasizing:

Based on the undisputed facts, Espinoza was acting as a payment instrument seller or engaging in the business of a money transmitter, either of which require registration as a money services business under Florida law — Given the plain language of the Florida statutes governing money service businesses and the nature of Bitcoin and how it functions, Espinoza was acting as both.

Even if the trial court doubts the sufficiency of the state’s evidence, it cannot grant a motion to dismiss the appellate court, the ruling further explains. The filing reverses the trial court’s order granting Espinoza’s motion to dismiss and the state is demanding further action. “Reversed and remanded with instructions,” the court filing concedes. The latest filing on Wednesday details the decision is not final, however, until disposition of a timely filed motion for rehearing commences.

What do you think of the state of Florida appealing the Michell Espinoza dismissal? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

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#Blockchain Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed

Posted on 31 January 2019 by Startup365

Espinoza Ruling Reversed, Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money

Also read: A Look at Openbazaar’s Multi-Currency Wallet and Vendor Listings

Bitcoin Was Not the Equivalent of Money According to a Florida Judge in 2016 – the State Disagrees

Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed

Pooler’s verdict continued:

It is very clear, even to someone with limited knowledge in the area, that bitcoin has a long way to go before it is the equivalent of money.

Judge’s Ruling in the Espinoza Case Reversed and Requires Further Action

Furthermore, the state of Florida and prosecutors believe bitcoin is in fact money as the filing continues by emphasizing:

Based on the undisputed facts, Espinoza was acting as a payment instrument seller or engaging in the business of a money transmitter, either of which require registration as a money services business under Florida law — Given the plain language of the Florida statutes governing money service businesses and the nature of Bitcoin and how it functions, Espinoza was acting as both.

What do you think of the state of Florida appealing the Michell Espinoza dismissal? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, and David Ovalle.

Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section.

The post Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed appeared first on Bitcoin News.

from Bitcoin News http://bit.ly/2SiPR4C Florida Appeals Court Defines Bitcoin as Money as Espinoza Ruling Reversed

#Blockchain European and South American Localbitcoins Markets Show Strength

Posted on 31 January 2019 by Startup365

In recent peer-to-peer (P2P) market action, Latin American Localbitcoins trade has continued to show strength after producing record volume last month. In other news, P2P trade between the euro (EUR) and BTC has posted its strongest volume in 10 months.

Also Read: Wikipedia Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash Donations via Bitpay

European P2P Trade Posts Strongest Activity Since March 2018

EUR/BTC trade on Localbitcoins has recorded its strongest week since posting record trade when measured against fiat currency at the end of March 2018.